Tulsi Gabbard withdraws Daniel Davis’ appointment for the role of senior intelligence about Israel’s criticism

Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director, USA (Photosi)

Tulsi Gabbardhe National Intelligence Directordecided not to continue with the appointment of Daniel Davis to a higher intelligence position after facing an important opposition within the coalition of President Trump, according to a New York Times report.
Davis, the main member of the Group of Experts of Defense Priorities, was experiencing a background verification to become the deputy director of the mission integration. This critical role supervises the president’s daily report, an intelligence compendium presented to the White House.
Davis, who has been openly critical with US military intervention abroad, particularly in the Middle East, faced a violent reaction for their criticisms of IsraelThe response to Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
According to the New York Times, his views on Gaza’s conflict, especially his skepticism of the United States’s support for Israel’s military actions, criticism of conservative members of the administration and congress caused fierce. A superior administration official told the New York Times: “Given the reaction, Gabbard reconsidered his choice” and finally withdrew the appointment.
Davis had publicly condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza, describing the assault as a convenient “excuse” for “meaningless destruction” and criticizing war support as a “stain in our character as a nation”, according to the American platform of political digital news.
Although the Administration had not officially confirmed the appointment of Davis, the news were leaked by Senator of Virginia Mark Warner, the main Democrat in the Senate Intelligence Committee. Warner, along with others, expressed strong objections to Davis’s opinions, with Warner calling him “completely without qualified” for any intelligence analysis paper, particularly one as important as the attached ID, Politician reported.
The first time privileged information was first informed by Jewish Insider earlier in the day, which caused a wave of criticism of pro-Israel legislators and defenders, including Fox News presenter, Mark Levin, who described the decision as “strange” and “difficult to understand” and the anti-defamation league, which labeled it “extremely dangerous.”
After the violent reaction, the Office of the National Intelligence Director issued a statement in the social networks that denied an earlier political report regarding the appointment, but did not provide more details. Shortly after, it was confirmed that Davis had been taken from consideration.
The Anti-Defamation League also condemned Davis’s possible appointment, calling her “extremely dangerous” in the light of his position on Israel and his minimization of Hamas’s attack. In a statement, the group said that Davis’s positions could undermine American support to Israel at a time of elevated conflict, New York Times reported.
Conservative legislators were also vowels in their opposition, and some lobbied silently to avoid nomination, fearing that Davis’s opinions could weaken relations with Israel.
Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer, expressed concern about Davis’s qualifications, saying that his “critic manifested Israel and total opposition to any military action against Iran seems to be contrary to the current administration policy.”
Davis’s supporters defended their history, emphasizing that their criticisms were not rooted in anti -Semitism but in a broader skepticism of military interventions that do not directly serve us interest. “He has constantly spoken against military action when it is not in the national interest of the United States,” said one of his allies.
The controversy sheds light on emerging failures within the Trump administration on foreign policy, particularly with respect to Israel and US military participation in the Middle East.
While more adherent figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz advocate a strong support for Israel, figures such as Gabbard and Davis have pressed for a more restricted approach.