President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is facing an uphill battle for confirmation.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, signaled he plans to meet again with Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).
Fox News’s Chad Pergram summed up the Virginia Democrat’s remarks, quoting, “This is an extraordinarily serious job that requires maintaining the independence of the intelligence community. It also means maintaining the cooperation of our allies. We’ve got a lot of our intelligence from our allies on a sharing basis, and if those that information is not kept secure, it raises huge concern. So..we’ve got a number of questions out for her. This is the beginning of a process.”
Axios
reported on Tuesday that Warner and other Senate Democrats have moved to delay Gabbard’s hearing.
“Warner has pointed out that the committee has not yet received Gabbard’s FBI background check, ethics disclosure or a pre-hearing questionnaire, a source familiar with the matter told us. Committee rules require the background check a week in advance of a hearing,” reported Axios.
Intel Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told the outlet in a statement he “intends to hold these hearings before Inauguration Day. The Intelligence Committee, the nominees, and the transition are diligently working toward that goal.”
“After the terrorist attacks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, it’s sad to see Sen. Warner and Democrats playing politics with Americans’ safety and our national security,” Trump transition spokesperson Alexa Henning also told Axios.
