Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed by the Senate for the post of Director of National Intelligence. Gabbard said the intelligence community has been weaponized against the American people.
Gabbard was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote. Sen. Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican to vote with the entire Democratic caucus against Gabbard. Tulsi is a former Democratic Representative and was vice chair of the DNC. Gabbard split from the Democrats over a number of issues, including the war in Ukraine.
During her swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, Gabbard said, “Unfortunately, the American people have very little trust in the intelligence community, largely because they’ve seen the weaponization and politicization of an entity that is supposed to be purely focused on ensuring our national security.”
Tulsi, like her new boss, Donald Trump, was accused of being an agent of the Kremlin. A charge often leveled by Trump’s first election opponent, Hillary Clinton. Following the election defeat in 2016, Hillary and the Democrats often blamed Russian interference for Trump’s victory. Additionally, they accused Gabbard and Trump of being the Kremlin’s agents or useful idiots.
During her time in Congress, Tulsi was one of the most vocal critics of US foreign policy and domestic spying. She often argued against American wars in the Middle East that sought to overthrow secular dictators, such as in Syria. Additionally, Tulsi supported legislation that would have repealed FISA Section 702, which allows for mass collection of American data without a warrant.
During her confirmation hearing, many Senators were irate with Tulsi over her positions on Syria, Edward Snowden, and Section 702. Gabbard walked back her opposition to 702 and now says she supports the reformed law.
However, she remained steadfast in her opposition to the US support for Syrian rebel groups that led to the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and Abu Mohammad al-Julani’s seizure of power in Damascus. Julani is the leader of al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate group. Gabbard explained to the Senators that the CIA’s Timber Sycamore program benefited groups such as Jualni’s HTS.
“When as a member of Congress, I learned about President Obama’s, dual programs that he had begun, really to overthrow the regime of Syria and being willing to, through the CIA’s Timber Sycamore program that has now been made public, of working with and arming and equipping Al Qaeda in an effort to overthrow that regime, starting yet another regime change war in the Middle East.” She added, “Every American deserves to know that people in our own government were providing support to our sworn enemy, Al Qaeda. That should not be acceptable by anyone.”
