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Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on?

Russian state television refers to Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence as “our girlfriend.” Now why, exactly, would Putin’s mouthpiece say this about the person Donald Trump has chosen to be head of U.S. Intelligence?

The DNI is the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council, directly in charge of the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and all 15 other U.S. Intelligence agencies, with a budget of $100 billion. It is the most politically sensitive position imaginable, responsible for maintaining literally every state secret and shaping the President’s information environment.

But Trump’s pick, Tulsi Gabbard, regularly parrots Russian propaganda, which her former aides say she herself consumes on a daily basis. She blames the United States for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and she disputes established U.S. intelligence indicating that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against his own people in the Syrian Civil War.

“Behind closed doors,” one GOP aide told The Hill, “people think she might be compromised. It’s not hyperbole. There are members of our conference who think she’s a [Russian] asset.” But Trump himself has called Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “genius,” and consistently claims he trusts Putin more than he trusts U.S. intelligence. Why wouldn’t he want a Russian asset to give him his daily intelligence briefing?

As Trump prepares to return to the White House, it is more important than ever that the country is protected from his worst instincts. Nominating Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence is Trump at his worst, a direct invitation to Putin to set our national agenda. The Senate must reject this nomination.

As the person responsible for the entire nation’s gathering of intelligence, and for transmitting this information to the President and all the Executive agencies, it is no exaggeration to say the DNI guides and helps formulate the President’s thoughts on the most confidential workings of the United States’ relationships with every nation in the world, both allies and adversaries.

Now, nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and national security officials are urging Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to review everything the government has on Gabbard. Having served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, the officials say they are “alarmed” by her nomination, as her actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.”

Retired intelligence officer Doug Loudon told ABC News that Gabbard’s spouting of Russian disinformation may result from “naïveté, collusion, or politically opportunistic sycophancy” to try to please Trump, but in any case, she would not be a reliable source to “tell it like it is” to the President and intelligence community.

Ultimately we have to wonder how someone this potentially compromised could even be considered to be responsible for all the nation’s most top secret information? Unless, of course, the President actually intends to share everything with the Kremlin’s girlfriend.

Click “START WRITING” to send your message to the Senate:
Tulsi Gabbard must never be Director of National Intelligence! Her nomination
must be rejected to protect the security of the United States. >>>

A new study by researchers at Yale and Brown is showing that every dollar spent on providing tuition-free, full-time, Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) yields six dollars in benefits for families.

The study found that enrolling 3- and 4-year-old children in UPK programs, open all day from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, regardless of family income, improved parents’ ability to commit to the culture of full time work, resulting in a 21.7% increase in parents’ earnings that persisted even after the children went on to elementary school.

The study’s analysis of the UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut found that the benefits of public spending on UPK far outweigh the costs. As Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell noted, "This kind of payoff is almost unheard of in government labor-market policies.”

The findings support Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposals to limit childcare costs to 7% of family income by expanding childcare and UPK, increasing the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 per child, and providing a $6,000 tax credit for families with newborns.

The study concludes that providing universal pre-K to all children regardless of income is one of the best ways to support workers and boost the economy. In contrast, the Trump-GOP plan has no support for expanding childcare; in fact it calls for eliminating Head Start and relying on family supports. Middle- and working-class families deserve better.

Fortunately, governors and state legislators don’t have to wait for Congress to start implementing UPK policies in their own states.

Click ‘START WRITING’ to sign and send your state leaders a direct message to implement tuition-free, full-time Universal Pre-Kindergarten now.

We must ban guns from every polling place in America.

The voting booth should be a sanctuary of democracy. But every election year, we see reports of extremists openly carrying weapons as voters go to the polls – turning what should be a safe and welcoming experience into one of intimidation and fear.

That's why we're taking bold action to protect voters. Just this year, democracy activists like you helped pass laws restricting guns at polling places in New Mexico and Massachusetts – and with your action, we can bring this solution to every state in the nation.

With political tensions running high, it's more important than ever to ensure our polling places remain free from suppression and fear. No matter what you think about gun safety laws, banning guns at the polls is a commonsense step that every American who loves democracy should be able to agree on right now.

Our democracy works best when every voter feels safe and empowered. Voting is meant to be an act of hope – NOT fear – and with your help, we can make that a reality nationwide.