{"id":23547,"date":"2025-02-12T18:53:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T01:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/senate-confirms-gabbard-as-trumps-director-of-national-intelligence\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T01:53:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T01:53:42","slug":"senate-confirms-gabbard-as-trumps-director-of-national-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/senate-confirms-gabbard-as-trumps-director-of-national-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate confirms Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Attorney
Attorney General Pam Bondi swears in Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington, as her husband Abraham Williams watches. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

WASHINGTON \u2013 Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as President Donald Trump\u2019s director of national intelligence on Wednesday shortly after she was confirmed by the Senate, where Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.<\/p>\n

Gabbard<\/a> is an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country\u2019s 18 intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia<\/a>, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad<\/a> and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard was confirmed on Wednesday by a 52-48 vote, with the Senate\u2019s slim Republican majority beating back Democratic opposition. The only \u201cno\u201d vote from a Republican came from Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\"Bennet\"
Bennet<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., had been particularly outspoken against Gabbard\u2019s nomination, repeatedly citing her comments about Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and her refusal to call Snowden a traitor.<\/p>\n

As a member of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, Bennet questioned her in her confirmation hearing about both issues, often cutting her off and raising his voice when demanding a yes or no answer. Similar to his questioning of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bennet questioned her about her past tweets and comments on podcasts.<\/p>\n

In a 10-minute speech on the Senate floor before Gabbard\u2019s first full-Senate confirmation vote, Bennet called her an \u201capologist\u201d for Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and said it was the \u201cthing that drives me the craziest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI share her view that there were profound intelligence errors in the lead up to the Gulf War and the lead up to the war in Afghanistan,\u201d he said \u201c\u2026The problem is, she\u2019s, I think, learned the wrong lesson from that. And over and over and over again, when she has the opportunity to support the interests of the United States \u2013 I hate to say it \u2013 versus those of our adversaries, time and time again, she picks our adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is the latest high-ranking nominee to win Senate confirmation<\/a> as the new administration works to reshape vast portions of the federal government, including the intelligence apparatus.<\/p>\n

\"Attorney
Attorney General Pam Bondi swears in Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington, as her husband Abraham Williams watches. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Staffers at the CIA and other intelligence agencies have received buyout offers<\/a>, while lawmakers and security experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency accessing databases<\/a> containing information about intelligence operations.<\/p>\n

Speaking after she was sworn in at the White House, Gabbard promised to work to \u201crefocus\u201d the intelligence community in line with Trump\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the American people have very little trust in the intelligence community, largely because they\u2019ve seen the weaponization and politicization of an entity that is supposed to be purely focused on ensuring our national security,\u201d Gabbard said.<\/p>\n

\"President
President Donald Trump congratulates Tulsi Gabbard after she was sworn in as the Director of National Intelligence in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence<\/a> was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticized the office, saying it has grown too large and politicized. Trump himself has long viewed the nation\u2019s intelligence services with suspicion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

GOP senators who had expressed concerns about Gabbard\u2019s stance on Snowden, Syria and Russia said they were won over by her promise to refocus on the office\u2019s core missions: coordinating federal intelligence work and serving as the president\u2019s chief intelligence adviser.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency,\u201d said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, adding that Gabbard will bring \u201cindependent thinking\u201d to the job.<\/p>\n

McConnell, the former GOP leader, said in a statement after the vote that in his assessment, Gabbard brings \u201cunnecessary risk\u201d to the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,\u201d McConnell said.<\/p>\n

At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, \u201cI think we\u2019re greatly disappointed in any Republican who chooses willfully to vote against the president\u2019s exceptionally qualified nominees.\u201d<\/p>\n

McConnell also voted against confirming Pete Hegseth<\/a> for defense secretary.<\/p>\n

Democrats noted that Gabbard had no experience working for an intelligence agency and they said her past stances on Russia, Syria and Snowden were disqualifying. They also questioned whether she would stand up to Trump if necessary and could maintain vital intelligence sharing with American allies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply cannot in good conscience trust our most classified secrets to someone who echoes Russian propaganda and falls for conspiracy theories,\u201d said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who accused Republicans of buckling under pressure from Trump and Musk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Ms. Gabbard really who Republicans want to lead intelligence agencies? I\u2019ll bet not,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n

Until GOP support fell into place, it was unclear whether Gabbard\u2019s nomination would succeed. Given the 53-47 split in the Senate, Gabbard needed virtually all Republicans to vote \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d base has pressured senators to support Trump\u2019s nominees<\/a>, and Elon Musk, the president\u2019s ally, took to social media recently to brand Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., as a \u201cdeep-state puppet.\u201d Young had raised concerns about Gabbard but announced his support after speaking with Musk. The post was deleted after they spoke, and Musk later called Young an ally.<\/p>\n

\"Tulsi
Tulsi Gabbard stands with her husband Abraham Williams before she is sworn in as the Director of National Intelligence in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

At Gabbard\u2019s swearing-in ceremony Trump called her a \u201ccourageous and often lonely voice\u201d and urged her to \u201cjust stay the way you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be clear-eyed and she\u2019ll be focused on the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and lots of other threats too, threats from within,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020. She has no formal intelligence experience and has never run a government agency or department.<\/p>\n

Gabbard\u2019s past praise of Snowden<\/a> drew particularly harsh questions during her confirmation hearing. Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, fled to Russia after he was charged with revealing classified information about U.S. surveillance programs.<\/p>\n

Gabbard said that while Snowden disclosed important facts about such programs that she believes are unconstitutional, he violated rules about protecting classified secrets. \u201cEdward Snowden broke the law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gabbard\u2019s 2017 visit with Assad was another flashpoint. He was recently deposed following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons.<\/p>\n

Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she was legitimizing a dictator, and then there were more questions when she said she was skeptical that Assad had used such weapons.<\/p>\n

Gabbard defended her meeting with Assad, saying she used the opportunity to press the Syrian leader on his human rights record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him tough questions about his own regime\u2019s actions,\u201d Gabbard said.<\/p>\n

She also has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda<\/a> used to justify the Kremlin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. In the past, she opposed a key U.S. surveillance program<\/a> known as Section 702, which allows authorities to collect the communications of suspected terrorists overseas.<\/p>\n

Kathryn Squyres, an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez, contributed to this story<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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