NC’s Richard Burr returns to the Capitol to support Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence job
It’s been two years since former Sen. Richard Burr visited the Capitol, but he returned Thursday to defend former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to lead the national intelligence community.
And no, the Republican from North Carolina still did not wear socks.
President Donald Trump nominated Gabbard, 43, to be director of national intelligence, but she has faced growing criticism and concerns from Trump loyalists that she may not survive a Senate vote.
Her opponents are quick to point to her change in political parties: she was a Democrat for 20 years before becoming an independent in 2022 and a Republican in 2024.
She’s been criticized for her lack of intelligence work, for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and for repeating Russian talking points.
She also raised eyebrows for her criticism of Section 702, a government surveillance program that allowed for warrantless collection of electronic communications of foreign nationals. Burr and Sen. Thom Tillis have both been supportive of the program.
“Some of you may be wondering, why do I support Tulsi Gabbard, and why am I here to introduce her as a nominee?” Burr said to the committee he once chaired. “I’ve experienced first hand, a coordinated attempt to influence this nominee’s support in the United States Senate and with the American people.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, also introduced and supported Gabbard during the committee hearing.
Burr said that following Gabbard’s nomination several national journalists began calling him and asking for confirmation of several different rumors about Gabbard. He didn’t specify details.
“I informed each journalist over a five-week period that the rumors shared with me were simply not true,” Burr said.
He added that he watched as the source of the information passed the innuendos about Gabbard from one reporter to the next.
“This was a coordinated effort to kill this nomination,” Burr said.
And he criticized his former colleagues who chose not to meet with Gabbard to do their due diligence and learn the facts about her.
He listed off her credentials and accomplishments:
Graduating from Hawaii Pacific University
Being the first American Samoan-born member of Congress elected from a state
Being the youngest female elected to serve in her state’s House of Representatives at 21
Joining the Hawaii National Guard
Being deployed multiple times
Serving on the Honolulu city council.
“She served her city, her state, her country, while winning the support of the people she represented,” Burr said. “She’s fought in war, and yes, she’s tried to stop wars. At the ripe age of 43, Tulsi has had the life experience that matches or exceeds most members of Congress. Tulsi was serving in uniform three years before some of us here, today, voted to create the director of national intelligence.”
The role of DNI was created in 2004 to oversee 18 intelligence communities including the CIA, the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. She would set policy for intelligence gathering and sharing.
Burr reminded the committee that the Department of Defense reviewed Gabbard’s security clearance multiple times and always granted it.
“If Tulsi is guilty of anything, it’s that since she was born, her views, opinions and beliefs have evolved to reflect her life’s experiences,” Burr said. “Winston Churchill once said, ‘Those that never change their minds, never change anything.’”
Burr told the committee that he was honored to support Gabbard to lead the intelligence community.
“Media stories and anonymous rumors have questioned her qualifications, her patriotism and whether she can be trusted, just to name a few,” Burr said. “I refuse to question the qualifications of a woman who’s worn the uniform of her nation for 22 years and never taken it off.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 1:51 PM.
