Senior Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on Thursday launched a sharp critique of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, arguing that the Trump administration left it weakened and politicized.
In a public statement, Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, charged that the Trump administration valued political loyalty over professional expertise, leading to the ouster of seasoned intelligence officials, including a former director of the National Security Agency. Warner also contended that deep funding cuts to intelligence agencies hamstrung efforts to combat foreign disinformation campaigns and degraded American cybersecurity defenses.
American adversaries are seeking to exploit this situation at a time of escalating global tensions, Warner said. The current Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, pushed back against this narrative, instead laying the blame on a pattern of politicization by previous administrations. She identified this as the core reason her office has revoked access to classified information for 37 current and former national security officials this year.
The debate over the health of the U.S. intelligence community was further complicated by a new challenge. Two senior House Democrats sent a letter to Ms. Gabbard on Thursday demanding answers on whether recent U.S. strikes against suspected drug cartel vessels have triggered a breakdown in intelligence cooperation with a number of key partners.
The letter from House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking Member Jim Himes (CT) and Representative Joaquin Castro (TX) followed recent reports that Colombia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands have each imposed new limits on sharing sensitive intelligence with the United States.