Rep. Gregory Meeks (New York), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Monday that former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), now a Republican, will be nominated by President-elect Trump to be Director of National Intelligence. He said there was. For the United States, it is a “national security threat.”
“So the fact that we have Tulsi Gabbard here who basically said nice things. [Syrian President Bashar Assad]I secretly went to visit him, good thing [Russian President Vladimir Putin]indicates to me that it is a national security threat to the United States of America. “Under normal circumstances, I don't think she would pass the test to receive classified documents given her regular security checks,” Meeks told MSNBC's Ana Cabrera.
President Trump announced last week that he has selected Gabbard to be the next administration's director of national intelligence.
“I know Tulsi will bring to our intelligence community the fearlessness that defined her distinguished career, defending constitutional rights and ensuring peace through force. Tulsi makes us all proud!'' President Trump said in a statement at the time.
Gabbard has shared material in the past suggesting that the United States was involved in producing biological weapons in Ukraine, perpetuating the narrative from Moscow. She also met with President Assad, who is accused of using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians in 2017.
“She was on the Foreign Affairs Committee when…she secretly visited Assad. …She made public statements about Russia,” Meeks said of Gabbard on Monday. “And unfortunately, I think it follows what Donald Trump has done and what Donald Trump has said.”
“Because Donald Trump has said he trusts Russian intelligence more than U.S. intelligence,” Meeks added.
Several Democratic members of Congress, including former CIA official Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), have spoken out against President Trump's choice of Gabbard to be director of national intelligence.
“As a former CIA case officer, I watched the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community put their lives on the line for this country every day, and I was appalled by the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to lead the DNI. “There are,” Spanberger wrote in the article. Last week's Social Platform X.
The Hill has reached out to Trump's transition team for comment.
