Heinrich uplifts New Mexicans’ concerns, emphasizes how Gabbard’s poor judgment will impact all Americans
WASHINGTON — This evening, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, delivered remarks on the Senate floor amplifying the voices of New Mexicans opposing the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard for the Director of National Intelligence.
Heinrich voted against advancing Gabbard’s nomination out of the Intelligence Committee, pointing to her poor judgment and lack of national security experience. Specifically, during her nomination hearing, Gabbard refused to call Edward Snowden a traitor and, in response to Heinrich’s questioning, falsely denied knowledge of comments by a Syrian cleric she met with in 2017 who threatened to unleash suicide bombers in the United States.
“As a member of the Senate Select Committee of Intelligence for the last 12 years, I don’t say this lightly: I do not believe that Ms. Gabbard has demonstrated the judgment to merit our trust as Director of National Intelligence,” said Heinrich.
During his speech, Heinrich emphasized the risk Gabbard’s nomination poses to our national security, “Ms. Gabbard’s statements and actions leading up to and during the confirmation process should make all of us question her qualifications for this essential national security role. And they should make us seriously question her basic judgment. Time and again, Ms. Gabbard has elevated conspiracy theories, parroted dictators’ talking points, and repeatedly undermined our country’s national security.”
Heinrich discussed Ms. Gabbard’s lack of qualifications and judgment, particularly relating to her 2017 trip to Bashar al-Assad's Syria, saying, “Her trip to Syria and her visit with Assad himself should be alarming to all of us. Normally, if any member of Congress goes on a foreign fact-finding trip like this, we take precautions to not jeopardize our vital national security interests. We coordinate with the State Department and the Pentagon. We carefully account for our schedules. And we sure as hell make sure we are not giving a platform to state sponsors of terrorism or terrorist leaders. Ms. Gabbard did none of these things on this rogue trip into Assad’s Syria.”
Heinrich zeroed in on Ms. Gabbard’s false denial during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee about meeting with Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, Syria’s most senior Sunni Muslim cleric during the Assad regime who made threats to conduct suicide bomb attacks in the United States.
Heinrich said, “During her confirmation hearing last month, I asked Ms. Gabbard directly about this meeting with Mr. Hassoun. he claimed this was the first she had ever heard about Mr. Hassoun’s threats to set up suicide bombers to target America and our European allies. However, records from her congressional office suggest that almost immediately after returning from her controversial trip, she was fully aware that she had met with a leader with direct ties to terrorism.”
Heinrich continued, “I want to be clear than I am not suggesting that Ms. Gabbard endorsed or endorses the despicable views or actions of this Syrian terrorist leader. But her false denial to me at her confirmation hearing of any prior knowledge of this terrorist leader whom she met with should be evidence enough that we cannot trust her to tell the truth. And in the position that we are being asked to confirm her for, telling the truth is the entire point.”
Heinrich concluded by amplifying the concerns of New Mexicans who have written or called into his office expressing concern over Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination. Watch a video of Heinrich uplifting New Mexicans’ voices here.
Last week, in an interview with Jim Sciutto on CNN’s The Situation Room, Heinrich vocalized the concerns of his constituents who continue to write-in and call his office opposing Trump’s harmful actions, which are impacting New Mexico families and their financial security. Watch the full video of that interview here.
Since Trump took office in 2025, Heinrich:
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