Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for Intel Chief who visited Assad, meets with Senators after dictator’s fall

Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump's DNI pick, meets Senators, supports Trump's Syria stance, faces confirmation questions.

Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), has met key Senators at Capitol Hill and supported the Republican leader's view on Syria amid the sudden fall of the country's Assad rule. Hindu-American Ms. Gabbard, 43, who represented Hawaii in the House for eight years as a Democrat, met with the Senators on Monday (December 9, 2024).

"I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days regarding the developments in Syria," Ms. Gabbard, told reporters at Capitol Hill where she met top U.S. Senators on her nomination.

Ms. Gabbard has faced skepticism from national security experts and lawmakers about her views on the Syrian regime, and she is likely to encounter questions during the confirmation process about her 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with then-President Bashar Assad who was ousted by rebel factions over the weekend, ending his nearly quarter-century rule, the Washington Post reported.

President-elect Trump picked Ms. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, to be his DNI, a position with access to highly classified intelligence who oversees 18 spy agencies. She met with Republican Sens — Mike Rounds (South Dakota), James Lankford (Oklahoma), and Lindsey Graham (South Carolina).

According to a post on X, she also met with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and described Ms. Gabbard as a “strong and proven leader.” Sen. Ernst told reporters she anticipates meeting with her again. “Wonderful catching up with Tulsi Gabbard, a strong and proven leader!” Senator Ernst said after the meeting.

“It was great to see you, my friend. Thank you for your support!” Ms. Gabbard said.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Ms. Gabbard would be the first-ever Hindu-American to head the powerful body in charge of U.S.' all intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI.