By Eric Lendrum via American Greatness,
Just days after new members of the United States Senate were sworn in, Democrats in the House of Lords have already taken steps to postpone hearings to confirm one of the main candidates for President-elect Donald Trump’s second cabinet.
According to Axios, Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is postponing Republicans’ efforts to hold hearings next week to approve former Congressman Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii), the nominee for President-elect Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Warner’s apology for the delay is that the commission has reportedly not yet received certain materials from Gabbard, including his FBI background check, ethics disclosure and his pre-hearing questionnaire.
A background check in accordance with the Commission’s Rules of Procedure must be submitted at least one week before the hearing.
Gabbard, however, had actually completed his background check last week.
In addition, his attachment can be much smoother than most, since he already has a security clearance. He has already submitted his pre-hearing questionnaire, but will submit a second questionnaire by Thursday because of Warner’s demands.
As for the ethics report, logistical issues have prevented such information from being passed on in a timely manner as a severe blizzard hit the Washington-DC area on Monday, causing similar delays to other candidates.
Despite Warner’s efforts to block the hearing, Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) confirmed that the Senate “intends to hold these hearings before Inauguration Day,” the spokesman said.
“The Intelligence Committee, the candidates and the transition are working diligently towards this goal.”
“After the terrorist attacks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, it’s sad to see Senator Warner and Democrats playing politics with the safety of Americans and our national security,” said Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition.
Gabbard has generally been seen as one of Trump’s most controversial candidates elected president.
Originally a Democrat who rose to the position of deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Gabbard came into conflict with his party over the deliberate suppression of Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020.
He left parliament to run for president himself in 2020, then left the Democratic Party and switched to the Independent.
He became a vocal supporter of President Trump’s 2024 comeback offer and swapped his party affiliation for Republicans shortly after his victory in November.
