Two high-profile confirmation hearings took place on Thursday, with former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard and nominee Kash Patel facing tough questioning from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, faced sharp questions about her past remarks supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet accused Gabbard of agreeing that a “totalitarian state” was justified in rolling over the peaceful border of Ukraine, a comment that Russian state TV aired and called her “our friend Tulsi”. Gabbard, who has no formal intelligence experience, refused to give a yes or no answer on whether she considered Edward Snowden a traitor to the US.
Gabbard also faced scrutiny for a 2017 visit to Syria to meet then-President Bashar al-Assad. She told lawmakers that she asked Assad “tough questions about his own regime’s actions”, but admitted she shed no tears for the fall of the Assad regime when armed rebels took over Damascus.
Nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, faced intense scrutiny over his previous support for Capitol rioters. He once helped promote sales of a charity song recorded by the 6 January rioters in prison, including some who had been convicted of violence against police officers. Several Democratic senators pressed him on his ties to the rioters, with Senator Dick Durbin asking if President Donald Trump was wrong to give blanket clemency to the defendants.
However, Patel struck a more moderate tone during the hearing compared to some of his previous comments. He pointed to public opinion surveys showing declining confidence in the FBI and highlighted two priorities, including tackling violent crime, which he said was “exploding in this country”.
Despite his efforts to present a more moderate persona, Democrats continued to press him on his previous statements and activities, including expressing sympathy with the QAnon movement. If confirmed, Patel would become the FBI director with a challenging task of rebuilding trust in the agency.
The confirmation hearings highlighted the intense scrutiny faced by Trump’s cabinet nominees as they seek to gain approval from Congress. The process is designed to ensure that appointees are qualified and fit for their roles, but it also provides an opportunity for lawmakers to shape policy and hold nominees accountable for their views and actions.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg0m0p9je1o