New York Democratic Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that the nomination of former Hawaii Rep Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence is the most worrisome nomination so far among president-elect Donald Trump’s administration picks.
“I actually think, almost more than Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard’s appointment is devastating,” Ocasio-Cortez said on MSNBC on Thursday of Gabbard and the former Florida Rep nominated to be attorney general.
“Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination, as much as she says that she’s an anti-war person, she’s not. She supports very pro-war individuals abroad,” she added.
The former congresswoman has regularly criticized American wars and has faced scrutiny for her apparently favorable views of authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin of Russia and Bashar Al-Assad of Syria.
“And let’s be very clear. A Tulsi Gabbard nomination is a pro-war nomination globally. Point blank, period,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
In his statement announcing Gabbard as his pick for the role, Trump said that she “has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans” for “over two decades.”
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!” he added.
Gabbard is set to face difficult confirmation hearings in the Senate to be appointed to the post. But Trump may try to push her through using recess appointments.
The 43-year-old served in the House as a Democrat before running for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020. She has subsequently left the party and endorsed Trump during the campaign. She officially joined the Republicans last month.
Her selection stunned the intelligence community and many lawmakers, some noting her lack of experience and others citing her past controversial remarks.
Larry Pfeiffer was the senior director of the White House Situation Room and chief of staff at the CIA during the presidency of George W Bush.
“Some of the statements she has made through the years that sound like they came right out of the Kremlin’s talking points paper are a little bit alarming,” he said, according to The Hill. “Her cozying up to Bashar al Assad and being an apologist for him as well just raise questions in my mind.”
“Is that really the best person to put in charge of this very complicated, very sensitive operation that is the US intel community?” he asked.
“She’s never managed anything larger than a congressional office or maybe like a brigade,” he added. “That’s a lot different than trying to orchestrate and coordinate this wild consultation of intel elements that we call the US intelligence community. I think she isn’t really prepared for that.”
Former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger, now a Virginia Democratic US House Representative, noted that the DNI “has access to every single secret that the United States has, every single bit of information that we know. … It’s the keys to the intelligence community kingdom.”
She said she was “appalled” by Gabbard’s nomination.
Jamil Jaffer is a former GOP House Intelligence Committee staffer and national security prosecutor.
“What is unusual here is you’ve got somebody who’s had such a long and vociferous track record of saying things that are factually incorrect, that seem to give aid and comfort to US adversaries, and that undermine the very people they should be representing at the principals’ committee,” he said, according to The Hill. “That’s what makes her an unlikely candidate to be nominated for this job, and to be an unlikely candidate to be confirmed to this job.”
