Nearly 100 former national security officials signed a letter criticizing President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and called for closed-door Senate hearings to review any government information about her.
In the letter obtained by NBC News, the officials urged the Senate to “carefully evaluate” whether Gabbard is “equipped” for the position, which requires Senate confirmation.
“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 letter said. “Following her trip to Syria, for example, Ms. Gabbard aligned herself with Russian and Syrian officials.”
The former officials also proposed closed-door hearings that would allow lawmakers to fully review any government files on Gabbard, a former Democratic House member from Hawaii.
“Senate committees should consider in closed sessions all information available to the U.S. government when considering Ms. Gabbard’s qualifications to manage our country’s intelligence agencies, and more importantly, the protection of our intelligence sources and methods,” they wrote.
The letter’s signers include Wendy Sherman, former deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration; Ian Kelly, who was ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and Trump administrations; and Eric Green, a member of the National Security Council during the Biden administration.
Gabbard has previously faced criticism for sympathetic comments about U.S. adversaries.
Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Gabbard called for Ukraine to be a “neutral country,” urging people to “embrace the spirit of aloha.”
In 2017, Gabbard made an unannounced trip to Syria to meet President Bashar al-Assad, the country’s authoritarian leader. The trip sparked bipartisan criticism. The same year, she cast doubt on the U.S.’ own intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Assad’s government was responsible for a chemical weapons attack on Syrians.
The letter also argued that Gabbard would “be the least experienced” person to hold the director position since it was created in 2004.
“The Senate must carefully evaluate whether Ms. Gabbard is equipped to effectively oversee an organizational structure as unique and large as the National Intelligence Program and also the effect of her holding this position on the willingness of our closest allies to share intelligence with the U.S.,” the letter said.
The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and incoming Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Thune’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Schumer’s office referred to a letter he sent to Thune this week about the confirmation process, in which he said Democrats are “ready and willing to work with Senate Republicans to provide advice and consent” on Trump’s nominations.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Gabbard on the Trump transition team slammed the letter, as well as the signers’ credentials.
“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,” said spokesperson Alexa Henning, referring to a purported justification for the start of the Iraq War that turned out to be wrong.
“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,” Henning continued.
Gabbard is just one of Trump’s expected nominees who is facing headwinds.
Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth, faces controversies about allegations of a sexual assault and excessive drinking. Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual, and he was not charged. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump selected to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has been criticized for his vaccine skepticism. Those positions also require Senate confirmation.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who withdrew his name from consideration to be attorney general, faced allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.
