Donald Trump nominated Republican-convert Tulsi Gabbard to be the next Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday.
“As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties—She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace Through Strength,” Trump said in a statement.
After her failed presidential run in 2020, Gabbard left the Democratic Party (she seems to announce doing this at least once a week) and became something of a conservative celebrity, elevating transphobia, spreading Russian propaganda, and unsuccessfully endorsing Republicans.
She recently went full MAGA, endorsing Trump and coaching him for his disastrous debate against Kamala Harris.
Gabbard previously claimed she’d been placed on the TSA’s watchlist, and now she will oversee the U.S. intelligence community including the Central Intelligence Agency.
While Gabbard paints herself as an anti-interventionist, she has acted primarily as an advocate for a slate of authoritarians. In 2019, she defended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and voiced support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Gabbard argued that it wasn’t worth U.S. intervention because Ukraine “isn’t actually a democracy,” and claimed there were U.S.-backed biolabs in the country—a Russian conspiracy that got her publicly criticized for acting like a foreign asset. This only added to her status as an outsider, pushing her deep into the MAGA throng.
One member of Gabbard’s family has suggested that her troubling political journey could be related to her connection to the group Science of Identity Foundation, a cult that preaches homophobia, Islamophobia, and misogyny.
If Gabbard is confirmed, her appointment could cause tension with another Trump nominee: Senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump has tapped for secretary of state. In July, Gabbard criticized Rubio as representing “the neocon warmongering establishment of Washington, D.C.”
Gabbard explained that Rubio should not be in contention to be Trump’s running mate, and claimed Rubio was “diametrically opposed” to everything Trump stands for. It seems the president-elect disagreed.
This story has been updated.
The race is on for Senate Democrats to confirm President Joe Biden’s final nominees for federal judge positions, before the party loses the chamber majority.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he would focus on confirming judges, according to HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery. “We will work to get as many confirmed as possible,” he said.
There are currently 47 judicial vacancies, including 45 in U.S. district courts and two in appeals courts. Biden has 31 nominees still in the pipeline to be confirmed, and only 22 days left in session before Republicans are set to take over on January 3.
The Senate voted 51–44 on Tuesday to confirm April M. Perry as a federal district judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
It’s essential that Senate Democrats approve as many Biden nominees as possible before Donald Trump enters office next year. The president-elect made a whopping 234 judicial appointments during his first term, some of whom proved to be fierce Trump loyalists willing to upend his legal battles—such as Judge Aileen Cannon, who used an insane technicality to toss out charges that Trump mishandled classified documents.
Other Trump appointees, such as Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, simply sow nationwide chaos by using the legal landscape to push conservative, sometimes Christian nationalist, agenda items like restricting abortion access.
Republicans will retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives by a narrow margin, promising more lengthy fights to pass legislation.
The GOP holds 218 seats to the Democrats’ 208, NBC reported Wednesday. Six races have yet to be called. Republicans have also taken control of the Senate.
Republicans gained control of the House two years ago during the 2022 midterm elections. While there was no “red wave” as had been predicted, they were able to flip 19 districts from blue to red.
The House currently has 220 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and three vacancies, two of which were held by Democrats who passed away, and one by a Republican who sought greener pastures working at a weapons and AI contractor (after sowing plenty of anti-China sentiment), resulting in a tight race for his seat as both parties scrambled to claim an incredibly slim majority margin.
Only about 49 of the House seats were truly in play to be flipped. Democrats were able to flip two seats in New York, which are currently held by Republican Representatives Brandon Williams and Anthony D’Esposito.
A whopping 45 House members decided not to seek reelection, not including those who left office partway through the current term.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville thinks that Democratic Senate wins in battleground states are suspicious.
On Tuesday, Tuberville was on The Sean Spicer Show, a podcast hosted by Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary and communications director. Spicer asked Tuberville how he’d fulfill his promise to be a “legislative sledgehammer for President Trump.”
“One of the things I really want to do is........