Written by Andrea Shalal and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight Republican senators support making former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard the nation’s top spy, according to a Trump transition source and a second source familiar with the matter. There are growing doubts about whether her nomination will secure her seat in the Senate. confirmation.
Trump officials, who are in close contact with the team trying to get the president-elect’s nominee through the Senate, also said they were unsure whether Gabbard would secure the votes needed to become director of national intelligence. He said there was serious pessimism.
The three sources requested anonymity to discuss the matter.
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Eight Republican senators rejected former lawmakers during their first meeting at the Capitol last week because they were not prepared to answer difficult questions, according to transition team officials and people familiar with the matter. He said he had doubts about supporting the .
Her failure to adequately address these questions, including her 2017 trip to Syria to meet with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and her lack of significant intelligence experience. However, those concerns have been exacerbated, officials said.
Trump transition spokeswoman Alexa Henning said in a statement that no Republican senators have publicly announced they would vote against Gabbard.
“There is not a single Republican senator on record who opposed Lt. Gov. Gabbard’s nomination,” Henning said. “Again, this is an anonymous source desperately trying to stay in power, so it hides behind the media and spreads these falsehoods that directly subvert the will of the American people.”
If Mr. Trump fails to convince eight Republicans, he will need the support of five Democrats, which could be difficult, one source said. When the new Congress is sworn into office on January 3, Republicans will control the chamber 53-47.
Officials declined to identify the eight senators.
Another person close to the transition team said she was more optimistic about Gabbard winning Senate confirmation, but said she was more optimistic that Gabbard would win Senate confirmation, but that she would not be able to get Senate confirmation from Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis or Mitch McConnell. Several Republican senators and senators-elect have said they may vote against Gabbard.
Collins and Murkowski, aides to Republican Minority Leader McConnell, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Sen.-elect Curtis said he does not comment on candidates and carefully considers the background and qualifications of all nominees.
Doubts about experience, views on Russia
President Trump’s choice of a former Democratic U.S. Representative and combat veteran from Hawaii as the nation’s top intelligence official shocked national security officials and raised concerns about the politicization of the intelligence community.
In addition to her travels to Syria and her lack of intelligence experience, Gabbard is seen as soft on Russia. Critics point to her opposition to U.S. military aid to Ukraine in the fight to regain territory captured by Moscow since its 2022 all-out invasion, her insistence that Kiev cannot be won, and their points out that she is parroting the Kremlin’s views.
This month, nearly 100 former national security officials signed a statement criticizing President Trump’s decision to nominate Gabbard and calling for a closed-door Senate hearing to review government information about her.
But supporters of Trump, a former critic of the president, say he has a healthy skepticism about U.S. military intervention abroad in line with Trump’s America First ideology. . She supported Trump as a presidential candidate and attended his campaign rallies.
It’s unclear whether Gabbard’s nomination is hopeless.
Some senators close to Trump said they support him and expect his confirmation. No Republicans have publicly opposed her, but some say they want more information and say she risks being challenged in the primary if she is re-elected in 2026.
Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz for attorney general shocked many on Capitol Hill, and he quickly withdrew his candidacy. But the president-elect has since made an even stronger push, inviting the remaining candidates to his home in Florida and to the box office at last weekend’s Army-Navy football game.
One Republican congressional aide said the mood at the Capitol had changed in recent days. Before Gabbard began meeting with lawmakers, several lawmakers were leaning toward voting against her, but there was a “shift to a more neutral tone” and Republicans feared retaliation from President Trump. There was a feeling that the U.S. would approve Gabbard’s nomination, aides said.
Gabbard appeared in the Senate on Tuesday and met with Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley, Dan Sullivan, Rand Paul, Murkowski and Collins, and Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and John Fetterman.
After meeting with Fetterman, Gabbard was asked if she was confident she would be confirmed, and told reporters she looked forward to meeting with senators “as we move through the process.” told.
As Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard will serve as the president’s chief intelligence advisor and oversee the 18 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, coordinating their operations and budgets totaling more than $106 billion for civilian and military intelligence programs in fiscal year 2024. I will be in charge. .
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Patricia Zenjar and Erin Banko; Writing by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
Disclaimer: This report was auto-generated from Reuters News Service. ThePrint assumes no responsibility for its content.
