President George W. Bush on Monday nominated Air Force General Michael Hayden as CIA chief, setting up a battle with some members of the US Congress who oppose having a military man head the civilian spy agency.
"He's the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment in our nation's history," Bush said in making the announcement with Hayden at his side in the Oval Office.
Hayden, 61, would replace Porter Goss, who was forced to resign on Friday after a contentious tenure at the CIA marked by an exodus of senior officials and tensions with the national director of intelligence, John Negroponte.
The nominee is set to face tough Senate questioning, particularly on his leading role in an eavesdropping program assailed by critics as a violation of civil rights, but White House officials were confident he would win confirmation.
Bush, who is attempting to rebound from sagging poll numbers, noted that the Senate had unanimously confirmed Hayden last year to become deputy director of national intelligence and called on senators to confirm him again promptly.
"Mike knows our intelligence community from the ground up. He has been both a provider and a consumer of intelligence," Bush said.
In brief remarks, Hayden said he hoped to answer any concerns about him from Congress.
"In the confirmation process, I look forward to meeting with the leaders of the Congress, better understanding their concerns and working with them to move the American intelligence community forward," he said.
Senators have said they would use the confirmation hearings to learn more about the program of warrantless eavesdropping on Americans' international phone calls and e-mails in pursuit of terrorism suspects.
Bush, who has said Hayden was the one who proposed the program after the September 11 attacks, defends it as essential to fighting terrorism.