For ads-free news, click here.
With President-elect Donald Trump nominating former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), nearly 100 former senior intelligence and national security officials are signaling support.
Gabbard has also garnered support from some Republican senators and organizations, such as the National Border Patrol Council, which highlights her military service and understanding of national security threats.
As the Senate prepares for her confirmation hearings, Gabbard’s nomination continues to elicit mixed reactions from both sides of the political spectrum, but the intel officials vouching for her believe she should be confirmed unquestionably.
Bernard Hudson, a retired CIA official who was the agency’s chief of counterterrorism and oversaw the efforts in the Global War on Terror, released the following statement to Breitbart News:
“To be successful, a Director of National Intelligence must have two key attributes. One, they need to have the confidence of the President. An intelligence chief without this is going to be a severe disadvantage in trying to carry out their duties. Tulsi Gabbard clearly has the confidence of the incoming Chief Executive. Two, the DNI needs to be willing to speak truth to power, no matter what the personal or political cost to them. This tends to be easier said than done. Tulsi Gabbard has already demonstrated she is willing to pay a steep price for speaking uncomfortable truths.
During her run for the Democratic nomination for President, she demonstrated this time and time again. And she paid a price for it, but it had not deterred her from seeking and speaking the truth. In regards to her experience with the intelligence world, she’s been both a consumer of tactical and strategic intelligence As a soldier, especially during her combat tour in Iraq, she has seen the value, and sometimes the limitations, of tactical intelligence for the warfighter. As a member of congress sitting on the House Armed Services Committee, she was privy to and responsible for understanding and supporting some of the most sensitive and vast global intelligence programs the United States has.
Lastly, she is someone who has put party loyalty far behind duty to the country. That bipartisan background should help her demonstrate to the American people that the intelligence community she leads is a non-partisan tool that supports the key interests of the United States and its key allies.”
Former National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien urged the Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard and all of Trump’s national security nominees in a Sunday op-ed. Gabbard also gained the support of Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), a Senate Intelligence Committee member, after emphasizing her commitment to balancing civil liberties with national security.
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
