Haspel joined the CIA in 1985 and has held several top positions in the bureau

On March 13, 2018, Haspel was nominated by President Trump to become the Director of the CIA, succeeding Mike Pompeo. If supported, She'd be the first female career intelligence officer and second woman to hold the position

Haspel joined the CIA in 1985 and has held several top positions in the bureau such as deputy manager of the National Clandestine Service. Haspel ran a "black site" CIA prison located in Thailand in 2002. Declassified CIA cables specify that Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 days per month, was sleep deprived, preserved at a "large box", had his head slammed against a wall, and he dropped his left eye. Zubaydah has been deemed, by the CIA interrogators, not to be in possession of any helpful intelligence (Interrogation of Abu Zubaydah).

Haspel later was the chief of employees to Jose Rodriguez, who headed the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. In his memoir, Rodriguez wrote that Haspel had "drafted a cable" at 2005 ordering the destruction of dozens of videotapes made at the black site in Thailand.

However, she had been denied the position permanently as a result of criticism about her participation in the Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program.

Haspel is the recipient of the George H. W. Bush Award for excellence in counterterrorism, the Donovan Award, the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the Presidential Rank Award.

On February 2, 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Haspel deputy director of the CIA. On February 8, 2017, many members of the Senate intelligence committee urged Trump to rethink his appointment of Haspel as Deputy Director. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse quoted coworkers Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich who had been to the committee:

I'm especially concerned by reports that this individual was involved from the intrusion of CIA interrogation videotapes, which captured the CIA's use of torture from two CIA detainees. My colleagues Senators Wyden and Heinrich have said that classified info details why the recently appointed Deputy Director is 'unsuitable' for the place and have asked this information be declassified. I join their request.

On February 15, 2017, Spencer Ackerman reported founders Bruce Jessen and James Mitchell, the architects of this enhanced interrogation program that was designed to break Zubaydah and was subsequently used on other detainees from the CIA's secret prisons around the world. Jessen and Mitchell have been sued by Sulaiman Abdulla Salim, Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, and Obaid Ullah over torture made by the psychologists. Jessen and Mitchell are trying to push Haspel, and her colleague James Cotsana, to testify in their behalf.

On March 13, 2018, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter which He'll nominate Haspel to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, which will make her first female permanent CIA director