Gina Haspel, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who has had an increasingly strained relationship with the outgoing US President Donald Trump during the final year of his administration, announced Tuesday that she is leaving the agency.

Iran PressAmerica: "It has been the greatest honor of my life to lead this remarkable organization," Haspel wrote in a statement shared by the CIA on Twitter.

Haspel did not articulate the reason for her departure, which comes on the last full day of Trump’s presidency, though Axios reported last week that she had threatened to resign in early December when Trump sought to install Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist and former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) as her deputy. 

According to Axios, Trump spent his last year in office ruminating over Haspel, while many of his allies echoed the president’s doubts about her loyalty. 

Haspel was confirmed as the first female director of the CIA in May 2018. 

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