Video: Tulsi Gabbard Demolishes the Deep State in Her Opening Statement

Tulsi Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify for her nomination to serve as the Director of National Intelligence under President Trump.

Gabbard, long a foe to establishment Democrats and, for most of her career, no friend of Republicans, brings a unique background in overseeing a largely unaccountable intelligence apparatus.

However, it’s not Democrats Gabbard needs to convince, it’s Republican votes she’ll need in the end:

Republicans hold a narrow 9-8 majority on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is holding the hearing and has the first vote on Gabbard’s nomination. The questions from some of the Republican members raised the possibility that Gabbard may not secure their support.

With Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee expected to oppose her, Gabbard will need the votes of every Republican on the panel to keep her path to confirmation alive. If the committee fails to back her, the full Senate could still vote on her confirmation, but that would require a 60-vote majority — a politically improbable scenario.

As perhaps the most “controversial” of Trump’s picks testifying today, Gabbard stands the most chance of not reaching the threshold. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, she enters the process likely only a few votes away from confirmation in the full Senate vote. Still, the neocon wing of the GOP led by people like Senator Lindsey Graham will remain ever skeptical of Gabbard’s unconventional views.

On paper, Gabbard is well-qualified and is along the lines of what voters asked for by electing Donald Trump back in November. As such, Gabbard’s opening statement was something to behold. She pulled no punches in calling out warmongers in both parties and taking the deep state to task over attempts to derail Donald Trump’s first term. In short, Gabbard did what she was tasked to do in this hearing: call out the establishment of both parties and offer a perspective that fulfills President Trump’s foreign policy vision.

Here is Gabbard’s statement in full, it’s worth the 10 minutes:

NEW: Tulsi Gabbard unleashes on the deep state, the 51 intelligence officials, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic Party in her opening statement.

One of the best opening statements I’ve seen.

“Democrats have accused me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet,… pic.twitter.com/7YaGH5td5o

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 30, 2025

Gabbard contorted herself well during the hearing making it harder for weak Republicans to jump ship. She’ll first need to make it out of committee which seems likely based on today’s testimony, albeit on a party-line vote.