Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee U.S. spy agencies, faces sharp questions during confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, her meeting with Syria’s now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden.

Gabbard started her hearing by telling lawmakers that big changes are needed to address years of failures of America’s intelligence service. She said too often intelligence has been false or politicized, leading to wars, foreign policy failures and the misuse of espionage. And she said those lapses have continued as the U.S. faces renewed threats from Russia and China.

“The bottom line is this must end. President Trump’s reelection is a clear mandate from the American people to break this cycle of failure and the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community,” Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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