U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) supports Tulsi Gabbard as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for National Intelligence Director despite renewed criticism of her anti-interventionism following the recent Syrian regime change.
Reactions have been mixed since Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known by its initials HTS, a terrorist organization, advanced on the capital city of Damascus. HTS is under the leadership of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the former Syrian leader of al-Qaida.
Responses have almost ubiquitously expressed condemnation for the reign of Assad. However, many are concerned with Syria's uncertain future as a new government emerges in the area.
Assad has long been allied with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, making his deposition a sigh of relief for Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was swift to applaud the downfall of Assad while expressing a desire to work with the new Syrian government.
Predictably, many in Washington, D.C. are using the situation in Syria as a cudgel against yet another of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet appointments. Gabbard, a veteran and former Hawaii congresswoman, gained national prominence for her antiwar and anti-intervention stances, especially the U.S. government's continued involvement in the Syrian Civil War during the Obama administration.
After meeting with Assad in 2017 and stressing that the United States should not be involved in the Syrian conflict, Gabbard was met with a wave of criticism. Critics accused her of furtive loyalties to Assad and Russian President Vladamir Putin and of being expressly anti-Israel. Those criticisms re-emerged after Assad's downfall while Gabbard currently works to garner sufficient Senate support to secure her appointment.
During a Wednesday call with reporters, Tuberville stated that, while he had yet to meet with Gabbard personally, he still supported her as Trump's preferred pick.
"She went over years ago and met with Assad, as a lot of congressmen and senators do over the years, you go meet with different leaders," Tuberville said. "For some reason, they're using that against her up here. But she is well-qualified to lead our intelligence agency. She's worked at it very hard. She understands the situation. Again, nobody really understands what's going on [in Syria] right now, but Tulsi's a patriot. She has an impressive resume. And so, President Trump has put a strong team together, especially when it comes to our military and our Department of Justice, so I'm looking forward to visiting with Tulsi."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
