The president-elect’s chosen intelligence chief has repeated Russian propaganda about Ukrainian ‘biolabs’ and backed Russia’s case for war

VA., former CIA officer and House Intelligence Committee member, joins Morning Joe to discuss President-elect Trump’s pick of Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, arguing that Gabbard’s past defense of authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad poses a serious threat to U.

Tulsi Gabbard was a rising star in the Democratic Party before she left in 2022 and endorsed Donald Trump in 2024.

Donald Trump on Wednesday named former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who has opposed US support for Ukraine and met Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, as his incoming Director of National Intelligence. The Republican president-elect said Gabbard,

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who defected to the Republican Party, is reportedly under consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, a pick that would be cause for significant alarm among Republican hawks and could raise concerns for the pro-Israel community.

Former officials and lawmakers fear Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, could bring a pro-Russian bias to intelligence reports.

Trump's pick of Tulsi Gabbard as the next Director of National Intelligence has left members of the intelligence community reeling, with some considering quitting if she ends up in the role.