Tulsi Gabbard changes tone on surveillance powers she once sought to dismantle

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is voicing support for a key government surveillance authority she once sought to dismantle.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is voicing support for a key government surveillance authority she once sought to dismantle. The shift comes amid lingering uncertainty about Gabbard’s path to confirmation despite her having spent the last several weeks meeting with senators on both sides of the aisle in an effort to win their support. In a new statement to CNN on Friday, Gabbard said she will support FISA Section 702 — an intelligence gathering tool passed by Congress after September 11, 2001 — if confirmed as Trump’s spy chief, marking a dramatic shift from her previous attempts to repeal the same authority and comments raising deep concerns about domestic surveillance. “Section 702, unlike other FISA authorities, is crucial for gathering foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons abroad. This unique capability cannot be replicated and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans,” Gabbard said in the statement to CNN. “My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI’s misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens. Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people,” she added. Gabbard also met Friday with the current director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, according to a source familiar with the matter, who declined to provide additional details about what was discussed.