Confirmation audience for Tulsi Gabbard, the choice of Trump’s intel chief, scheduled for Thursday: NPR

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WHOs: Tulsi Gabbard

Nominated for: National Intelligence Director

You might know it about: Former American representative of Hawaii, Gabbard presented himself as a presidency as a Democrat in 2020 before moving to the right, officially joining the Republican Party and supporting President Trump in October 2024.

• She has no context of intelligence.
• She is a lieutenant-colonel in the reserve of the American army, previously serving in the National Guard of the Hawaii army and moving for tours in Iraq and Kuwait. It has generally criticized the participation of us abroad, in particular in the Middle East. While being part of the Chamber’s Armed Services Committee, she called for a stricter response to global terrorism while exhorting an American withdrawal of foreign intervention focused on what it has defined as a “change of diet”.
• Gabbard has faced criticism since she went to Syria in 2017 and met Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the recently ousted chief who is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians.

What this role does: The national intelligence director directs the intelligence community in 18 agencies and organizations and advises the president on national security issues, in particular by the drafting and delivery of the president’s daily thesis. Gabbard would also be involved in the management of the intelligence community budget, which was $ 76.5 billion in 2024.

Here is what to expect at the audience:

When the Senate Intelligence Committee meets at 10 a.m. to examine the appointment of Gabbard, the senators are likely to ask questions about the Gabbard meeting with Assad, in particular its skepticism of American intelligence concerning Syrian human rights violations such as the use by the Assad regime of chemical weapons on civilians. Gabbard defended this meeting, arguing that US officials should meet foreign leaders rather than engaging in “counter-production regime change wars”.

Senators will probably also have questions about its previous posts on the intelligence collection authorities.

Gabbard presented legislation in 2020 which would repeal article 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a program which allows the American intelligence community to collect foreign communications without a mandate. US officials said the authority is vital to obtain sensitive information on threats ranging from cyber attacks to a terrorist plot, while defenders of privacy urged legislators to reform the law and add additional protections.

Gabbard has since engaged in public statements to preserve the information collection program while protecting the rights of the Fourth Amendments of the Americans.

Gabbard also proposed to remove the accusations against the former entrepreneur of the National Security Agency Edward Snowden, who shared sensitive information on world American intelligence programs with journalists in 2013 before finally fleeing to Moscow, where he always resides. It is an unpopular position with the senators of the committee responsible for supervising the American intelligence community.

Some senators are also concerned about Gabbard’s history to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gabbard echoes misleading discussion points for the Kremlin justifying the invasion of Ukraine, while the American intelligence community was unequivocal as to the threat that Russia poses for global stability and the main US security interests.

Gabbard criticized the support of Ukraine of the president of the time, Joe Biden, in his war against Russia, a conflict that provided a lot of key information on the hybrid war of Russia in the United States and its allies . The Committee was divided on supporting an increased American military aid to Ukraine, but constantly urged the in progress intelligence relations with kyiv.

Overall, legislators are stuck in Gabbard’s political positions while considering his appointment, unlike other Trump choices whose personal life has threatened their chances of obtaining cabinet jobs. However, even the most besieged candidates, such as Pete Hegseth, have so far found a path through; He was narrowly confirmed as the defense secretary during a vote at the end of the evening last week.