Senate Democrats Delay Tulsi Gabbard’s Confirmation Hearing Due to Lack of Proper Paperwork 

Senate Democrats have been successful in delaying Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence, saying they don’t have all of the background checks and paperwork necessary. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Hill that his party is going to “insist on these documents before we go forward,” as one cannot do ‘advice and consent’ without it.” It is “critical” to have all the documents, particularly in the national security context,” he said. “Maybe it’s not flashy and it’s not viral, but it happens to be how I feel.” 

Senate majority whip Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) confirmed the delay on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” and attributed it to “a paperwork problem” with the Office of Government Ethics. “We had hoped to have the hearing later this week,” he said, adding, “it looks like it’s going to be the following week.” He told CBS he’s “supportive” of Gabbard, and “is not concerned about having enough support for Gabbard’s confirmation.”

Gabbard, who is among Trump’s most controversial nominee, is facing skepticism on both sides of the aisle because of her ties to the now-toppled Bashar Assad regime in Syria, as well as some of her past comments sympathetic toward Russia. A former Democratic congresswoman and the first Hindu American to serve in Congress, she became one of Trump’s most enthusiastic backers. She is an outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine and U.S. military interventions overseas and has “often shared Trump’s approach toward the world in his post-presidency,” The Washington Post said.  In 2019, she was the only lawmaker to vote “present” when the House of Representatives impeached Trump for his dealings with Ukraine. A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve who served in Iraq, she has been a longtime critic of the foreign policy establishment. If confirmed, she will be the first cabinet member to identify as a Hindu.

On the other side of the aisle, a majority of Republicans have expressed support for  Gabbard, partly due to Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he will support Gabbard because of her “ reversal on FISA Section 702, which gives the U.S. the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens located abroad.” Lankford said on NBC he was “encouraged” by Gabbard’s statement where she pledged her support to “vital national security tools” like section 702.  “If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people,” read the statement, according to The Hill. 

However, there are some concerns from a few Republicans like Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), which could present a new threat to Gabbard’s confirmation. Speaking at a POLITICO Live event, Curtis said Gabbard had not done enough to win his vote for confirmation as director of national intelligence. Noting that Gabbard had not yet met him, he said “the biggest problem for me is she’s been so low-profile.” He said he needs more information, and if he doesn’t get it, he cannot vote for her, he said. 

Confirmation hearings of Trump’s Cabinet picks began today (Jan. 14) with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon. At the fiery hearing, the former Fox News host was grilled about allegations of sexual assault and financial mismanagement against him, the role of women in combat, and expectations of a political purge in the military. 

Trump’s Cabinet picks — Gabbard, Hegseth, and Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation — have faced broad scrutiny among Trump’s Cabinet picks. But now Republicans “appear to be coming around, raising the prospect Trump will get his team,” ass reported by The Hill. 

PunchBowl News reports that Gabbard was scheduled to meet with Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines at Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) headquarters. Her meetings with senators resumed this week. 

Earlier this month, Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told Politico Magazine that he has major concerns about Gabbard. Her “response to former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities is a worrisome sign of how she’d serve” in her new role where she would oversee 18 spy agencies, be responsible for preparing the president’s daily brief, and would be a top intelligence adviser to the White House, he said. The concerns stem from various interactions with Gabbard or being in meetings with her several times, Moustafa told the magazine.

Moustafa, who has shared crucial information with the U.S. government about the war in Syria, said he isn’t sure he’d continue doing so if Gabbard is confirmed. “If Tulsi Gabbard is running our intelligence services, France, UK, Australia… if I was them, I wouldn’t share intelligence with us,” he said. All these incidents have led Moustafa to believe that Gabbard’s “aims and worldview were at odds with the U.S. mission in Syria and U.S. foreign policy more broadly.” 

He hopes that during Gabbard’s confirmation hearing, senators question her connections to the Assad regime. “Why did she, for so many years, defend the Assad regime,”he said. “”Why has she claimed that the United States military is training ISIS, when she serves in the military and knows that the U.S. military fights ISIS and doesn’t train them,” he added.