Nearly 100 former national security officials have signed a letter opposing President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. The group is calling for closed-door Senate hearings to evaluate Gabbard’s qualifications and review any “relevant” government files.
The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and incoming Minority Leader John Thune and obtained by NBC News, urges the Senate to scrutinize whether Gabbard is “equipped” to lead the nation’s intelligence community, a position requiring Senate confirmation.
“Several of Ms. Gabbard’s past actions call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and the national security apparatus,” the letter states. It cites Gabbard’s 2017 visit to Syria, during which she met with President Bashar al-Assad, aligning herself with Russian and Syrian officials.
The signers also raised concerns about Gabbard’s experience, arguing that she would be “the least experienced” person to hold the position since its creation in 2004. The letter states, “The Senate must carefully evaluate whether Ms. Gabbard is equipped to effectively oversee an organizational structure as unique and large as the National Intelligence Program and the potential impact on intelligence sharing with our allies.”
The letter also references past controversies surrounding Gabbard. In 2017, she questioned U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that Assad’s government was behind a chemical weapons attack. More recently, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gabbard advocated for Ukraine to remain neutral, calling for people to “embrace the spirit of aloha.”
A spokesperson for Gabbard dismissed the letter as politically motivated. “These unfounded attacks come from the same people who have misled the American public for decades with faulty intelligence, including the Iraq War’s nonexistent weapons of mass destruction,” said Alexa Henning, speaking on behalf of the Trump transition team. She accused the signers of using classified information as a partisan weapon to undermine Gabbard.
