Liberals taking aim at some Trump appointees

Senators Signal Trump Nominees Gabbard, Hegseth Will Face Grilling in Congress

One Democratic senator said she needs to see the background checks on Trump’s incoming Cabinet selections

Multiple Democratic and Republican senators on Nov. 24 signaled that they will grill President-elect Donald Trump’s choices to lead the Intelligence Community and the Pentagon.

Earlier this month, Trump nominated former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to become his director of national intelligence (DNI) and Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be his secretary of defense. Both positions require confirmation by the Senate.

The Epoch Times

Tulsi Gabbard is a military officer serving as a Lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2021, having previously served in Hawaii Army National Guard from 2003 to 2020.

She also is a former Congresswoman from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021. During her time in Congress, Gabbard became known for her strong stand against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and her opposition to U.S. military intervention in the Syrian civil war. Around 2015, she often criticized the Obama administration for not recognizing Islamic extremism as a problem.

Pete Hegseth is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard. In 2004, his infrantry unit was called to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, under the operational control of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division, where he served as an infantry platoon leader and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Shortly after returning from Cuba, Hegseth volunteered to serve in Baghdad and Samarra, Iraq, where he served first as an infantry platoon leader and later as civil-military operations officer. During his time in Iraq, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and a second Army Commendation Medal.

Hegseth returned to active duty in 2012 as a captain. He deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard and acted as a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul. In 2014, Hegseth was promoted to the rank of major and left active duty to be assigned to the Army Individual Ready Reserve.