Key takeaways from Tulsi Gabbard’s US Senate confirmation hearing

Washington, DC – Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s nominee for manager of nationalist intelligence, has faced pugnacious questions from United States lawmakers implicit her past positions, including her enactment for whistleblower Edward Snowden.

At a confirmation proceeding connected Thursday, senators besides grilled Gabbard implicit a 2017 sojourn to Syria, wherever she met with then-President Bashar al-Assad.

A erstwhile Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard has been outspoken against interventionist overseas policy.

She unsuccessfully ran for president successful 2020, and 2 years later, she discontinue the Democratic Party, decrying it arsenic an “elitist cabal of warmongers”.

She subsequently started campaigning for Republican candidates, including Trump.

If confirmed, Gabbard would go the main of the US quality community, which is composed of 18 agencies, including the FBI and CIA. She would besides little and counsel the president connected information matters.

Gabbard is 1 of galore arguable nominees Trump has appointed to cardinal positions.But with a 53-seat bulk successful the 100-member Senate, Republicans are expected to corroborate each of Trump’s picks.

Gabbard faced her archetypal trial arsenic a nominee successful beforehand of sceptical lawmakers connected the Senate Intelligence Committee connected Thursday. Below are immoderate cardinal takeaways from the hearing:

Snowden, Snowden, Snowden

Several Democrats and adjacent immoderate Republicans connected the sheet invoked Gabbard’s past statements backing Snowden, a erstwhile National Security Agency contractor who leaked documents astir wide surveillance programmes successful the US government.

In 2020, a US tribunal recovered that the surveillance exposed by Snowden, including collecting telephone records, was illegal.

Snowden, who initially fled to Hong Kong, was granted asylum successful Russia aft the US authorities revoked his passport.

Gabbard antecedently called Snowden a “brave” whistleblower, and successful 2020, she co-sponsored a House resolution urging the US authorities to driblet each charges against Snowden.

On Thursday, Gabbard was questioned aggressively astir that position. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet asked her respective times whether she considers Snowden a traitor.

The erstwhile congresswoman refused to accidental so. She walked a good enactment by stressing that Snowden broke the instrumentality and she does not hold with his actions portion not afloat condemning him.

“The information is, helium besides – adjacent arsenic helium broke the instrumentality – released accusation that exposed egregious, amerciable and unconstitutional programmes,” she said.

Gabbard, who served successful the US subject and remains an service reservist, besides stressed that she herself has ne'er leaked concealed information.

Earlier connected Thursday, Snowden suggested that Gabbard should disavow him to unafraid her confirmation.

“Tell them I harmed nationalist information and the sweet, brushed feelings of staff,” helium wrote successful a societal media post. “In DC, that’s what passes for the pledge of allegiance.”

Tulsi Gabbard volition beryllium required to disown each anterior enactment for whistleblowers arsenic a information of confirmation today. I promote her to bash so. Tell them I harmed nationalist information and the sweet, brushed feelings of staff. In D.C., that's what passes for the pledge of allegiance. pic.twitter.com/Z1OmOHgvdU

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 30, 2025

Al-Assad meeting

Another contented that kept resurfacing during the proceeding was Gabbard’s 2017 travel to Syria and Lebanon.

Gabbard met with al-Assad astatine a clip erstwhile the US was calling connected him to measurement down implicit atrocities committed by his government.

“I asked him pugnacious questions astir his ain regime’s actions, the usage of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being utilized against his ain people,” she said.

Gabbard besides denied gathering with immoderate Hezbollah officials portion successful Lebanon.

When asked whether gathering with al-Assad was bully judgement, Gabbard said yes.

“I judge that leaders – whether you beryllium successful Congress oregon the president of the United States – tin payment greatly by going and engaging boots connected the ground, learning and listening and gathering straight with people, whether they beryllium adversaries oregon friends,” she said.

Gabbard said her main interest has been “extremist” Syrian rebels.

The erstwhile congresswoman besides slammed Syria’s caller leadership, composed of erstwhile rebels who toppled al-Assad’s authorities successful December.

She described the autumn of al-Assad arsenic “the abrupt takeover of Syria by Islamist extremists”.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main rebel radical that captured Damascus past year, had past ties to al-Qaeda. HTS person Ahmed al-Sharaa is present the transitional president of Syria.

The US antecedently offered a reward for capturing al-Sharaa, but it was revoked aft US officials visited him successful Damascus successful December.

Pro-Trump message

In her opening remarks, Gabbard gave a motion to the president who nominated her, amplifying Trump’s claims that helium was targeted by quality officials for governmental reasons.

She invoked the overseas surveillance warrant that authorities utilized to surveil a Trump adjutant earlier the 2016 elections arsenic they investigated imaginable ties betwixt the Trump run and Russia.

“The American radical elected Donald Trump arsenic their president, not once, but twice,” she said.

“Yet the FBI and quality agencies were politicised by his opponents to undermine his presidency and falsely represent him arsenic a puppet of Putin.”

She pledged to present “unbiased” findings to Trump, saying “weaponised” quality tin pb to unspeakable consequences. Gabbard cited the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which was based connected mendacious reports that the state had weapons of wide destruction.

“This disastrous determination led to the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers, millions of radical successful the Middle East, wide migration, destabilisation and undermining of the information and stableness of our European allies, the emergence of ISIS, strengthening of al-Qaeda and different Islamist jihadist groups and strengthening Iran,” she said.