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Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for intel chief, faces questions on Capitol Hill amid Syria fallout

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:36:30 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country’s hardline Assad rule.

Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump’s unusual nominees.

But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump’s America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas.

“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting.

The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and drawing concern, if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year.

The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an ambitious agenda of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies.

“We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office.

The president-elect announced other appointments Monday, including his lawyer Harmeet Dhillon for assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department and Mark Paoletta as the returning general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick Hegseth appeared to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed.

The president-elect’s choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, who has written extensively about locking up Trump’s foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday.

“I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media.

Despite widespread concern about the nominees’ qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump’s team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo.

Showing that concern, nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard.

Trump’s allies have described the criticisms of Hegseth in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president’s Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump’s first term in office.

Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.”

One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday.

“I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement.

Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

Hegseth, in an interview late Monday with Sean Hannity of Fox News, said he had a “great meeting” with Ernst and “the fact that she’s willing to support me through this process means a lot.”

Hegseth said he had meetings scheduled this week with two other female Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska on Tuesday and Susan Collins of Maine on Wednesday.

Ernst, meanwhile, also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies” — and for Gabbard.

Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020.

But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump’s 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia.

Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump’s first inauguration during the country’s bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes.

Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it’s important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family’s five decades of rule.

She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.”

Gabbard said, “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.”

Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.

They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser.

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Jewish group on Capitol Hill calls for ceasefire; some arrested

News Agency nabakhabar — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 23:41:45 +0000

A large group of protestors called “Jewish Voice for Peace” came to the Cannon House Rotunda in the U.S. Capitol complex Wednesday to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Jewish Voice for Peace describes itself on its website as the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.

“We are proud Jewish people standing in solidarity with Palestinians demanding a ceasefire immediately,” Liv Kunins-Berkowitz, media coordinator for the group, said. “A genocide is underway and everyone has to know.”

Kunins-Berkowitz said members of Jewish Voice for Peace came to Washington, D.C. with a message for U.S. President Joe Biden, who was in Israel meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday. During his trip, Biden pledged support for Israel, but warned the country against becoming “consumed by rage.”

“I’m looking right at you, President Biden — are you going to be the president that funds and enables a genocide, or are you going to be the president that puts your foot down and stops the genocide?” Kunins-Berkowitz asked.

Capitol Police made some arrests as protestors chanted and sang songs.

“A group of protesters are demonstrating inside the Cannon Rotunda. Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings,” Capitol Police said in a statement. “We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating and when they did not comply we began arresting them.”

The Cannon Rotunda is connected to, but not actually inside, the Capitol building.

U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams, a New York Republican, stood above protestors on a balcony above the Cannon Rotunda with an Israeli flag.

Jewish Voice for Peace joins a group of Democratic lawmakers who are also calling for a ceasefire. A resolution was introduced by them earlier this week asking for an immediate de-escalation of the war as well as humanitarian relief for Gaza.

“I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it,” U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, said in a statement announcing the resolution. “War and retaliatory violence doesn’t achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering.”

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is reportedly becoming more dire since the militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Israel has been launching waves of airstrikes while Hamas has been firing rockets into the country.

A man carrying his dog as he leaves a bombed area following overnight Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in the past 11 days.

More than 1,400 in Israel have been killed and nearly 200 taken hostage by Hamas.

In retaliation, Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip, stopping the entry of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity to its 2.3 million people. However, the Israeli government said Wednesday it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which the Associated Press says has been the first crack in the 10-day siege on the territory.

United States will provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians affected by the conflict in both Gaza and the West Bank. Should Hamas confiscate this aid, however, Biden said “it will end.”

Israel ordered the evacuation of over a million Palestinians out of northern Gaza, in what officials say is an attempt to separate civilians from Hamas. However, organizations such as the United Nations have said this evacuation would be calamitous at a time when Gaza does not have necessary resources.

“Forcible population transfers constitute a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said in a statement.

This story is developing. Refresh for updates.

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Capitol Hill Republicans watch Trump’s eroding standing with unease amid worries about November

News Agency nabakhabar — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 09:06:09 +0000

Republicans mostly believe there is still enough time to right the ship during this volatile year, particularly if the positive jobs report from Friday is an early indication of an economic rebound.

But they are fully aware that poll after poll has shown Trump losing ground to former Vice President Joe Biden and multiple surveys show Democrats ahead by a sizable margin in the so-called generic ballot over which party should control Congress.

Republicans are keenly aware that the President’s consistent controversies at a time of national crises — whether it was the police confrontation with protestors outside the White House last week or his baseless tweet about an injured elderly protestor in Buffalo on Tuesday — has continually put them on the defensive during a high-stakes election year.

Asked if it would be helpful for more message discipline out of the White House, GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said: “Of course. But you’re not going to change him.”

“Yeah,” Cornyn said when asked if he’s concerned about the poll numbers. “It’s been a tough year all around,” citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the deadly incident with Floyd, a black man whose death in Minneapolis police custody has prompted weeks of protests across the country.

“I don’t think anybody would disagree with that, but you know there’s still — what, a few months — until the election and the economy seems to be picking up. So I’m still somewhat optimistic.”

GOP senators are split over what actions Trump should take amid deep unrest in the country — with some calling on him to be more public and to use his megaphone to heal the nation and make more unifying remarks. Others have a different suggestion.

“I think maybe instead of speaking he should do some listening,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, when asked if Trump should try to make remarks to heal the country.

Graham said as the incumbent, Trump is going to be blamed for everything that goes wrong but as long as he can deliver on the economy, he could be safe. But he said it’ll be more clear where the economy stands after the Republican convention in November.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell met with Trump amid the growing concern about November as they mapped out the fierce battle for control of the Senate.

“I think it’s a jump ball,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi of the elections, hoping the economy will turn things around. He added: “Most of his ardent supporters back home wish he would tweet less.”

But in interviews with Senate Republicans, the recurring theme revolves around this: There needs to be a change in tactics at the White House.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said she’s “behind” the idea of a “more unifying message” to come from the President.

“I hope that he projects a really strong message of unification — that’s what we really need to hear right now,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican facing a potentially difficult reelection race.

Polls show a President whose standing has deteriorated substantially in recent months. A CNN poll released this week showed Trump’s approval rating down 7 points in the last month and now in the same terrain as Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, both of whom lost their bids for a second term. That comes after an average of six prior polls showed Biden up by 10 nationally.

And perhaps more concerning for congressional Republicans: The so-called generic ballot. A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll last week showed voters preferred a Democratic -led Congress by an 11-point margin, a number on par with the 2018 midterms that saw Democrats take the House.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said that politics is “very dynamic” so “I wouldn’t feel great about it if his numbers were high and I wouldn’t be too concerned about it if his numbers are now.”

“I mean the President wakes up in the morning and takes a breath, half the people in this country are upset he’s breathing,” Rubio said when asked if the President should stay away from incendiary tweets. “At least some percent in this country (gets upset). His critics are always going to criticize anything he does, but that’s not just him; that’s just the nature of modern American politics.”

Republicans realize they are in a quandary when Trump dabbles in controversy. They believe their strongest hand is to show unity with the President — and a party engaged in an intraparty war will only mean problems come November, including in Senate races where the GOP needs to stem their net losses to just two if Biden were to win the presidency in order to keep the majority. Moreover, they recognize that Trump’s itchy Twitter finger could be problematic if they step out of line, given his penchant to attack even when faced with the mildest critique.

Nowhere was this dynamic more evident than Tuesday when GOP senators mostly dodged questions about Trump’s incendiary and baseless tweet suggesting that a 75-year-old protestor was an Antifa “provocateur” and “set up” the incident when police shoved him to the ground, causing him to bleed from the head and be rushed to the hospital. Republican senator after Republican senator refused to condemn the tweet, with GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin telling CNN he didn’t even want to see a printed out copy of the tweet, which he claimed not to have seen.

“I would rather not hear it,” he said Tuesday.

“I don’t know how that advances any cause. It’s an unfounded accusation. I don’t think it’s helpful,” Graham said.

Asked Wednesday about the controversy caused by his tweets, Johnson said: “I mean most of us kind of long ago said: ‘It would be nice if we could take away some of those tweets.'” Johnson, however, added some tweets are “pretty effective.”

“I certainly don’t want to respond to all the tweets,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

While Johnson said he’s “always concerned” about the elections, he downplayed the recent polls, noting how off they’ve been in the past and arguing how volatile the electorate is right now.

“We are seeing the political conditions [change] today vs. three months ago vs. a month ago vs. literally two weeks ago,” Johnson said. “Who knows what’s going to happen?”

But at the end of the day, GOP senators say, their fortunes likely rise-and-fall with Trump’s.

“If the President wins and wins big that’ll be a draft for everybody down-ballot,” Cornyn said. “That won’t be 100%, but you’d rather have him doing well at the top of ticket.”

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