--- title: ISIS Is Still a Threat, CIA Director Says description: CIA Director John Brennan warned Congress that U.S. efforts to stop ISIS had had some success, but that the group was still a threat. canonical: https://time.com/4372381/isis-john-brennan-cia-congress/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-16T21:05:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:40:12.353Z article:section: Politics og:title: CIA Director Warns That ISIS Is Still a Threat og:description: John Brennan warned that more Orlando-inspired attacks could be coming og:url: https://time.com/4372381/isis-john-brennan-cia-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80d4c27092694553/69876e5a428a9e512fcc5ffb/john-brennan1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2003 og:image:height: 1127 og:image:alt: John Brennan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CIA Director Warns That ISIS Is Still a Threat twitter:description: John Brennan warned that more Orlando-inspired attacks could be coming twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80d4c27092694553/69876e5a428a9e512fcc5ffb/john-brennan1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CIA Director Warns That ISIS Is Still a Threat > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 16, 2016 9:05 PM UTC  CIA Director John Brennan attends a news conference at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., on Dec. 11, 2014. CIA Director John Brennan attends a news conference at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., on Dec. 11, 2014. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 16, 2016 9:05 PM UTC U.S. efforts to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) have done little to diminish the threat posed by the terrorist group, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress Thursday, warning that there could be more Orlando-style attacks coming. “Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach,” Brennan warned the Senate Intelligence Committee using an alternate acronym for the group, according to CNN. While Brennan declared that ISIS had taken some hits, losing “large stretches” of territory in Iraq and Syria — he said the group still has between 18,000 to 22,000 fighters in the region. Brennan was speaking days after 49 people were killed at an Orlando nightclub Sunday, telling Congress that other attacks carried out by lone wolfs inspired by ISIS could follow, presenting “an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community.” Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter, had “no direct links” to ISIS, according to Brennan, but was inspired by the group. “We have not been able to uncover any direct link between that individual, Mateen, and a foreign terrorist organization. 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