Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard faces testy confirmation hearing

Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence faced tough questions from both Republicans and Democrats on Thursday. Senators repeatedly asked Tulsi Gabbard to promise not to pardon National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and to disavow previous comments that some said favored global dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said he supports Gabbard’s nomination and wants her to pull back what he characterized as mission creep in the intelligence community, which he referred to as bloated. Ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., said he does not question Gabbard’s service to the country in the military, but that he does question her judgement. He said he does not trust positions she’s flipped on in recent years.

Who is Gabbard? The former Congresswoman represented Hawaii from 2013 to 2021 as a Democrat. In 2020, she also briefly ran as a Democratic presidential candidate. In October of last year, she formally joined the Republican Party and endorsed President Donald Trump. Before going to Washington, Gabbard was the youngest state representative after she was elected at the age of 21 to Hawaii’s state house. In 2003, she suspended a reelection campaign to join the Hawaii Army National Guard. Gabbard rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and served tours in Iraq and Kuwait. But her lack of intelligence background has prompted senators from both political parties to express concern. Gabbard served on the Foreign Affairs and Veterans Affairs committees in the House.

What is the controversy around her? Gabbard has received criticism for a 2017 visit with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a dictator credited with killing hundreds of thousands of his own civilians. Gabbard has blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine, accusing the entity of forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2020, Gabbard introduced a bill to repeal Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a measure that allows the United States to spy on foreign communications without a warrant. Senators told WORLD that Gabbard expressed support for Sec. 702 in private meetings with them. Other rumors include that Gabbard privately met with Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. During the hearing, Gabbard said each of those stories is false. In previous writings, she called Edward Snowden “brave.” Snowden leaked highly classified information in 2013, and Gabbard said the information led to exposure of abuses by the U.S. government. Conversely, every senator on the Intelligence Committee called Snowden a traitor. When Republican and Democratic senators asked for her opinion, Gabbard said Snowden broke the law but avoided labeling him.

What is the office of national intelligence? The Office of National Intelligence was created in 2005 to respond to intelligence needs following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was co-author of the law that established the office, and she holds a position on the Senate Intelligence Committee. It encompasses 18 agencies and organizations in the intelligence community. The fiscal year 2024 budget granted the department $76.5 billion. The director is responsible for leading the department, advising the president, and compiling the president’s daily brief. To be nominated, Gabbard needs every Republican on the Intelligence Committee to vote for her. Her nomination would then move to a full floor vote in which she can only afford to lose no more than three Republicans, which would require Vice President J.D. Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote. Then, she can only lose three Republicans in a full floor vote and still become director with the help of Vice President J.D. Vance’s tie-breaking vote. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., declined to tell reporters whether he supports Gabbard when he left the confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Dig deeper: Read my report on RFK’s similarly rocky path to confirmation during his Senate hearings this week.