Meet the CIA's New Acting Director: The Guy Who Led the Team That Tracked Down Bin Laden

With General David Petraeus stepping down as director of the CIA following reports of an extra-marital affair, the agency's current deputy director will take over as director on an interim basis.

President Barack Obama first said that CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell would serve as acting director. Morell was the key CIA aide in the White House to President George W. Bush during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Michael Morell, Deputy Director of the CIA, watches as US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, meets with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz on June 20, 2012 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Pool / Getty Images)

"I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission," Obama said.

Oh yeah, Morell was also the "head of the CIA's bin Laden Team," according to an article in Vanity Fair. Read Morell's official bio here.

Morell rather than Petraeus now is expected to testify at closed congressional briefings next week on the Sept. 11 attacks on the consulate in Benghazi.

Morell had served as deputy director since May 2010, after holding a number of top roles, including director for the agency's analytical arm, which helps feed intelligence into the president's daily brief. He also worked as an aide to former CIA director George Tenet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.