Outgoing U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), who is leaving Congress to pursue the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor of Virginia, said it was “dangerous” for President-elect Donald Trump to nominate Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in an interview with ABC 7 News published Tuesday.
Spanberger, who formerly worked as a federal agent for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and a case officer for the CIA, made the remarks about Gabbard when asked about those nominated by Trump to serve in key intelligence positions during his second term in the White House.
The Democrat told the outlet, “my real concern as it relates to those who have been nominated lie with Tulsi Gabbard, who has been nominated to be the DNI,” before referencing Gabbard’s previous comments about Russia and 2017 trip to Syria.
“This is someone, who when she was a member of Congress, traveled to Syria, met with then-authoritarian dictator Bashar Assad, knowing that he had committed horrible offenses against his civilian population, including chemical attacks on civilian populations,” said Spanberger.
She also accused Gabbard of spreading “propaganda,” including “anti-American propaganda, certainly pro-Russia, pro-Putin propaganda,” echoing remarks about Gabbard made by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2019, when she suggested Russia was “grooming” Gabbard to launch a third-party bid for the White House.
Spanberger told ABC 7 News that Gabbard’s foreign policy views are important “because DNI is the position where perhaps not very well known to most Americans, is the position that has oversight over the entirety of the American intelligence community, and it’s a role where someone has to be laser-focused on facts and evidence and questioning the intelligence that comes in. Working directly with the folks who are gathering it across intelligence agencies to make sure that the President is getting the best, most vetted information that will ensure that he can make good, informed decisions about issues of national security.”
Claiming others would have been more qualified for the position, Spanberger told the outlet her concerns transcend politics, calling Gabbard’s nomination “one that I think is particularly really dangerous at this moment in time.”
Despite Spanberger’s criticism of Trump’s decision to nominate Gabbard to serve as DNI, she also told the outlet her 2025 gubernatorial campaign should not be viewed as a referendum on Trump’s administration.
“If the national media wants to opine and cherry-pick and choose to perceive things through that national lens that’s their choice,” Spanberger told the outlet, before stating her intention “to run a race focused on Virginia.”
While Spanberger is currently the only Democrat seeking the party’s nomination for governor, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA-03) has reportedly considered entering the race, prompting former Governor Doug Wilder to warn that lack of party unity could allow Republicans to hold the Executive Mansion.
Governor Glenn Youngkin is limited to one consecutive term by the Virginia Constitution, and in November, endorsed Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed him.
Watch Spanberger’s full interview:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tulsi Gabbard” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
