Gabbard no-show at Senate briefing leaves gaping hole in Trump's claim Iran's nuclear program is 'obliterated'

Source: The Independent

Gabbard no-show at Senate briefing leaves gaping hole in Trump’s claim Iran’s nuclear program is ‘obliterated’

Comes as the White House insists U.S. bombing raid on Iran ‘obliterated’ the nuclear program

Eric Garcia
Washington, DC
Thursday 26 June 2025 22:59 BST

Donald Trump’s national security team briefed the Senate on Thursday about the president’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities last Saturday, but one Cabinet member was conspicuously absent.

Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all spoke to senators in the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF).

But Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was missing from the briefing, which came after multiple news outlets reported on a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, first reported by CNN, that questioned whether the strikes destroyed the core components of the Iran nuclear program.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, excoriated the reports and the leaks and the characterization that the strikes may not have destroyed Iran’s nuclear programs as Trump and Hegseth have maintained.

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Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tulsi-gabbard-senate-absent-trump-nuclear-program-b2777833.html

Alternate link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/gabbard-no-show-senate-briefing-215941604.html