Ms. Gabbard, a former congresswoman who left the Democratic Party, would hold a top job in the administration, overseeing 18 spy agencies.

Summary

Democratic senators have raised concerns over Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence, citing her past meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her embrace of Russian talking points.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard shared a video echoing a false Kremlin claim that the U.S. was funding biological weapons labs in Ukraine.

A former Democratic congresswoman and critic of U.S. foreign policy, Gabbard recently joined the Republican Party and would now oversee 18 intelligence agencies and prepare the President’s Daily Brief.

  • @dhorkEnglish
    20•22 hours ago

    Thune won the Senate Majority Leader post, and he seems like he’s not gonna press the “Recess” button to let Trump put in all his appointments without Senate confirmation, at least as long as Democrats don’t try to outright block any nominations. I think that’s probably the best deal we till get on that.

    https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/13/south-dakota-senator-john-thune-says-recess-appointments-still-an-option-for-trump-cabinet/76265376007/

    So that means we will actually get hearings on this one (and Matt Gaetz), which will be fun to watch. We’ll see if they manage to get 50 Republicans behind those two. They might not.

    • Flying Squid
      15•21 hours ago

      That article starts out by saying he hasn’t ruled out recess appointments.

      • @dhorkEnglish
        5•20 hours ago

        “I’m willing to grind through it and do it the old-fashioned way,”

        If they attempted to block or obstruct hearings, he was keeping his options open.

        • @MakeitstopEnglish
          4•18 hours ago

          Honestly, this is the smart move no matter what his plans are. If he took a position either way he’d just be provoking a backlash for no reason, and at the time when his position is most vulnerable.