The U.S. Senate has confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as the new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with 52 votes in favor and 48 against. Gabbard will oversee U.S. intelligence agencies, handling critical national security issues and providing daily briefings to President Donald Trump.
Gabbard has previously expressed strong criticism of Turkey, particularly against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Gabbard’s Role as DNI
As head of the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, Gabbard will be responsible for:
- Coordinating intelligence collection at the federal level
- Preparing the president’s daily intelligence briefings
- Overseeing the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on intelligence matters
Gabbard’s Strong Criticism of Erdoğan
Gabbard has openly criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusing him of supporting ISIS. In a 2020 video, she stated: “Erdoğan is not our friend.” This was not the only time she took a firm stance against Turkey.
In 2023, she posted on X:“Biden’s decision to provide F-16s to ISIS-supporting Islamist Sultan Erdoğan is short-sighted and will undermine our national security interests. Erdoğan also wants nuclear weapons. Is that what the U.S. will offer next? Absolute madness.”
In an earlier social media post, she asserted:
“Erdoğan has been helping Daesh [ISIS] for years. He denies it, but now he openly uses his terrorists. He is a radical Islamist megalomaniac who wants to become a Caliph.”
Dispute with Trump Over U.S.-Turkey-Kurdish Relations
Gabbard has also criticized the U.S. response to Turkey’s military actions against the Kurds. In another video, she accused Trump of abandoning the Kurds in the Middle East:
“Trump lied. He allowed the Turkish invasion. The Kurds must be protected from Turkish genocide. You cannot hand over Kurdish lands to the Turkish state. The Kurds are our friends.”
Her stance suggests that, as DNI, she may adopt a tougher policy toward Turkey, potentially shaping U.S. intelligence priorities in the region and countering Turkey’s MIT intelligence operations.
It is noteworthy that Gabbard is a personal choice of Donald Trump, which could further influence the direction of U.S. intelligence strategy.
