President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Tulsi Gabbard as US intelligence chief has sent shockwaves through the national security establishment, adding to concerns that the sprawling intelligence community will become increasingly politicised.
Trump’s nomination of Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who lacks deep intelligence experience and is seen as soft on Russia and Syria, is among several high-level picks that suggest he may be prioritising personal allegiance over competence as he assembles his second-term team.
Among the risks, say current and former intelligence officials and independent experts, are that top advisers could feed the incoming Republican president a distorted view of global threats based on what they believe will please him and that foreign allies may be reluctant to share vital information.
Randal Phillips, a former CIA operations directorate official who worked as the agency’s top representative in China, said that with Trump loyalists in top government posts, “this could become the avenue of choice for some really questionable actions” by the leadership of the intelligence community.
A Western security source said there could be an initial slowdown in intelligence sharing when Trump takes office in January that could potentially impact the “Five Eyes,” an intelligence alliance comprising the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The worry from US allies is that Trump’s appointments all lean in the “wrong direction”, the source said.
Trump’s presidential transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
That’s according to Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, who said his country was ready with an alternative supply.
Inside and outside the US intelligence network, much of the anxiety focuses on Trump’s choice of Gabbard, 43, as director of national intelligence, especially given her views seen as sympathetic to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
While Trump has made some conventional personnel decisions such as that of Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Wednesday’s announcement of Gabbard, an officer in the US Army Reserves, surprised even some Republican insiders. She is likely to face tough questioning in her Senate confirmation hearings.
Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, has stirred controversy over her criticism of President Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine, which has prompted some critics to accuse her of parroting Kremlin propaganda.
She also spoke out against US military intervention in the civil war in Syria under former president Barack Obama and met in 2017 with Moscow-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with whom Washington severed all diplomatic ties in 2012.
The selection of Gabbard has raised alarm in the ranks of intelligence officers unsure of how tightly she holds some of her geopolitical views, whether she is misinformed or simply echoing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” followers, one intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.
“Of course there’s going to be resistance to change from the ‘swamp’ in Washington,” Gabbard said in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night. She said voters had given Trump “an incredible mandate” to move away from Biden’s agenda but offered no policy specifics.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard was first elected to the Hawaii State Legislature in 2002, the youngest person ever elected in the state, according to BBC.
She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.
Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress from 2013 until 2021 – becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.
Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress from 2013 until 2021 – becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.
Gabbard has direct experience with war, having served in Iraq with the Army National Guard of her native Hawaii.
Her father, born in American Samoa, continues to serve in the Hawaii State Senate and, in his own maverick stance, remains a Democrat despite prominently opposing LGBTQ rights.
Gabbard’s mother, born on the US mainland, embraced Hinduism and raised her children in the tradition.
Gabbard, whose first name Tulsi is a sacred plant in Hinduism, is a lifelong vegetarian and swore her oath to enter Congress on the Bhagavad Gita.
