Great news on the “Donald Trump hires the best people” front. We haven’t had confirmation hearings yet for Tulsi Gabbard, so we haven’t had a chance to hear her tell the Senate why she loves Vladimir Putin so much or if she’s gotten any late night texts from a bored Bashar al-Assad who doesn’t have anything to do now that he’s been deposed.
There have been rumblings since the election, though, that Gabbard might be the most unconfirmable of all Trump’s collection of moron, traitor, and pervert nominees. We guess they haven’t been impressed with this sack of clown farts, who called for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end their war by “embrac[ing] the spirit of aloha.” Yes, she said that, and it will never not be funny.
But a number of senators have reportedly been truly alarmed by the way Gabbard has consistently sidled up to dictators, and there are some who literally think this woman who Russian state media refers to as “our girlfriend” is a Russian asset.
That last link explores the possibility, though, that Gabbard’s not compromised or beholden to the Kremlin at all, perhaps just stupid and unable to tell good information from bad. Teach the controversy! Study both sides! Is she evil or stupid or both?
And now from Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal comes another report that could portend trouble for Gabbard’s nomination, this one exploring the possibility that Gabbard does not even know what directors of national intelligence do all day.
Derp.
The Journal says some Senate Republicans have “reservations” about her “qualifications.” It says they’re probably going to support her anyway — fuck it, it’s not like it’s national security or anything, oh wait it is — but if she keeps fuckin’ up, man?
In her meeting with Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), Gabbard couldn’t clearly articulate what the role of director of national intelligence entails, two Senate Republican aides and a Trump transition official said. When she met with Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.), Gabbard seemed confused about a key U.S. national-security surveillance power, a top legislative priority for nearly every member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, conflating it with other issues, the aides said.
Huh.
The Journal cites John Curtis of Utah as someone who says he needs to know more about Gabbard before he can vote for her. Of course, Susan Collins is concerned. However, they seem to suggest that it’s possible Gabbard might get support from a few Democrats, and we wish we could say we didn’t believe them but the obeying in advance and dictator cock-sucking we’ve already witnessed from certain vichy Democrats leads us to believe that it’s entirely within the realm of possibility.
Also a staffer for Lankford assures WSJ that their meeting was actually totally great, and Rounds says she was way less of a moron at their second meeting.
Rounds, who met with Gabbard again on Monday, in a statement described the follow-up meeting as excellent, and suggested she had shown some improvement between their first and second meetings.
“Tulsi has been working hard and I was pleased she had taken my advice to meet with the experts I recommended,” he said, adding that he would do what he can to support her through the process.
Awesome.
We are sure Vladimir Putin will enjoy getting his own copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, or whatever DNI Gabbard decides is the best way to do her job, whatever it is!
OPEN THREAD.
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Jenn Liu
@jennkliu.bsky.social
Weather forecast for Trump’s Inauguration has the temperature in the low teens.
It will indeed be a cold day in hell.
https://bsky.app/profile/jennkliu.bsky.social/post/3lfv6cqir322o
Doggo back from surgery. The alleged cyst did not act like a normal cyst, so they excised the whole thing and are sending it for biopsy. Two weeks til stitches out. Cone of shame, extra large because he's flexible for a ten year old dog. He's still a bit sleepy. Got his medications and all that.
Also got the rabies booster, which was why we had the appointment in the first place.