President-elect Donald Trump is quickly filling his Cabinet, announcing several more secretaries to lead government agencies.Over the weekend, Trump nominated billionaire Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor secretary, former NFL player Scott Turner as Housing and Urban Development secretary and former White House aide Brooke Rollins for Agriculture secretary.All will require Senate confirmation to be appointed to their respective jobs.While Trump's Cabinet slowly fills out, his pick for Director of National Intelligence, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, is drawing renewed criticism.Several lawmakers have questioned Gabbard's background, citing her endorsement of Russia's justification for invading Ukraine, which pointed to dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs in the country that Russia claimed were used to create deadly bioweapons."I think she's compromised," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said in an interview on CNN's State of the Union. "The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America's foes. And so my worry is that she couldn't pass a background check."While serving as a congresswoman, Gabbard also held a secret meeting with the Syrian president, a close ally of Russia and Iran."Her fondness for Bashar al-Assad, someone who is gassing his own people, calls her judgment deeply into question," Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-California, said. "So, here you have someone with very questionable judgment and no experience. That's not a great recipe for running the agencies."But Republicans are lashing back against Democrats' claims, citing her two decades of service in the Army National Guard."It's insulting. It's a slur, quite frankly," Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said in an interview. "She's served this country honorably. And, by the way, she cares deeply about our constitution and civil liberties."Others have blamed Democrats for casting Gabbard as a Russian asset for changing her once Democrat affiliation to Republican."There's no reason why the Democrats are going after her, other than the fact they're upset that she left their woke party," Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said.Other lawmakers remain cautious, promising to fully vet Gabbard before confirming her to the job."We will want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she's made and get them into full context," Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said. "There's comments that are floating out there, but we want to be able to know the rest of the story."Gabbard campaigned for Trump and served on his transition team. In a statement announcing her nomination, the president-elect called her a "fearless spirit" who would secure "peace through strength."Trump has characterized the intelligence community as part of the "deep state" and promised to "clean out" corrupt actors. During his first term, he publicly refuted and sided with Russia despite intelligence findings that the country tried to influence voters in the 2016 election.The Director of National Intelligence is involved in the daily briefing with the president. The office plays a key role in identifying threats from Russia, China, and Iran and oversees efforts focused on cyberthreats, counterterrorism, and counterespionage. The position was created back in 2004 as part of a number of changes in the aftermath of 9/11. Lawmakers hoped the office would streamline interagency cooperation and prevent intelligence failures.
President-elect Donald Trump is quickly filling his Cabinet, announcing several more secretaries to lead government agencies.
Over the weekend, Trump nominated billionaire Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor secretary, former NFL player Scott Turner as Housing and Urban Development secretary and former White House aide Brooke Rollins for Agriculture secretary.
All will require Senate confirmation to be appointed to their respective jobs.
While Trump's Cabinet slowly fills out, his pick for Director of National Intelligence, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, is drawing renewed criticism.
Several lawmakers have questioned Gabbard's background, citing her endorsement of Russia's justification for invading Ukraine, which pointed to dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs in the country that Russia claimed were used to create deadly bioweapons.
"I think she's compromised," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said in an interview on CNN's State of the Union. "The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America's foes. And so my worry is that she couldn't pass a background check."
While serving as a congresswoman, Gabbard also held a secret meeting with the Syrian president, a close ally of Russia and Iran.
"Her fondness for Bashar al-Assad, someone who is gassing his own people, calls her judgment deeply into question," Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-California, said. "So, here you have someone with very questionable judgment and no experience. That's not a great recipe for running the agencies."
But Republicans are lashing back against Democrats' claims, citing her two decades of service in the Army National Guard.
"It's insulting. It's a slur, quite frankly," Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said in an interview. "She's served this country honorably. And, by the way, she cares deeply about our constitution and civil liberties."
Others have blamed Democrats for casting Gabbard as a Russian asset for changing her once Democrat affiliation to Republican.
"There's no reason why the Democrats are going after her, other than the fact they're upset that she left their woke party," Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said.
Other lawmakers remain cautious, promising to fully vet Gabbard before confirming her to the job.
"We will want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she's made and get them into full context," Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said. "There's comments that are floating out there, but we want to be able to know the rest of the story."
Gabbard campaigned for Trump and served on his transition team. In a statement announcing her nomination, the president-elect called her a "fearless spirit" who would secure "peace through strength."
Trump has characterized the intelligence community as part of the "deep state" and promised to "clean out" corrupt actors. During his first term, he publicly refuted and sided with Russia despite intelligence findings that the country tried to influence voters in the 2016 election.
The Director of National Intelligence is involved in the daily briefing with the president. The office plays a key role in identifying threats from Russia, China, and Iran and oversees efforts focused on cyberthreats, counterterrorism, and counterespionage.
The position was created back in 2004 as part of a number of changes in the aftermath of 9/11. Lawmakers hoped the office would streamline interagency cooperation and prevent intelligence failures.