# The Gabbard confirmation fight > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "The Gabbard confirmation fight," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-gabbard-confirmation-fight/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *John Kiriakou's February 2025 assessment that Tulsi Gabbard was in real danger of not being confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, not because the Democrats opposed her, which they did, but because she was losing Republicans over Section 702, and had been telling them privately that she supported a renewal he knows she opposes.* - **When:** Early February 2025, before the confirmation vote - **The danger, per Kiriakou:** 'A real danger that Tulsi Gabbard is not going to be confirmed' - **Not the cause:** Democratic opposition, which was united against her anyway - **The cause:** Trouble keeping Republicans united, 'this whole MAGA thing is already beginning to wear thin among some Republican senators' - **The sticking point:** Section 702 of the FISA Act - **What she told senators privately:** That she supports renewal of Section 702 - **What Kiriakou believes:** 'We know that she doesn''t support renewal of 702' - **His hope:** That she has an epiphany once in office and backs out, 'that would be a very Washington thing to do' **The Gabbard confirmation fight** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s assessment, given in early February 2025 while the nomination was still pending, of why [Tulsi Gabbard](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/tulsi-gabbard)'s appointment as Director of National Intelligence was in trouble. ## Where the danger came from *"There's a real danger that Tulsi Gabbard is not going to be confirmed,"* Kiriakou said, *"and it's not because the Democrats are united against her. The Democrats are united against her."* The problem was on the other side of the aisle: *"she's having trouble keeping the Republicans united, because this whole MAGA thing is already beginning to wear thin among some Republican senators."*[1] ## The sticking point *"Where Tulsi is really getting tripped up is [Section 702](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/section-702) of the FISA Act."* On the merits, Kiriakou places her with himself: *"Tulsi is of the same mind that we are when it comes to warrantless surveillance. It's wrong. It should be illegal. It should be unconstitutional, and somehow the government keeps getting away with it every two years when it's reapproved by the House and the Senate."*[1][2] The difficulty is what she had been saying in the confirmation process. *"She has had to tell Republican senators, in these private meetings that she's been having the last several weeks, that she supports renewal of 702."* Kiriakou does not treat that as her position: *"we know that she doesn't support renewal of 702."*[2] ## What he hoped would happen Rather than condemn the reversal, Kiriakou described the outcome he was hoping for, in terms that concede what the process requires. *"I'm hoping that she's saying that because she knows she has to say it to win their votes and get confirmed. I hope then that she can have an epiphany or a revelation once she's the Director of National Intelligence, and she can back out of that."*[3] His characterisation of that manoeuvre is not a criticism: *"that would be a very Washington thing to do."*[3] ## See also - [Tulsi Gabbard](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/tulsi-gabbard) - [Section 702](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/section-702) - [FISA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fisa) - [NSA Surveillance](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/nsa-surveillance) - [Office of the Director of National Intelligence](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/office-of-the-director-of-national-intelligence) ## Sources 1. Former CIA Counter Terrorism Specialist John Kiriakou's Opin (2025-02-06), at 00:06. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYN9zLBJXh8&t=6s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-covertaction-magazine-former-cia-counter-terrorism-specialist-john-fYN9zL/ 2. Former CIA Counter Terrorism Specialist John Kiriakou's Opin (2025-02-06), at 00:37. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYN9zLBJXh8&t=37s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-covertaction-magazine-former-cia-counter-terrorism-specialist-john-fYN9zL/ 3. Former CIA Counter Terrorism Specialist John Kiriakou's Opin (2025-02-06), at 01:07. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYN9zLBJXh8&t=67s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-covertaction-magazine-former-cia-counter-terrorism-specialist-john-fYN9zL/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-gabbard-confirmation-fight/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt