FOX: Gabbard Doesn’t have the votes--will be first Trump nominee to be Rejected by Committee

FOX: … Tulsi Gabbard doesn't currently have enough votes to advance out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The former Democrat representative's nomination to be director of national intelligence (DNI) under President Donald Trump is in danger as she lacks enough Republican support on the committee, sources confirmed.

Before heading to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, Trump's picks all have hearings and their nominations are voted on at the committee level. Gabbard's confirmation hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday….

So far, no Trump nominees have failed to advance out of their respective committees. 

A senior Intel Committee aide confirmed to Fox News Digital that Gabbard does not currently have a majority of its members' votes, which are necessary to move to the full Senate. 

According to the source, half of the Republicans on the coveted committee are not sold on Trump's DNI pick. …

read … Tension builds around Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation with key GOP Senators undecided

WE: She told senators her opponents accuse her “of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters.”  (Good Point: Only the Guru is her puppet master.)

TPM: Why Former Followers Of Her Guru Fear Tulsi Gabbard As Director Of National Intelligence - TPM – Talking Points Memo

WSJ: Tulsi Gabbard’s Foreign Contacts Draw Senators’ Attention

P: The senators who could stop Tulsi Gabbard - POLITICO

WSJ: Tulsi Gabbard Can’t Afford Many GOP Defections

PF: Senators irked by Gabbard’s answers on whether Edward Snowden was a “traitor”

PF: Gabbard spread allegations of U.S. funded “biolabs” in Ukraine

PF: Gabbard says she has no regrets over Syria trip

NYT: Did Gabbard Secretly Meet With Hezbollah?

NYT: … While in Syria in 2017, Ms. Gabbard, who at the time was representing Hawaii in the House as a Democrat, met with President Bashar al-Assad, an authoritarian leader backed by Russia, Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah until December, when rebel groups seized the Syrian capital.

Shortly after her visit, U.S. spy agencies intercepted a phone call between two Hezbollah members concerning Ms. Gabbard, according to current and former officials briefed on the intelligence.

The intercept was of a Hezbollah member reporting that Ms. Gabbard had met with a person whom he identified euphemistically, using a word in Arabic that can be translated as “the boss” or “the big guy.” The Hezbollah member did not say the name of that person in the communication, prompting some speculation among U.S. intelligence officials as to who was being referred to.

Some U.S. intelligence officials assumed that “the big guy” referred to a senior Hezbollah official. Others assumed that it could be a reference to some Lebanese government official who had strong ties to Hezbollah and who met with Ms. Gabbard during her 2017 trip.

Ms. Gabbard has denied that she met with anyone from Hezbollah, and people who traveled with her also said she did not meet with the group. Ms. Gabbard acknowledged at the time of her trip that she met with a variety of Lebanese officials, including some who are close to Hezbollah such as Lebanon’s intelligence chief at the time….

Ms. Gabbard’s 2017 trip is expected to be a focus of questions from senators during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

The intercept that mentioned Ms. Gabbard appeared to have no implications for her security clearance, which she had in connection with her role in the Army Reserve, where she serves as a lieutenant colonel.

In contrast, Ms. Gabbard’s 2024 trip to Italy had implications on her status as a traveler.

read … Tulsi Gabbard Briefly Subject to Special Scrutiny Last Year After Vatican Meeting - The New York Times