Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s DNI pick, said the attack on Sept. 11 likely could have been prevented if not for government “stovepiping,” where government officials deliver intelligence directly to high-ranking officials without broadening communications.
“There’s a general consensus that there was a massive intelligence failure,” Republican Sen. Roger Wicker said during Gabbard’s hearing regarding 9/11. “This caught us all by surprise, even though the the World Trade Center had been attacked earlier. Do you think stovepipeing was a problem in our intelligence failure?”
“There’s no question about it, senator,” Gabbard said, before Wicker asked her to elaborate.
“Senator, when we looked back at the post-9/11 reporting and the post-assessments that were made, it was very clear, that there was stovepiping of information and intelligence that occurred at many levels, at the highest, but also at the lowest levels,” she said.
‘LIES AND SMEARS’: TULSI GABBARD RAILS AGAINST DEM NARRATIVE SHE’S TRUMP’S AND PUTIN’S ‘PUPPET’
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Gabbard, a former Congresswoman from Hawaii who previously ran for president as a Democrat before joining the Republican Party and supporting President Trump, is facing criticism from Senators over her lack of intelligence experience and her opinions on domestic surveillance powers. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“Information that was collected by the FBI, information that was collected by the CIA was not being shared. It was almost ships passing in the night where if there was an integration of those intelligence elements and information being shared, it is highly likely that that horrific attack could have been prevented,” she said.
TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED
Wicker pressed if the intelligence community could face another “stovepipe” issue in the future if plans to trim the DNI office of redundant jobs and increase efficiency, as Gabbard has said she will do, is put into effect.
A hijacked plane crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11 (Seth McAllister/AFP via Getty Images)
“And that’s the reason, really, your position was created,” Wicker told Gabbard after she said 9/11 likely could have been prevented. “There’s been some discussion this morning, I again, have not been able to listen in, but I understand there’s been some discussion about reforming the office of DNI, to eliminate redundancy and increase effectiveness. Do you worry that in doing so, we might be getting back to the same problem that we had in 2001?”
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET
“The problem that we had in 2001, senator, remains at the forefront of my mind. And as you said, this is exactly why the ODNI was created. Given my limited vantage point not being in this seat, I am concerned that there are still problems with stovepiping that need to be addressed. And in some cases, my concern would be that unnecessary bureaucratic layers may be contributing to that problem. This is where coming in and being able to really take a fresh look, given my experience and my background, will be essential to making sure that the ODNI is accomplishing the reason why it was created in the first place,” she responded.
Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on her nomination to be US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Gabbard was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after throwing her hat in the 2020 White House race.
She left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent, before becoming a Republican this year and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign before Trump named her his DNI pick.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
She appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of the last leg of her confirmation process. Fox News Digital reported ahead of the hearing that Gabbard does not currently have a majority of its members’ votes, which are necessary to move to the full Senate, according to a senior Intel Committee aide.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
