Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of fight missions in Iraq, mentioned she had issues about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s option to be director of nationwide intelligence.
“I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 journey to Syria, the place she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic Home member from Hawaii on the time.
“The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth mentioned.
Gabbard, who mentioned final month she is becoming a member of the Republican Occasion, has served within the Military Nationwide Guard for greater than 20 years. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, based on the Hawaii Nationwide Guard, acquired a Fight Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.”
Duckworth’s feedback drew speedy backlash from Republicans.
“For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, mentioned on CNN, difficult Duckworth to retract her phrases. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.”
In latest days, different Democrats have accused Gabbard with out proof of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, with out providing particulars, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.”
Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the truth that Gabbard left their celebration and has grow to be a Trump ally. Democrats say they fear that Gabbard’s choice as nationwide intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and offers Russia a win.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat simply elected to the Senate, mentioned he wouldn’t describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, however mentioned she had “very questionable judgment.”
“The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff mentioned on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one in every of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs engaged on a few of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are a part of a global effort to manage outbreaks and cease bioweapons, however Moscow claimed Ukraine was utilizing them to create lethal bioweapons. Gabbard mentioned she simply voiced issues about defending the labs.
Gabbard additionally has prompt that Russia had professional safety issues in deciding to invade Ukraine, given its want to hitch NATO.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri mentioned he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being forged as a Russian asset for having completely different political opinions.
“It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he mentioned on NBC.
Sen. James Lankford, one other Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard because the Senate considers her nomination to steer the intelligence companies. Lankford mentioned on NBC that he needs to ask Gabbard about her assembly with Assad and a few of her previous feedback about Russia.
“We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford mentioned.
