Following her appointment by President-elect Donald Trump to run America’s espionage agencies, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s contentious 2017 meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and her previous remarks regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have come under more scrutiny.
In addition to overseeing 18 US spy organizations and acting as a close advisor to the president, Gabbard would be responsible for protecting the country’s most valuable secrets if confirmed as the US director of national intelligence (DNI).
However, lawmakers and former US national security officials have expressed worry that the selection of Gabbard, who is a strong opponent of US engagement in foreign conflicts and is accused by some of repeating Kremlin narratives, could have a bad impact on intelligence cooperation.
Retired diplomat Lewis Luken was the US embassy’s deputy head of mission.
