Haley raises concerns about Gabbard, RFK Jr.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley raised major concerns with President-elect Trump’s decision to appoint former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his Cabinet. 

Haley criticized both picks on her SiriusXM show, “Nikki Haley Live.”

She condemned Gabbard’s comments on Russia’s war on Ukraine and her support of a pardon for Edward Snowden, who leaked U.S. intelligence.

“After Russia invaded Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard literally blamed NATO, our Western alliance that’s responsible for countering Russia,” Haley said.

“She blamed NATO for the attack on Ukraine, and the Russians and the Chinese echoed her talking points and her interviews on Russian and Chinese television.”

Haley noted that Gabbard — hasn’t changed her stances on foreign affairs and warned that her rhetoric could be dangerous if she is leading the country’s intelligence efforts.

“So now she’s defended Russia, she’s defended Syria, she’s defended Iran, and she’s defended China. No, she has not denounced any of these views. None of them. She hasn’t taken one of them back,” Haley added.

“This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer,” she said, referring to the position of director of national intelligence, which “has to analyze real threats.”

On Kennedy, she said not enough was known about what he could offer to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

“He’s a liberal Democrat, environmental attorney, trial lawyer who will now be overseeing 25 percent of our federal budget and has no background in health care,” Haley stated.

“So some of you may think RFK is cool, some of you may like that he questions what’s in our food and what’s in our vaccines, but we don’t know, when he is given reins to an agency, what decisions he’s going to make behind the scenes.”

She instead suggested he serve as a health adviser and urged the Senate to “ask the hard questions to him before we go and approve him.”

However, Trump has proposed using recess appointments for his Cabinet members instead of the traditional Senate confirmations, if necessary.

Many of his picks have sparked controversy, but he has maintained the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson and has scheduled the candidates for private meetings with senators alongside Vice-President elect JD Vance.

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