Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed by the US Senate as National Intelligence Director.The decision was made by a vote of 52-48, with only Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voting against.
Gabbard, a presidential candidate and Iraq war veteran, has long criticized the intelligence agency she will lead. After the vote, McConnell said her judgment is “flawed”, making her unfit for the “critical position”.
Since leaving the Democratic Party in 2022, Gabbard has served as an independent. Her nomination was initiated by former President Donald Trump in mid-November, a move that drew strong criticism among establishment leaders who considered her background a security risk. In 2022, she also argued that the conflict in Ukraine might have been avoided if the United States had recognized Russia’s legitimate security concerns linked to Kiev’s ambitions to join NATO.
In October, Gabbard announced her affiliation with the Republican Party during a rally in support of Trump’s presidential campaign. She has been criticized in the past for her controversial positions, including her support for whistleblower Edward Snowden and a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017. During her confirmation hearing, she refrained from calling Snowden a traitor and instead said he had broken the law.
Despite initial concerns about her limited experience in intelligence, Republican voters agreed on her nomination. As National Intelligence Director, Gabbard will oversee 18 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, which together employ more than 70,000 people.
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The US Embassy is demanding that the Stockholm City Planning Office sign a contract committing to immediately stop engaging in left-liberal activism in the form of DEI initiatives on “diversity, inclusion and equality”.
– It’s completely bizarre, says City Planning Councilor Jan Valeskog (S).
Speaking on Swedish state radio SR, he insists that “values such as diversity and gender equality are very important to the City of Stockholm” and that there are no plans to deviate from this line.
The embassy notes that under the Trump administration, a new policy has been introduced whereby all parties from whom the US government purchases goods or services must sign the contract in question, and that the Stockholm City Planning Office has ten days to do so.
– We are absolutely not going to do that, it is contrary to everything we stand for. They should withdraw these absurdities, continues a visibly upset Valeskog in the Bonnier newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
He argues that it is the embassy that is dependent on the city of Stockholm – not the other way around, and that the Americans themselves will suffer the most if the contract is terminated.
“Their headache”
– If the US terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have a hard time getting building permits if they want to rebuild, for example. That’s their headache, not ours.
It’s not just the City of Stockholm that has been sent these contracts and accompanying requirements The policy has been introduced on a global scale – and those who don’t sign up risk losing their contracts.
At the same time, there has also been some confusion about what the Americans are really after.
Just over a month ago, the US embassy in Sweden stated that the requirements only applied to companies “controlled by a US employer and employing US citizens”.
DEI stands for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion". It is an umbrella term for various initiatives and initiatives aimed at quotas or otherwise favoring different minorities in, for example, working life and education.
Critics, however, argue that DEI is based on a left-wing ideological worldview rather than on proven methodology. There are also concerns that focusing on sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or religion rather than skills risks undermining the meritocracy and that DEI initiatives are used to discriminate against white people.
Several studies also indicate that DEI training programs have almost no or even counterproductive effects. As these programs have become more widespread, the backlash has grown, particularly in the United States, where some universities have begun to phase them out.
Yesterday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth strongly criticized left-wing liberal so-called diversity and inclusion programs within the military and reiterated the message that there is no future for such destructive phenomena within the US Armed Forces.
In a speech delivered at the Special Operations Forces Week conference, the defense secretary declared that climate alarmism, LGBTQ lobbying, and vaccine mandates are over, and that from now on, the focus will be solely on issues that are actually relevant to the military.
– No more pronouns, no more climate change obsession, no more emergency vaccine mandates, and no more dudes in dresses.
– We’re done with that shit, Hegseth continued.
BREAKING Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has a message for the entire World:
Hegseth’s statements follow a US Supreme Court ruling that gives the green light to the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the military’s focus by restricting the participation of transgender people in the armed forces.
The decision is based on an executive order signed in January, shortly after Donald Trump took office, with the aim of ensuring what the administration describes as an effective and unified defense force.
“The dumbest phrase in military history”
The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Hegseth’s views on diversity programs in the US military and how he condemned the left-liberal rhetoric previously used by the military leadership.
– I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength’, Hegseth explained at a meeting with Defense Department employees at the Pentagon.
– I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, he continued, promising to do everything in his power to remove left-wing activist influence from the army.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Monday that it will offer $1,000 in compensation to anyone who is in the US illegally and voluntarily returns to their home country. The measure is part of the mass deportation campaign that has been central to Trump’s politics since he ran for office.
According to a press release from the US Department of Homeland Security, the government will also cover travel expenses. Migrants who use the CBP Home app to notify the authorities that they plan to return will also be given priority in the agency’s work on arrests and physical removals.
– If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding:
– DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App.
The department itself states that it has already paid for the plane ticket for a migrant who has returned to Honduras from Chicago, and that more tickets are booked for this week and next week.
NOW – Kristi Noem breaks down self-deportation: “These illegal aliens that are in our country have the opportunity to go on the CBP Home app and we will facilitate them finding their way back to their countries—They will be paid $1000 as an incentive.” pic.twitter.com/9Rw5mmWxrX
During his presidential campaign, Trump made immigration control and mass deportations a central issue, and his administration has continued along this path during its first months in power. At the same time, implementation has been described as expensive, slow, and resource-intensive.
While the Republican government is requesting significantly increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for deporting unwanted immigrants from the country, it is also trying to get people without residence permits to leave the US voluntarily.
The initiative has been combined with TV ads warning of measures against illegal immigrants and images on social media showing arrests and migrants being taken to a giant prison in El Salvador.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele inspects the giant “Cetot” prison, where criminal migrants have also been sent. Photo: Casa Presidencial, El Salvador/CC0 1.0
The Trump administration has repeatedly described self-deportation as a way for migrants to preserve the possibility of legally returning to the US in the future, and the president himself repeated this message on Monday in a statement to reporters at the White House.
He said that immigrants who leave the country voluntarily may have a chance to return legally in the future, “if they are good people” and “love our country”.
– If they aren’t, they won’t, Trump added.
Activists urge migrants to reject the offer
It should be noted that the app developed by the Trump administration is a revised version of the app launched during Joe Biden’s presidency with the aim of allowing nearly one million immigrants to book appointments to enter the country.
However, as the purpose of the app is now to encourage immigrants to return home, it has been renamed from CBP One to CBP Home and, according to the Department of Homeland Security, has so far been used by “thousands” of migrants for self-deportation.
However, Trump’s opponents do not view the proposal favorably. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration activist and senior researcher at the American Immigration Council, urges migrants to be very cautious and consider remaining in the US for as long as possible to pursue their cases in immigration court.
He points out that it is often a disadvantage for migrants themselves to leave the country voluntarily, especially for those already facing deportation, as failure to participate in court proceedings can lead to automatic deportation orders and returning home is often considered abandoning important applications, such as asylum.
Others argue that the amount is probably far too low and that only a few illegal immigrants would actually consider leaving the US permanently in exchange for $1,000.
The number of travelers to the United States has declined significantly since Donald Trump took office. The decline is visible in almost all parts of the world, but mostly from countries in the Caribbean and Central America.
In March, the number of travelers to the country fell by nearly 12%, compared to the same time last year. In February, the number of travelers decreased by two percent, compared to the previous year. According to data from the International Trade Administration, there were 17 percent fewer visitors from Western Europe in March, 24 percent fewer from Central America and 26 percent fewer from the Caribbean compared to a year ago, reports the Washington Post.
When Trump took office in January, international tourism in the country had almost returned to pre-corona figures, but now the decline is at the same significant level as then. Experts believe the decline is due to Trump’s statements, including that the imposed tariffs are creating tension internationally. Some countries have also tightened travel advisories to the US.
– The reaction of international travelers to avoid the US is entirely predictable, says Adam Sacks, CEO of Tourism Economics, an industry research firm:
– The combination of policy and rhetoric that has been so divisive and combative and isolationist – each successive policy and related polemics have been making the situation worse.
May affect tourism revenues
The downturn is the first significant one since the coronavirus crisis and could result in the loss of millions of dollars in tourism revenue if it persists. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that travel added $1.3 trillion to the US economy and created 15 million jobs last year.
– We attribute this to a variety of factors, including a strong dollar, long visa wait times, concerns over travel restrictions, a question of America’s welcomeness, a slowing U.S. economy and recent safety concerns, says Allison O’Connor, a spokeswoman for the organization.
In a response to a request for comment on the decline, the White House said Trump’s policies would strengthen the country’s image.
– President Trump’s agenda to make America wealthy, safe, and beautiful again benefits Americans and international visitors alike, said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
