President Obama announced in a statement Friday that he'll nominate National Security Agency general counsel Matthew Olsen to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, National Journal reports.

"Matt has a distinguished record of service in our intelligence community and I’m confident he will continue to build on our strong counterterrorism efforts," Obama said in the statement. "Matt will be a critical part of my national security team as we work tirelessly to thwart attacks against our nation and do everything in our power to protect the American people."

Olsen also served as Director of the Guantanamo review Task Force. He replaces Mark Leiter, who stepped down earlier this month after four-and-a-half years coordinating White House counterror efforts for Presidents Bush and Obama.

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Ray Gustini