McConnell votes no on Tulsi Gabbard, cites ‘alarming lapses in judgment’
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the only Republican to vote against Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, issued a statement explaining his vote, saying Gabbard had shown “alarming lapses of judgment” and “failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust.”
The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee 52-48 with all the Democrats voting no.
In a statement, McConnell of Kentucky said: “The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment.
“Edward Snowden’s treasonous betrayal of the United States and its most sensitive lawful intelligence activities endangered sources, methods, and lives. Japan is among America’s closest treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific, and the risk of conflict in the region is the product of Chinese aggression, not western ‘threat inflation’. Russia’s escalation of its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine threatens American interests and is solely the responsibility of Vladimir Putin.
“Entrusting the coordination of the intelligence community to someone who struggles to acknowledge these facts is an unnecessary risk. So is empowering a DNI who only acknowledged the value of critical intelligence collection authorities when her nomination appeared to be in jeopardy.
“Beginning today, the brave men and women of America’s intelligence community will turn to Director Gabbard for principled leadership and sounder judgment in the service of America’s interests and national security. I join all of them in hoping that she rises to the immense responsibilities of her office.”
As intelligence director, Gabbard is now responsible for overseeing 18 spy agencies and providing Trump with a daily intelligence briefing. She is a former Democratic U.S. representative from Hawaii and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: [email protected]. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter. Kentucky Lantern stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Donate to Kentucky Lantern here.
