Trump considers private equity's Feinberg for U.S. intelligence review

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Stephen Feinberg, the chief executive of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management who backed U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign, is being considered to lead a review of the vast U.S. intelligence operation and whether it can be restructured, current and former officials told Reuters.

While cautioning that the appointment was not final, the U.S. officials said Feinberg, if named to the role, would look for ways to streamline 17 separate agencies, a roughly $70 billion annual budget and tens of thousands of employees.

Trump's advisers have expressed particular interest in reforming the role of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to coordinate the work of U.S. spy agencies.

The White House declined comment on Feinberg's potential role. Cerberus declined to comment.