Salon reports:
Trump tapped Gabbard to serve as the Director of National Intelligence in his second term. In a new report from the Wall Street Journal, however, several insiders claimed Gabbard demonstrated little understanding of what the DNI actually does. She flubbed at least one interview with Republican senators ahead of her confirmation hearing. While meeting with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Gabbard couldn’t quite say what she would do if approved for the role.
“Gabbard couldn’t clearly articulate what the role of director of national intelligence entails,” the report reads, citing several unnamed Republican aides and a member of the Trump transition team. In another interview with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Gabbard “seemed confused about a key U.S. national-security surveillance power… conflating it with other issues.” Gabbard supported Trump in the 2024 election, thereby displaying the most important asset in Trump’s evaluations of would-be advisers: loyalty.
Read the full article. The WSJ report is behind a paywall.
Trump Cabinet pick Gabbard unclear on what head of US intelligence does: report https://t.co/yXAvgYsdc8
— Salon (@Salon) January 15, 2025