Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) signaled Thursday that former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination for director of national intelligence could be in jeopardy after her past defense of alleged traitors, adding to the list of skeptics.
“I’m worried by what I hear from some of my Republican colleagues. I’m worried that her nomination may be in jeopardy,” Hawley said during a Thursday Fox News appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
“And I’m just worried about what that will mean,” he added.
Gabbard, who was tapped by President Trump to helm the intelligence community, was widely criticized for meeting with Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad before his regime collapsed and previous statements claiming Edward Snowden should be pardoned for revealing classified information relating to global government surveillance programs.
She added during Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearing that she would no longer support or advocate for the former National Security Agency official’s clemency.
“Her ‘sin’ is that she challenges the surveillance state,” Hawley continued. “She told the truth about the government spying on Americans and about the abuses of FISA. She went out there and was honest about it and for that, she is getting absolutely roasted and persecuted.”
The Missouri Republican, who has shown support for the former Democratic lawmaker, argued that Gabbard’s leadership would bring about “reform” while outlining critiques about national intelligence.
Hawley told Waters to “not pretend everything is fine and dandy and hunky-dory in the intelligence community. It’s not.”
However, his GOP colleagues are not as assured that Gabbard is the right pick for the job.
“People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest but that nomination is in trouble,” one Republican senator told The Hill in previous comments.
Democratic senators with close ties to ranking Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have also shared some disdain for the nominee.
“If you’re on the Intelligence Committee and you have any respect for the Intelligence Committee, you’re a Republican, and you got someone in front of you who can’t denounce Snowden as being a traitor to the United States and who has actively campaigned against Section 702. … From the questions by Republicans, it’s clear that they’re afraid she can’t be trusted,” the lawmaker told The Hill.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) urged the public to let the process play out while officials make their own conclusions ahead of votes.
“Everybody is going to come to their own conclusions. There were issues she had to deal with and address,” Thune told reporters. “We’ll see how it goes.”
