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Anti-Trump conservative and former Naval War College professor Tom Nichols has called on the Senate to reject former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence, expressing grave concerns about her suitability for the role. In a powerful article for The Atlantic, Nichols criticized the nomination by former President Donald Trump, arguing that Gabbard lacks both the qualifications and the allegiance to American intelligence needed to effectively lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
“Gabbard is stunningly unqualified for almost any Cabinet post … but especially for ODNI,” wrote Nichols. He pointed out that Gabbard’s experience includes serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard, where she held medical, police, and civil-affairs-support roles, and represented Hawaii in Congress. However, these roles, he noted, do not provide the expertise necessary for directing U.S. intelligence operations. “She has no qualifications as an intelligence professional — literally none,” Nichols stated.
Nichols expressed further concerns about Gabbard’s public stances, which he sees as fundamentally anti-American, noting her history of criticism against the intelligence community and what he considers a dismissive view of America’s role in global security. He highlighted Gabbard’s controversial foreign policy views, which he says lean toward defending authoritarian regimes over U.S. interests.
“Gabbard ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, attempting to position herself as something like a peace candidate. But she’s no peacemaker: She’s been an apologist for both the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin,” Nichols wrote. “Her politics, which are otherwise incoherent, tend to be sympathetic to these two strongmen, painting America as the problem and the dictators as misunderstood.”
Nichols also criticized Gabbard for her promotion of conspiracy theories about Syrian attacks on civilians and for adopting Russian propaganda on the Ukraine war. In her proposed role as intelligence chief, she would have to work closely with NATO allies, whose intelligence agencies stand strongly against Russian aggression. Nichols warned that Gabbard’s alignment with Russian narratives and her criticism of NATO could create a profound rift in international intelligence collaboration.
In conclusion, Nichols urged the Senate to exercise its constitutional duty of advice and consent to prevent Gabbard’s confirmation. “Presidents should be given deference in staffing their Cabinet,” he noted, “But this nomination should be one of the handful of Trump appointments where soon-to-be Majority Leader John Thune and his Republican colleagues draw a hard line and say no — at least if they still care at all about exercising the Senate’s constitutional duty.”
With this fervent appeal, Nichols underscored his belief that Gabbard’s appointment poses a significant risk to U.S. intelligence and global security partnerships.
