The White House excluded Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from months of internal planning related to the operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro because of her long-standing opposition to U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, reports Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Formally, the DNI is the President’s chief intelligence advisor.
Despite being sidelined from planning meetings, Gabbard continued to provide intelligence assessments and regularly briefed the President, according to a senior intelligence official. She also attended Oval Office meetings and later publicly praised U.S. service members for the operation’s execution, breaking days of silence as other national security leaders promoted the action.
