'Toughest path': Senate GOP aide explains why Gabbard may be 'most at risk' of all Trump nominees

04 December 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has been drawing vehement criticism from Democrats — as well as from Never Trump conservatives — for his more controversial administration picks.

In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) for secretary of state and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior are likely to enjoy bipartisan confirmations. But controversial Trump picks like Kash Patel for FBI director and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could run into problems if enough Senate Republicans join Democrats in voting against them.

The Bulwark's Marc Caputo, during a Wednesday, December 4 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," predicted that Fox News star Pete Hegseth — Trump's choice for defense secretary — will suffer the same fate as former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who withdrew from consideration for U.S. attorney general.

But the Trump pick who may be the most vulnerable, according to The Hill's Al Weaver, is former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — a former Democrat turned far-right MAGA Republican who Trump is proposing for intel director.

"Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) is emerging as a tough confirmation lift for President-elect Trump, even as other nominees such as Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for the Pentagon, run into serious hurdles," Weaver explains in an article published on December 4. "Gabbard, Trump's pick to become director of national intelligence, has received less attention in recent days compared to Hegseth — who has seen multiple bombshell reports pop up about his treatment of women — or Kash Patel, the president-elect's controversial pick to lead the FBI. But a number of aides and senators view her path as the most difficult of those three."

Gabbard's views on foreign policy have been drawing intense scrutiny. Her critics see her as an apologist for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, and state-operated Russian media outlets have dubbed Gabbard "Russia's girlfriend."

A Senate GOP aide, making a Gabbard/Hegseth/Patel comparison, told The Hill, "I think Gabbard, out of the three, still has the toughest path. (She) is the most at risk…. There are members of our conference who think she's a (Russian) asset."

Weaver stresses that although Gabbard is a "favorite of Trump World," the "Senate Republican conference remains a different type of playing field" — one in which GOP "defense hawks" will have a major problem with her Putin-friendly views.

"Some members of that crowd remain skeptical of Gabbard, especially due to her past remarks about the Ukraine War that were sympathetic to Moscow and echoed by Russian state media — which has also praised her selection," Weaver reports. "She also has views on the Middle East that break with the political establishment of both parties."

A Senate Republican, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told The Hill, "She's not going to get any Democratic votes. You can do the mental math."

Read The Hill's full report at this link.

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