Debate Over Tulsi Gabbard’s Possible Position as US Spy Chief Is Sparked by Her Controversial Opinions

Following her appointment by President-elect Donald Trump to run America’s espionage agencies, former congressman Tulsi Gabbard’s contentious 2017 meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and her previous remarks regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have come under more scrutiny.

In addition to overseeing 18 US spy organizations and acting as a close advisor to the president, Gabbard would be responsible for protecting the country’s most valuable secrets if approved as the US director of national intelligence (DNI).

However, lawmakers and former US national security officials have expressed worry that intelligence cooperation may suffer as a result of Gabbard’s selection. Gabbard is a strong opponent of US engagement in international conflicts and is accused by some of repeating Kremlin themes.

Gabbard’s questionable decision may cause friends to “question how safe it is to share intelligence with the US,” according to Lewis Luken, a retired diplomat who was the deputy head of mission at the US embassy in London during the first Trump administration. Luken told the BBC this.

Gabbard, who just switched to the Republican Party, has argued that her critics are “warmongers” who want to discredit everyone who disagrees with the status quo in Washington. 

Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve who went to Iraq and Kuwait, “will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community,” according to Trump, who has also praised his choice.

However, in a strange turn of events for a DNI nomination, Gabbard’s selection was hailed by Russian state media, which only exacerbated concerns among national security experts in the US capital.

“Almost from the first days of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Gabbard explained its reasons, criticized the actions of the Biden administration, and also personally met none other than Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and supported his fight against terrorists,” Olga Skabeyeva, a well-known talk show host, stated on November 14.

Throughout her political career, Gabbard has been praised and derided by both Republicans and Democrats for her stances.

She has been strongly critical of the US intelligence establishment, opposed to American action, and generally anti-war.

However, it was her congressional “fact-finding” trip to Syria in January 2017 that initially generated uproar, especially when she subsequently questioned the US intelligence conclusion that Assad’s troops had used chemical weapons against people.

Following a chemical attack that killed over 80 people in April of that year, the Trump administration launched a series of strikes on Syria. Gabbard referred to the strikes as “reckless and short-sighted,” claiming they would worsen the civil war and make it more difficult to gather evidence about what had transpired.

Before launching bombs containing the nerve toxin sarin on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, the United States fired missiles at a Syrian Air Force airfield where the Pentagon said a warplane had taken off.

Later, a UN commission reached the same judgment as the US, stating that it was certain the town’s sarin discharge was caused by the Syrian government.

The news was denied by Assad’s regime and its partner Russia, who claimed that a rebel chemical armaments facility was struck by the Syrian Air Force operation.

Gabbard’s 2019 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination was marred by her remarks and her contentious encounter with Assad.

In defense of her actions, she told an interviewer that Syria does not directly threaten the United States, making Assad, who is also supported by Iran, “not the adversary of the United States.”

There has been no response from the Trump transition team.

She gained further notoriety in 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and she made remarks that some believed echoed Putin’s military arguments.

If the Biden administration and the NATO military alliance “had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns” about Ukraine ultimately joining, Gabbard added, the conflict might have been prevented.

She said in a video clip a few weeks later that US-funded biolabs in Ukraine would be compromised and “release and spread deadly pathogens.” It happened as Russia disseminated unsubstantiated allegations that the US was assisting Ukraine in the development of biological weapons in order to justify its invasion.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney responded by saying on social media that Gabbard was spreading “treasonous lies” and “parroting false Russian propaganda.” Because of his comments, Gabbard wrote Romney a cease-and-desist letter.

Additionally, Gabbard said during the 2024 presidential campaign that Vice-President Kamala Harris was the “main instigator” of the Ukrainian crisis since she had backed Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.

Trump’s first-term UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, who ran against him for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election, recently stated that Gabbard was unable to have such a high-level intelligence position.

“A Russian, Iranian, Syrian, or Chinese sympathizer has no place here,” Haley declared.

There are concerns that Gabbard’s appointment may erode confidence between US and foreign intelligence services. 
The selection of Gabbard may have “real effects on our ability to have intelligence diplomacy with close allies,” according to a former senior White House official.

“If the person sitting across from them, Tulsi Gabbard, has fundamentally different assumptions about Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin, it will definitely raise real questions in the minds of foreign counterparts,” the official stated. 

Gabbard’s nomination would raise major doubts about how the United Kingdom and other American allies handle the US intelligence agency under Trump, according to a former NATO official in London who repeated that worry.

“I believe there is a great deal of unease because it seems absurd to put someone with no experience and bizarre opinions in such a high-level role.” The previous official stated. 

Others, however, did not anticipate a shift in their nation’s intelligence ties with the United States. 

During the early years of the first Trump government, Duncan Lewis oversaw the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s domestic surveillance organization. Although he claimed not to know Gabbard, he emphasized that the Australian-American bond was stronger than any one person.

“We have a solid and long-standing bilateral security relationship, and I expect that to continue,” he continued.

The DNI has the authority to influence how the US leader views the world and its dangers as they decide what should be included in the president’s daily briefing every morning. 

US senators will take it into account while evaluating Gabbard’s nomination, which may make the Senate confirmation process difficult.

Trump’s DNI nominee “has expressed views that seem to prefer adversaries,” according to Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat and former CIA officer who was Gabbard’s colleague in the House of Representatives, according to media site Puck.

Slotkin, who will vote on Gabbard’s confirmation as a freshly elected Michigan senator, continued, “When I heard the nomination, it definitely gave me pause.” 

Senate Intelligence Committee Republican James Lankford told reporters that he and other senators will interrogate Gabbard extensively about his prior opinions.

However, Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican, claimed that some of the Democratic colleagues’ criticism of Gabbard, such as the claim that she was “compromised,” had been “totally ridiculous.”

It is offensive. To be honest, it’s a slur. “There is no proof that she is a foreign asset,” he stated.

Additionally, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin declared that Gabbard was a “solid choice” who would be “extremely capable” in the eyes of supporters.

He went on to say, “There are some questions on the Democratic side and some on the Republican side.”

“I’ve been telling everyone to just sit down and have a conversation with her.”