President-elect Donald Trump’s top spy appears to be enjoying the growing receptiveness of the Senate GOP, as he talks with senators to drum up support for his confirmation.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has faced intense scrutiny over her 2017 trip to Syria, but GOP senators appear to downplay it. Meanwhile, it appears that almost no Senate Republicans have publicly expressed reservations about CIA Director-designate John Ratcliffe.
“I think it’s an excellent selection,” Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Wednesday about Ratcliffe, whom he considers a friend. “I think she’s going to have one of the more boring confirmation hearings we’ll have, which I think is OK with her.”
Ratcliffe, a former congressman, served as Trump’s DNI during the end of his first administration. confirmed by the senate Despite Democratic resistance, no Republicans opposed him.
The ambitious CIA director had attracted much less attention than some of Trump’s other staffing selections.
Initially, Gabbard proved to be one of the more controversial choices, with some Republicans admitting some skepticism about the former Democrat.
“We will have a lot of questions. He met Bashar Assad. We would like to know what the motive was,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told CNN shortly after Gabbard’s announcement.
Lankford, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, met with Gabbard on Monday and indicated to reporters that he was comfortable with her explanation.
“We talked about his trip to Syria, you know, talked about some things with Snowden and his past comments,” Lankford told reporters. According to Washington Times
Gabbard had met the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad In 2017, as a sitting congressman from Hawaii. Assad’s oppression of his own people was widely known at the time, as were allegations that he had deployed chemical weapons against his own people.
he openly Raised questions on intelligence community’s assessment That he was behind a gas attack later that year that drew a sharp reaction from the Trump administration.
This angered some defense and intelligence veterans, with former national security adviser John Bolton and other critics labeling him a supporter of Assad. However, he also Condemned Assad as a “brutal dictator”.
The former Democrat-turned-Republican previously supported legislation to drop charges against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked vast amounts of classified information.
Concerns over Syria have resurfaced after the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled the Assad regime on Saturday.
“I want to address the issue that is in the headlines at the moment. “I stand in full support and completely agree with President Trump’s statements regarding Syria over the past few days,” she told reporters this week.
Trump said Assad’s fall symbolized “the weak position Russia and Iran are in right now” and urged Russia to seek a ceasefire with Ukraine.
“I believe he is a very bright person,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the more hawkish Republicans. Posted on x After meeting with Gabbard. “I have great respect for the President’s Cabinet nominations because I believe every President deserves his own team.”
Senator Markway Mullin (R-Okla.), who overlaps with Gabbard in the House, jumped straight to her defense amid the political slings and arrows.
“They came in when Tulsi Gabbard tried to call them Russian agents, come on, give me a break. He’s a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army,” Mullin told reporters Tuesday. “I think the Democrats are going to keep trying to find somebody that they’re going to go after.”
While many Republicans have acknowledged significant disagreements with Gabbard, they have generally seemed hesitant to cross Trump.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) told CBS News, “I obviously differ greatly in many areas with both his judgment and his background and experience, but I have confidence in the Senate process.” Face the Nation” on Sunday.
As a member of Congress, Turner would not have to oversee her confirmation, but if she was successful, she would have to work with him on major intelligence matters.
Ultimately, Gabbard and Ratcliffe could lose by just four votes to Senate Republicans, who are set to have a 53 to 47 majority starting in January, although that margin will widen if Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) walks away. Will subside for some time. The upper chamber will prepare for its own confirmation hearing once the Secretary of State is nominated.
Several key potential swing votes such as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have largely guarded their views since Gabbard was named.
Some also cautioned that their views are subject to change depending on developments in the confirmation process. But at least for now, it appears Trump’s chances of getting his spy bosses through the Senate are looking brighter.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)CIA(T)Donald Trump(T)Republicans(T)Senate(T)Spies(T)Tulsi Gabbard
