Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed by Senate as Director of U.S. National Intelligence

On Wednesday, February 13, the U.S. Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's preferred candidate for the position of Director of National Intelligence. According to reports, Ms. Gabbard was selected with 52 votes in favor and 48 against. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky voted against her. John Thune, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, defended Gabbard's nomination in a speech on Monday, February 11, stating, "I am pleased that Ms. Gabbard intends to focus on identifying and eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the National Intelligence Organization to what it was originally designed to be." In this context, Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described Gabbard's confirmation as "a victory for America," calling her "patriotic" and stating that she believes in prioritizing America and Donald Trump's agenda and can be a worthy director for the National Intelligence Organization. Tulsi Gabbard, 43, who served as a representative from Hawaii in Congress for eight years, has committed to taking steps to reduce bureaucracy and government spending in line with Donald Trump's administration's efforts. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader who voted negatively for Ms. Gabbard, stated after the vote that entrusting the intelligence community to someone who, in his description, "has difficulty accepting the threats from Russia, China, and leaks from individuals like Snowden, is an unnecessary risk." Before the Senate vote, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, told lawmakers, "We cannot safely trust our most confidential secrets to someone who repeats Russian propaganda and believes in conspiracy theories." He also claimed that most Republicans secretly agree with him and that "if we had a secret ballot, Gabbard might receive 10 votes." This was while Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated during Gabbard's confirmation hearing last month that "Ms. Gabbard's nomination has attracted more attention than most candidates who have appeared before this committee." During the session, Tulsi Gabbard was repeatedly questioned by both Republican and Democratic senators regarding Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, and her plan to pardon him. Snowden fled to Russia after leaking information about the NSA's extensive surveillance operations. He is wanted by U.S. authorities for illegally disclosing this information and jeopardizing U.S. national security. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, granted this former NSA contractor Russian citizenship in October 2022. Ms. Gabbard emphasized that if confirmed, she would work to prevent any such leaks of information. Tulsi Gabbard described Donald Trump's decision during his first term to kill Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on January 3, 2020, as "correct." Ms. Gabbard, who attended the Senate hearing for her nomination, responded to a question from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, regarding her previous criticism of Soleimani's killing and calling it "illegal," stating, "At that time, I did not have access to all the information related to the attack, and my concern was that this action would escalate tensions." She added, "After that, no tension arose, and his [Trump's] policies towards [the Islamic Republic of] Iran were very effective for our national security." Tulsi Gabbard, in response to a question from Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine about whether she has ever knowingly met with any members, leaders, or affiliates of Hezbollah, stated, "No, and that is a ridiculous accusation." She also mentioned that she personally paid for her trip to Syria and Lebanon in January 2017. Ms. Gabbard noted that during a meeting with Bashar al-Assad in January 2017, she asked him "difficult" questions about his regime's actions, the use of chemical weapons, and the "ruthless tactics used by that regime against the Syrian people."