Robert F. Kennedy, Matt Gaetz, and Pete Hegseth
Recently, Donald Trump stirred significant attention with a series of announcements about his prospective cabinet for a possible second term, leaving many in the federal government astonished. One name that has emerged prominently within the intelligence community is Tulsi Gabbard, who has been nominated by Trump as his candidate for Director of National Intelligence.
Gabbard, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, does not possess formal intelligence experience and has made several controversial statements regarding countries such as Russia and Syria, which raises questions about her fitness for this critical role. If confirmed, she would be responsible for overseeing the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies and managing some of its most sensitive national security operations.
“We are all in disbelief,” commented a current intelligence official who has served under multiple administrations.
Those within the intelligence community express particular concern that Gabbard may attempt to suppress intelligence reports that are critical of Russia or cut funding for essential investigations. Some officials are even contemplating resigning if Gabbard were to take charge.
The position of Director of National Intelligence was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to ensure that America’s national security efforts are coordinated and that crucial information about significant threats is shared. Typically, the Senate Intelligence Committee must confirm the nominee, which includes a review of financial disclosures and an FBI background check. These evaluations are designed to confirm that the nominee has no substantial debts or connections to foreign governments that might impede their capacity to oversee thousands of intelligence personnel across various agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and NSA.
In stark contrast to the incumbent Director, Avril Haynes, who brings extensive experience in intelligence roles—having served as deputy director of the CIA during the Obama administration—Gabbard’s qualifications are considerably different. Haynes has spent decades working within intelligence frameworks.
Gabbard’s congressional tenure did not include service on the House Intelligence Committee; instead, she was involved with committees focused on armed services, foreign affairs, and homeland security.
Gabbard first gained nationwide recognition in 2012 when she became the first Hindu, the first American Samoan, and one of the first female combat veterans elected to Congress. Before her congressional career, she served in Iraq in 2004 as part of a medical unit with the Hawaii Army National Guard and currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Over the past decade, Gabbard has notably strayed from conventional foreign policy perspectives. She has often voiced skepticism regarding American intelligence assessments and has taken stances that align closely with Russian narratives.
In 2017, while still serving in Congress, Gabbard met with Syrian President Bashar Assad after the U.S. had severed diplomatic relations due to Assad’s violent repression of his citizens. Russia has historically backed Assad, providing military support to strengthen his regime amid Syria’s ongoing civil war. Gabbard opposed U.S. backing of opposition forces supported by American intelligence agencies.
Later that same year, following a chemical weapons attack in northern Syria, Gabbard supported Russian assertions that Assad was not culpable, despite a United Nations investigation that confirmed the Syrian military’s involvement.
Just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard shared a video promoting a discredited conspiracy theory alleging that pathogens could escape from biolabs in Ukraine, a narrative propagated by Russia as part of its propaganda effort. Former Representative Adam Kinzinger criticized Gabbard for disseminating “actual Russian propaganda,” while Senator Mitt Romney labeled her assertions as “fake Russian propaganda.”
This was not the first time Gabbard faced accusations of promoting Russian interests. During her 2019 presidential campaign, she received favorable coverage from Russian media outlets, prompting Hillary Clinton to suggest that a Democrat was being “groomed” by Russia to run as a third-party candidate to assist Trump’s re-election. Many speculated that Clinton was alluding to Gabbard, who subsequently accused Clinton of attempting to “destroy” her reputation.
In a significant change, Gabbard announced her exit from the Democratic Party two years ago, condemning it as being “completely controlled by an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.” Last month, she publicly declared her alignment with the Republican Party during a rally for Donald Trump in North Carolina.
Interestingly, Gabbard has not consistently aligned with Trump’s viewpoints. She publicly criticized his 2015 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, which was supported not only by the Obama administration but also by Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany, and the U.K. Additionally, she condemned Trump’s 2020 decision to eliminate Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, arguing that it violated constitutional protocols by targeting a foreign military leader without congressional approval.
