Ex-US intelligence, security officials call for closed-door Senate hearings on Tulsi Gabbard

A herd of nearly 100 former senior U.S. intelligence, diplomacy and national security officials urged Senate leaders on Thursday to hold a closed-door hearing to siphon through Tulsi Gabbard's government records.

President-elect Donald Trump has plucked Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential candidate and member of Congress, to be his national intelligence director, saying she will bring a "fearless spirit" to the critical role.

But in a letter addressed to Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who will lead their parties next year in the upper chamber, the former officials said they are "alarmed" at the idea of Gabbard overseeing all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.

"Several of Ms. Gabbard’s past actions call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress and to the entire national security apparatus," the group alleged.

The officials signing the letter included ex-CIA officers, former deputy secretaries of state and retired military service members who worked in Democratic and Republican administrations.

They specifically called attention to Gabbard's trip to Syria in 2017, when she met with President Bashar al-Assad. That trip angered many Democrats at the time, who felt it legitimized Assad, who was being accused of war crimes against a popular uprising.

The letter also targeted her past statements that critics say echo Russian talking points.

"Her sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Assad raises questions about her judgment and fitness," the group alleged in the letter.

Russian state TV has praised Gabbard on several occasions, but in a statement to USA TODAY, Trump transition team spokesperson Alexa Henning defended the former congresswoman, saying the letter to Senate leaders is a "perfect example" of why she was chosen for the role of national intelligence director.

"These unfounded attacks are from the same geniuses who have blood on their hands from decades of faulty 'intelligence,' including the non-existent weapons of mass destruction," Henning said.

"These intel officials continue to use classification as a partisan weapon to smear and imply things about their political enemy without putting the facts out."

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Gabbard, 43, represented Hawaii as a Democrat in the House, where she was once considered a rising star by progressives mainly due to her opposition to the Iraq War as a retired Army officer.

She ran for president in the 2020 primary, but citing repeated rifts with the Democratic establishment she eventually left the party two years later before registering as a Republican this year.

Gabbard served in two tours of duty in the Middle East and cited rising international conflicts as the reason she endorsed Trump for president earlier this year.

Political observers believe confirming Gabbard will require a heavier lift in the Senate compared to others, especially among hawkish Republicans who could oppose the choice.

But the former congresswoman is well-liked among Trump's base and by more isolationist-leaning GOP lawmakers.

"The uproar from the uniparty over Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be Director of National Intelligence simply proves she’s the perfect choice," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, said in a post via X.

"I look forward to voting in favor of her confirmation."

This story was updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tulsi Gabbard: Former US security officials want records hearings