Tulsi Gabbard Faces Questions on Assad Meeting, Russia Position During Confirmation Hearing
Democratic senators on the Intelligence Committee will likely question Gabbard’s 2017 visit to Syria, where she met then-President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting, four years after Assad’s regime allegedly used chemical weapons against civilians, had drawn criticism for seemingly legitimizing the embattled leader.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the committee, questioned Gabbard’s judgment in an interview on CBS’s *Face the Nation*.
“It was common knowledge that Assad was gassing civilians,” Kelly said. “She sought hard to argue that wasn’t so. I just don’t know why she’d do that.”
Neither Gabbard nor the White House responded to requests for comment on concerns about her foreign policy stances.
If confirmed, Gabbard would oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. However, her nomination has prompted concerns among national security officials. Nearly 100 former intelligence and national security officials, including former CIA agents and deputy secretaries of state, have signed a letter urging the Senate to review her record closely.
The letter emphasizes the fact that they claim Gabbard has shown “sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Assad,” which, they argue, raises questions over her ability to lead the intelligence community effectively. Gabbard has been commended by Russian state media for stating that NATO expansion provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and also for saying the U.S. was backing “Nazis” in Ukraine.
Despite these criticisms, some of President Trump’s allies in Congress and other Republicans have come to her defense.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said of the criticism: “For years, Democrats have unfairly questioned her patriotism,” Cotton told Fox Business. “She has served 21 years in uniform and passed multiple background checks. Her latest clearance review was spotless.”
Cotton assured that Gabbard would receive a fair hearing, warning Democrats that Republicans were prepared to push through her confirmation, even if it required extended sessions.
Utah Senator Mike Lee criticized the national security establishment for opposing Gabbard’s nomination, likening their resistance to opposition faced by former President Trump.
“This is how the Deep State operates against reformers,” Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We can’t let them win. Confirming @TulsiGabbard is the way to stop this.”
Despite Republican backing, Gabbard’s confirmation is far from certain. According to Reuters in late January, at least eight Republican senators remain uncertain about their support for the nomination, bringing into question if she can find the votes required in the Senate, which Republicans hold 53-47.
Gabbard, a military veteran who served in the Middle East, has maintained an anti-interventionist stance throughout her political career. In Congress, she opposed authorizing military action in Syria despite Assad’s use of chemical weapons, calling such a move a “serious mistake.”
During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, she attracted attention for her attacks on establishment politicians, particularly Senator Kamala Harris. However, she dropped out of the race with minimal support. Over time, Gabbard’s views came more in line with Republican positions, and in 2022, she announced her resignation from the Democratic Party, denouncing it as controlled by “an elitist cabal of warmongers.”
Some conservative critics have long been skeptical of Gabbard, who has in the past advocated for pardoning Edward Snowden, the fugitive leaker of classified National Security Agency documents. The *Wall Street Journal* editorial board called on the Senate to reject her nomination, citing grave concerns about her stance on intelligence matters.
Her patriotism isn’t in question,” the board wrote. “The issue is judgment—what message would it send to confirm a Director of National Intelligence who has shown skepticism about protecting national security?”
Gabbard recently retreated from hardline positions to limit the scope of intelligence spying. She opposes Section 702 of the FISA, allowing warrantless eavesdropping on foreign targets, but will now vote for its re-authorization.
“Section 702 is critical to collecting foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons abroad,” she said. “This authority needs to be protected to ensure our national security is protected, consistent with the civil liberties of the American people.”
Gabbard’s confirmation hearing Thursday is expected to be a contentious one as lawmakers weigh past actions against the positions she’s taken now on intelligence and foreign policy.
