Gabbard nomination puts Senate GOP in a bind

Former Hawaii Democratic Rep. #Tulsi #Gabbard, Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence,
is on record calling for the U.S. government to “drop all charges” against #Edward #Snowden, 
wanting to repeal key intelligence-gathering tools
and sometimes embracing Russian talking points regarding the wars in Syria and Ukraine.

That’s even before examining Gabbard’s foreign policy views,
which are far outside the mainstream of American political discourse
— and even further away from the center of gravity in the Senate Republican Conference.
It’s presenting a unique challenge for Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
That panel — which is responsible for processing Gabbard’s nomination — is stacked with hawks on both sides of the dais.
Trump’s choice of Gabbard is in keeping with his desire to completely overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
But GOP senators are already indicating they’ll be interested in probing Gabbard’s controversial and often outright hostile posture toward the very intelligence apparatus she’d run if confirmed.

The Snowden praise is particularly troubling to lawmakers,
the vast majority of whom believe the NSA leaker caused irreparable damage to U.S. national security.
Snowden is now a Russian citizen

https://punchbowl.news/article/senate/gabbard-nomination-senate-gop-in-bind/