[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S805-S806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, this week the Senate will be considering 
its 14th nominee for President Trump's Cabinet, Tulsi Gabbard for 
Director of National Intelligence.
  Ms. Gabbard is a patriot. She is someone who is motivated by service, 
and she has been serving her country and community since she was 21 
years old, when she was elected to the Hawaii State Legislature.
  Like many Americans of her generation, she felt called to serve her 
country after the attacks of September 11.
  After her first session in the Hawaii Legislature, she enlisted in 
the Army National Guard. The following year, she dropped her reelection 
campaign to volunteer to deploy to Iraq--the first of three deployments 
that she has made. It was after her second deployment--

[[Page S806]]

now as an officer and platoon commander--that she set her sights on 
making an impact on national and global issues, eventually being 
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
  Tulsi Gabbard has worn the uniform of our country for the last 22 
years, leading American soldiers in some of the most dangerous parts of 
the world. She also served 8 years in Congress, including service on 
the Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services Committees. 
By her own count, she has taken the oath to support and defend the 
Constitution of the United States at least eight times.
  As both a military officer and policymaker, Ms. Gabbard has been a 
consumer of intelligence. She knows that good decisions depend on 
having the best information, and she knows that the cost of bad 
information is measured in lives lost.
  In recent years, there have been some significant intelligence 
failures, and these failures aren't confined to one Agency or one part 
of the world. The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core 
mission: collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of 
that information. That is what Tulsi Gabbard is committed to ensuring. 
If she is confirmed to be DNI, I believe she has the knowledge and 
leadership capabilities to get it done.
  I am also grateful that Ms. Gabbard has expressed a willingness to 
rightsize the Office of the DNI. When this position was created by 
Congress in the wake of 9/11, it was designed to be a sort of 
quarterback, if you will, for the intelligence community. It was 
designed to be a lean organization focused on coordination and ensuring 
all the elements of the intelligence community are communicating and 
working together toward a common purpose. But it quickly became much 
larger than intended, and it has become a bureaucracy unto itself. So I 
am glad that Ms. Gabbard plans to focus on identifying and eliminating 
redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the Office to what it was 
originally designed to be.
  I was also very pleased to hear Ms. Gabbard say at her hearing that 
section 702 is ``essential for our national security.'' This foreign 
intelligence collection program is the key tool used to identify 
threats to Americans at home and abroad. I was glad to hear Ms. Gabbard 
acknowledge its importance.
  I was also pleased that Ms. Gabbard intends to prosecute leakers to 
the full extent of the law. In a day and age when anything and 
everything ends up on the internet, it is essential that we have zero 
tolerance for those who deliberately compromise classified information, 
and we must safeguard our sensitive sources and intelligence collection 
methods.
  Madam President, Tulsi Gabbard is a patriotic American. She believes 
strongly in the mission with which she will be tasked: keeping America 
safe. And you don't have to take my word for it; take it from Americans 
who have served alongside Ms. Gabbard during her 22 years in uniform, 
from the people who have put their lives in her hands.
  One wrote:

       Her exceptional qualifications, coupled with a proven track 
     record of leadership and unwavering commitment to 
     safeguarding our national interests, render her the 
     unequivocal choice for this critical position.

  From another:

       I know Tulsi will be fully committed to protecting ALL 
     Americans during this pivotal moment in American history.

  Madam President, it sounds like what we need in a Director of 
National Intelligence. I look forward to confirming Ms. Gabbard this 
week.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.