Why Senate Must Confirm Tulsi Gabbard
President Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence. In that role, Gabbard would lead 18 spy agencies and oversee a budget of $76 billion. Her nominations must be confirmed by the Senate which has been raising some key questions.
People who voted for Trump did so, in part, because they want to end the conflict with Russia over the Ukraine which threatens the world with nuclear war. They also want to end the 20+ year War on Terror.
Gabbard is a particular critic of Dick Cheney whom she sees as a major architect of the War on Terror which has bankrupted America while enriching Cheney. As a military officer, Gabbard also knows the enormous costs of war for American troops both abroad and upon return. U.S. military suicides increased in 2023, continuing long-term trend.
Gabbard has strong support but is also facing opposition because she is a game changer.
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Trump’s Statement Nominating Tulsi Gabbard
Statement by President-elect Donald J. Trump Announcing the Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) 11/13/24
I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican! 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!
Tulsi Gabbard Biography:
4-Term Congresswoman, 2020 presidential candidate, and NYT Bestselling Author Tulsi Gabbard is a veteran with three deployments to war zones in the Middle East and Africa. She has served in uniform for more than two decades, is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve serving as Battalion Commander of the 1/354 Regiment in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and leads her non-profit organization, “We Must Protect.”
Tulsi first served in elected office in the Hawaii State House of Representatives when she was 21 years old. Due to the attacks on 9/11, she enlisted in the Army National Guard. In 2004, she gave up an easy re-election campaign and volunteered to deploy to Iraq with the 29th Brigade Combat Team where she served in a medical unit.
After returning home in 2006, Tulsi worked in the U.S. Senate as a legislative aide to the late Senator Danny Akaka, who was Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. She then volunteered for a second Middle East deployment as a Platoon Leader.
Having experienced firsthand the true cost of war, Tulsi ran for United States Congress at age 31, vowing to honor the lives and sacrifice of her brothers and sisters in uniform. She prevailed in a difficult election and went on to serve in Congress for eight years as a member of the Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Foreign Affairs Committees. Foregoing a run for reelection to Congress in 2020, she ran for president as a Democrat.
In October 2022, Tulsi announced she was leaving the Democrat Party, becoming an Independent. She puts country before party and approaches every issue, domestic and foreign, based on ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.
Tulsi Gabbard’s first book For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind was released on April 30, 2024 and hit #4 on the New York Times’ Bestsellers List the following week.
On August 26, 2024, Tulsi formally endorsed President Trump for a second term and soon after began serving as co-chair of his transition team. On October 22, 2024, LTC Tulsi Gabbard joined the Republican Party because of President Trump’s leadership and how he has been able to transform the Republican Party, bringing it back to the party of the people and the party of peace.
Gabbard: Trump’s Most Important Nominee
“She’s Critical” – Why Tulsi Gabbard Is Trump’s Most Important Nominee
Who Is Opposed To Gabbard’s Confirmation?
Trump picks former Democratic congresswoman Gabbard as director of national intelligence
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday chose Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s foreign policy, to become his director of national intelligence. Gabbard, 43, left the Democratic party in 2022 and was considered a possible candidate to become Trump’s Republican running mate. She would take over from Avril Haines as top official in the sprawling U.S. intelligence community after Trump starts his second term in January.
She is not expected to face difficulty being confirmed in the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans will hold at least a 52-to-48-seat majority starting early next year. But the former U.S. representative from Hawaii could face some opposition, especially from President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats, for her past criticism of the current administration’s support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. She also spoke out against military intervention in the civil war in Syria under former President Barack Obama.
“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,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, he said, has for more than two decades “fought for the freedom of our country and the freedom of all Americans.”
Gabbard has little direct experience with intelligence work and had not been widely expected to be tapped for the post, which oversees 18 spy agencies. She was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a major in the Hawaii National Guard and is now a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. Gabbard unsuccessfully sought the 2020 Democratic nomination for that year’s presidential election won by Joe Biden, who she then endorsed.
After leaving the Democratic Party, she became increasingly critical of Biden and his administration and grew popular among conservatives, often appearing on far-right TV and radio shows, where she became known for supporting isolationist policies and showing disdain for “wokeness.”
Who Is Driving The Relentless Opposition To Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard on Dick Cheney’s Lust For Nuclear War
Gabbard has long been a critic of Dick Cheney whom she sees as a major architect of the so-called War on Terror. Halliburton Makes a Killing on Iraq War Cheney’s Former Company Profits from Supporting Troops. In 2013, Cheney’s Halliburton Made $39.5 Billion on Iraq War reported that the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University said the war in Iraq cost $1.7 trillion dollars. That didn’t include Afghanistan or Libya and was more than 10 years ago. Gabbard warns that in confronting Russia over the Ukraine, we are closer to nuclear war than we have ever been.
In August 2024, Gabbard endorsed former president Donald Trump for the 2024 United States presidential election. In November 2024, Trump announced his intention to nominate Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence. If confirmed, she will be the highest-ranking Pacific Islander American government official. Her nomination drew scrutiny of her past statements on Syria, alongside concern over her comments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine that were considered sympathetic toward Russia. Many veterans and Republicans have defended Gabbard’s record, noting her military service and Congressional experience.
