Hayden, 61, is the principal deputy to Negroponte and former director of the super-secret National Security Agency.

The new CIA director must be confirmed by the Senate, which may bring Hayden's tenure as NSA director in 2001 under scrutiny, after Bush authorized a controversial anti-terrorism spy program.

Without court warrants, the NSA monitored the communications of people inside the United States who were in contact with suspected terrorists outside the country.

Critics -- many of whom are members of the Senate -- charge the surveillance program is a violation of law and an assault on civil liberties.

Hayden has defended it, insisting that it is a necessary tool to thwart terrorists and that the process of obtaining warrants is too slow and cumbersome to deal with "a lethal enemy."

'Mutual understanding'

An intelligence source with detailed knowledge of the discussions surrounding Goss' departure told CNN that after Goss resisted the changes, Negroponte sought White House backing to resolve the impasse.

Hayden was involved in the decision that Goss must go, the source said.

A senior administration official said Goss' resignation was based on a "mutual understanding" between Bush, Goss and Negroponte.

"When you ask somebody to do very difficult things during a period of transition, it often makes sense to hand off the reins to somebody else to take the agency forward," the senior administration official said.

An intelligence official told CNN that while there were differences of opinion between Goss and Negroponte, suggestions of any harsh exchanges between the two men were "just ridiculous, not remotely true."

In April, a senior administration official told CNN that Goss would likely be out of the CIA post before the end of the summer.

Goss and other senior intelligence officials have recently been interviewed by the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which is looking into concerns that change was happening too slowly at the CIA.

Goss said he would remain at the helm of the CIA for the "next few weeks" to oversee the transition to a new director.

Former critic led shake-up

Goss, 67, a former CIA officer and Republican congressman from Florida, was tapped by Bush in June 2004 to come in and shake up the agency at a time when its performance was under intense scrutiny due to intelligence failures prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq.

Some of the most blistering criticism came in a report from the House Intelligence Committee -- which Goss then chaired -- that called the CIA "dysfunctional."

But two months after Goss was nominated, Bush asked Congress to implement a recommendation from the 9/11 commission to create an overall national intelligence director, which would oversee the CIA and 14 other intelligence agencies -- a change that diluted the authority of the CIA director.

Negroponte, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, was confirmed as national intelligence director in April 2005. After the restructuring, Bush began receiving his daily intelligence briefings from Negroponte rather than Goss.

Goss made good on his promise to shake up the CIA, bringing in his own management team to implement changes. A number of top CIA officials left during the transition, after personality and policy clashes with Goss' lieutenants.

However, in October, the White House decided to make Goss the manager of all U.S. human intelligence-gathering operations, which was widely seen as a way to restore some of the prestige the CIA lost after Congress created the post of national intelligence director.

Former intelligence officials told CNN that many people inside the CIA are "relieved" that Goss and his aides -- called "the Gosslings" by CIA insiders -- are going, a reflection of the ill will that still persists over the earlier departures of senior officials.
'That was a tough job'

Goss' abrupt resignation Friday took Washington by surprise. Reporters were summoned in early afternoon to the Oval Office, where Bush -- with the CIA director seated next to him -- announced the change.

No reason was given for Goss' resignation, but the White House has been in the midst of an administration shakeup since Josh Bolten took over as chief of staff.

"[Goss] offered his resignation as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I've accepted it," Bush said.

"Porter's tenure at the CIA was one of transition, where he's helped his agency become integrated into the intelligence community," the president said. "That was a tough job, and he's led ably."

"Mike Hayden is the president's nominee to be the director of the CIA," the national security adviser Stephen Hadley told the NBC television's "Today" show program.

"The president believes he is the right person at the right time in the right job," Hadley said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Hayden will replace Porter Goss who resigned abruptly on Friday after less than two years on the job.

U.S. lawmakers, some from Bush's Republican party, have voiced their concern about the choice of Hayden over his ties to an eavesdropping program.

Some Senators have said they would use Hayden's Senate confirmation hearings to learn more about the program of eavesdropping on United State's international phone calls and e-mail in pursuit of terrorism suspects.

Some Congress members said that having a general in charge of the CIA would give the Pentagon too much sway over U.S. intelligence gathering, while others believed he was too close to the White House and lacks experience building an intelligence service.

Bush has said Hayden was the one who initiated the domestic eavesdropping program after the September 11 attacks, which Bush saw as essential to fighting terrorism.

Bush was expected to nominate a new director as early as Monday to replace Porter Goss, who abruptly resigned on Friday.

But opposition to Hayden because of his military background is mounting on Capitol Hill, where he would face tough hearings in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Despite a distinguished career at the Defense Department, Hayden would be "the wrong person, the wrong place at the wrong time," said the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.

"There is ongoing tensions between this premier civilian intelligence agency and DOD as we speak," Hoekstra said. "And I think putting a general in charge - regardless of how good Mike is - ... is going to send the wrong signal through the agency here in Washington but also to our agents in the field around the world," he told "Fox News Sunday."

If Hayden were to get the nomination, military officers would run the major spy agencies in the United States, from the ultra-secret National Security Agency to the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The Pentagon already controls more than 80 percent of the intelligence budget.

"You can't have the military control most of the major aspects of intelligence," said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The CIA "is a civilian agency and is meant to be a civilian agency," she said on ABC's "This Week."

A second committee member, GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, added, "I think the fact that he is a part of the military today would be the major problem."

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., mentioned fears the CIA would "just be gobbled up by the Defense Department" if Hayden were to take over.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he would view a Hayden nomination as a way to get information from the Bush administration about its secretive domestic surveillance program, undertaken by the NSA when Hayden led that agency.

The warrantless monitoring covered electronic communications between people in the United States and other parties overseas with suspected terrorist links.

Hoekstra said on "Fox News Sunday" that having a general in charge of the CIA could create the impression among agents around the world that the agency is under Pentagon control. If he were to get the nomination, military officers would run all the major spy agencies, from the ultra-secret National Security Agency to the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The sentiment was echoed by Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, who said Hayden's military background would be a "major problem," and several Democrats who made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said Hayden could leave agents with the impression that the CIA has been "just gobbled up by the Defense Department."

The criticism comes a day before Bush was expected to name Hayden as his choice to lead the CIA. Outgoing director Porter Goss abruptly announced his resignation Friday after less than two years on the job.

Hayden is widely respected in both parties for his long experience with intelligence, and many lawmakers said he could be a good candidate for some other job. Some, like Democratic Sen.
Dianne Feinstein of California, suggested that he might think about resigning his military post if he were going to head the CIA. But Hoekstra and Chambliss were among those who said that wouldn't solve the problem.

"Just resigning commission and moving on, putting on a striped suit, a pinstriped suit versus an Air Force uniform, I don't think makes much difference," Chambliss said on ABC's "This Week."

Talk of Hayden's possible nomination has reignited the debate over the Bush's administration's domestic surveillance program, which Hayden used to oversee as the former head of the National
Security Agency.

California Rep. Jane Harman, leading Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Hayden "made a big mistake" by defending the legality of the eavesdropping program in December during a speech at the National Press Club. "That program does not comply with law," she said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would use a Hayden nomination to raise questions about the legality of the program and did not rule out holding it up until he gets answers. "I'm not going to draw any lines in the sand until I see how the facts evolve," Specter said on Fox.

White House insiders tried to shrug off suggestions that Hayden's military experience could become a serious issue. And they said they welcome a fight over the domestic eavesdropping program -- an issue that Bush certainly has not shied away from taking on in his effort to take a tough stance against terrorists.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said she is concerned about Hayden's role in the domestic spying program, but that should not be the issue in Senate confirmation hearings for the CIA. But having a four-star general leading the spy agency should be, she said.

"There have to be more people that can be drawn upon" in the administration, she said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "These people are all just this little clique, they play musical chairs, they're all far too close to the president politically, and I think that the confidence that everyone needs in the CIA would be better instilled if we had someone else."

Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with NBC, would not comment on whether Bush was prepared to nominate Hayden. But he said the new CIA director will have to "make a lot of adjustments" at the agency.

"We're faced with trying to find ways to figure out what a small group of terrorists are going to do, they're difficult to penetrate, difficult to track by national technical means," Cheney said. "It places a much heavier emphasis on human intelligence than was required, necessarily, before, but it automatically places a burden on whoever's in that job as director of the CIA."

Hayden has his defenders on Capitol Hill. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he hopes he could be confirmed.

"In all due respect to my colleagues -- and I obviously respect their views -- General Hayden is really more of an intelligence person than he is an Air Force officer," he said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "I think that we should also remember that there had been other former military people who have been directors of the CIA."

And Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, who will oversee confirmation hearings for the post, acknowledged on CNN that there is some real concern about somebody from the military heading up the CIA. But he said that can be easily resolved by Hayden resigning his post and bringing in deputies with a strong civilian background.