US President George W. Bush will name General Michael Hayden, deputy to national intelligence director John Negroponte, as the new CIA chief, CNN quoted Bush adviser Stephen Hadley as saying yesterday. If confirmed by the Senate, Hayden will replace Porter Goss who resigned under pressure on Friday. US lawmakers, some from Bush’s Republican party, voiced concern at the weekend about the choice of Hayden over his ties to an eavesdropping program assailed by critics as a violation of civil rights.

Senators have said they would use Hayden’s Senate confirmation hearings to learn more about the program of warrantless eavesdropping on Americans’ international phone calls and e-mail in pursuit of terrorism suspects. Bush defends it as essential to fighting terrorism.

Some Congress members have said a general heading the CIA could give the Pentagon too much sway over US intelligence gathering. Others have said he is too close to the White House and lacks experience building a clandestine service. Hayden, the former head of the National Security Agency, which conducts eavesdropping operations, must be confirmed by the Senate. Bush has said Hayden was the one who proposed the domestic eavesdropping program after the September 11 attacks.