[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S875-S876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise once more to oppose the nomination
of Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence.
As I have said repeatedly, I have great respect for Ms. Gabbard's
over 20 years of service to our Nation both in and out of uniform. I
am, however, profoundly worried that she lacks the qualifications or
judgment to be DNI.
The job of the Director of National Intelligence is not a duty to be
taken lightly. The incumbent serves as the principal intelligence
adviser to the President and also bears the weight of responsibility to
prevent another 9/11.
The DNI must also represent the tens of thousands of intelligence
professionals around the world who often toil in anonymity. They serve
as America's first line of defense against terrorists,
[[Page S876]]
transnational criminals, and adversarial nations that wish to do us
harm. She must also represent America to our allies as a trustworthy
partner.
Unfortunately, through her own words and actions, Ms. Gabbard has
demonstrated she is not up to the task.
She took the word of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against the
assessments of our own Department of Defense, State Department, and
intelligence community when she denied that Assad used chemical weapons
against his own people.
She knowingly met with a Syrian cleric who had vocally threatened to
conduct suicide bomb attacks against the United States.
She sought to blame the United States and NATO--the United States and
NATO--for Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
She publicly praised and defended Edward Snowden when he compromised
our Nation's most sensitive collection sources and methods and then ran
off to hide in China and Russia. Those compromises put at risk not only
our intelligence but our men and women in uniform in places like Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Just last week, even with repeated inquiries from our Republican
colleagues, she refused to call Snowden a traitor.
Speaking of China, when asked about TikTok at her confirmation
hearing, she refused to acknowledge the threat posed by China owning a
social media company that reaches 170 million Americans.
All the way up until she was nominated to be DNI, she publicly
advocated for the wholesale elimination of FISA 702, a tool we use
actively in the intelligence domain, a tool that contributes literally
60 percent of the information that makes up the President's Daily
Brief. That Daily Brief would also fall under her responsibility should
she be confirmed.
The environment facing a new DNI today is complicated and fraught
with challenges. Not only have the traditional threats persisted from
China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, but we have seen increased
threats from terrorism, cyber actors, and transnational criminal
organizations.
All the while, the intelligence community itself is under attack.
Some of our own senior and experienced law enforcement and intelligence
professionals are being asked to take political litmus tests, and those
who are seen as insufficiently loyal are being fired or forced to
resign. Whole Agencies are being eliminated and funding impounded, in
flagrant defiance of the Constitution, which only gives the Congress--
us here in this body--the power of the purse.
Unvetted, unqualified individuals illegally burrow into classified
and sensitive information. This very action is jeopardizing our
national security and violating Americans' privacy. These DOGE bros
seem to have no restriction on them at all, and I have seen no evidence
that Ms. Gabbard is prepared to deal with this onslaught.
Therefore, I must oppose her nomination and urge my colleagues to do
the same.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The Senator from Idaho.
Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, in a moment, the Senate will proceed to a
cloture vote on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to be
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I rise
to encourage my colleagues to support this motion.
As Secretary of HHS, Mr. Kennedy would oversee our Nation's expansive
healthcare system, from sources of coverage to advancement of public
health. Mr. Kennedy's decades of experience and deep drive to advocate
on behalf of consumers will set a patient-centered tone at the
Department.
As he has demonstrated in both public and private settings, Mr.
Kennedy is committed to reorienting our healthcare approach and
restoring faith in our institutions. His passion for addressing
America's chronic disease epidemic will save lives, reduce costs, and
establish a foundation for a healthier, stronger country. His
dedication to transparency will empower patients to make more informed
decisions about their healthcare and form a responsive rapport with
Congress. As Mr. Kennedy stated during his hearing, ``if Congress asked
me for information, you will get it immediately.''
Over the course of his vetting process, Mr. Kennedy met with dozens
of Members on both sides of the aisle, spoke with bipartisan Senate
Finance Committee staff, appeared before two committee hearings, and
answered over 900 questions for the record, not to mention presenting
thousands of pages of documents.
Mr. Kennedy has gone through the same Office of Government Ethics
process as all nominees who come before the Finance Committee and has
received support for his efforts. Similar to all other nominees, we
have a letter from the Director of the Office of Government Ethics
stating:
Based thereon, we believe that this nominee is in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing
conflicts of interest.
He even amended his ethics agreement, going beyond what was required
by the Office of Government Ethics, in response to the request from one
of our Finance Committee members.
I urge my colleagues to join me in advancing this nomination so we
can begin to make our country healthier.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.