What we're covering
• Global threats hearing: Top Trump administration intelligence officials have been grilled on the Justice Department’s investigations and prosecutions of non-citizen voting as well as how they approach Russian President Vladimir Putin, at today’s House committee hearing on the Annual Threat Assessment.
• What intel chief said: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard could not point to any specific evidence of foreign meddling in Georgia’s 2020 election when pressed about her presence at the FBI’s seizure of ballots in Fulton County. She faced similar questions at yesterday’s hearing in the Senate.
• DHS nominee vote: Meanwhile, Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the next Homeland Security secretary has advanced, meaning the full Senate is set to vote on it as early as next week. His hearing yesterday turned tense at times.
Military says drones spotted near DC army base where Hegseth, Rubio reportedly live
Two drones have been spotted near Fort Lesley J. McNair, the army base in Washington, DC, a spokesperson for the base told CNN, adding that there is “no credible threat” at this time.
The detection of the drones was first reported by the Washington Post.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth live at Fort McNair, according to the Post, which also reported that officials considered moving the secretaries from the base. The State Department declined to comment.
Patel: Counterintelligence team was fired over "ethical violations"
FBI Director Kash Patel said that he fired a dozen agents and staff members from a counterintelligence unit tasked with monitoring threats from Iran over “ethical violations,” but avoided saying their ousting was due to involvement in the past classified documents investigation into the President Donald Trump.
In his testimony at the House Worldwide Threats hearing today, Patel told lawmakers Iran poses a “continuing threat to the homeland” as the war continues. In the past year, the FBI’s Iranian Threat Mission Center saw a substantial increase in “Iranian spy actors willing to steal our information and attack our citizens,” he said.
CNN previously reported the team was ousted because of their work on the investigation of Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The late February dismissals added to concern inside the Justice Department and FBI that counterterrorism and intelligence investigations could be hampered, CNN reported.
Citing the CNN reporting, Democratic representatives pushed Patel to explain why, if threats were rising and if he knew the war was imminent, he chose to dismiss that unit.
“I don’t work on timelines when these terminations occur,” Patel said of the firings.
The director first said he didn’t think the group worked in counterintelligence, then said he was “not familiar” with their purview.
“You fired the people,” Cohen said. “Where did they work?”
Patel responded that the employees “were terminated for violating their ethical obligations.”
“Were the ethical violations that they dealt with the case of the classified documents that were found at the bathroom in Mar-a-Lago?” Cohen asked.
Patel said that there was pending litigation barred him from commenting further.
Several other senior officials were also ousted or reassigned because of their involvement in Trump-related investigations, sources previously told CNN.
GOP leader: Unclear if a $200B war funding bill could pass the US Senate
US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Trump administration will need to provide Congress with all of the fine points of how they want to spend a $200 billion supplemental spending request for the Iran war and “it remains to be seen” if it could pass the chamber.
Such a measure would likely need several Democratic votes to overcome a filibuster, he said.
“It remains to be seen,” Thune told CNN when asked if it could pass the chamber. “And obviously we haven’t seen any of the specifics around it yet. Saw the aggregate number they’re proposing, but we’re going to need to, obviously take a look at it.”
Earlier in the day, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not deny a news report that the Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion funding request to Congress to fund the Iran war.
“I think that number could move. It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth told reporters when asked about the request, which was reported by the Washington Post.
Thune, asked if the new spending should be offset now that the US debt has crossed the astronomical $39 trillion mark, said: “Those are all good questions, and all questions we’re going to have to answer.”
Told that Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski complained she would need a lot more detail about the request before she could support it, Thune agreed on the need for transparency.
“I think they’re going to have to show us how they want to use it,” he said. “For sure.”
Trump’s intel chiefs draw contrast with Witkoff in taking Russians at their word
US President Donald Trump’s intelligence chiefs said Thursday they don’t take Russian President Vladimir Putin — or any other foreign adversary — at their word, in contrast to recent comments made by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff said last week that Russia had denied media reports that it was providing Iran with intelligence about the movements of US military personnel in the ongoing war with Iran.
“[W]e can take them at their word,” Witkoff said of the Russians, in an interview with CNBC.
Under questioning from Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all said that it’s a tenet of US intelligence operations to not take any assurances by foreign adversaries at face value.
Much of the intelligence Russia has shared with Iran has been imagery from Moscow’s sophisticated constellation of overhead satellites, CNN has reported, citing a source familiar with the US intelligence reporting.
In two days of public testimony before House and Senate committees, some lawmakers have tried to get Trump administration officials to reveal more about any support Russia has provided Iran during the ongoing US-Iran war.
Officials have largely reserved their answers for the classified portion of the hearings. Ratcliffe said Wednesday that Iran has requested intelligence help from Russia and China in the US-Iran war.
Gabbard distances herself from counterterrorism chief’s resignation over Iran war
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday distanced herself from her former top counterterrorism official who blamed Israel for US involvement in the Iran war.
“Yes,” Gabbard answered when asked by Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York whether she found ex-counterterrorism chief Joe Kent’s comments concerning.
Kent resigned on Tuesday in protest of the US war with Iran while claiming it is “clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers have slammed Kent’s comments as propagating antisemitic tropes.
Kent has claimed that US officials with dissenting views on the Iran war were sidelined in the lead-up to President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran.
Kent’s explosive resignation letter has brought new scrutiny to opposition to the war among Trump’s MAGA supporters while forcing Gabbard to distance herself from a once-close ally.
When she announced Kent’s hiring as the head of National Counterterrorism Center, Gabbard said: “I am proud to welcome soldier, father, husband, patriot Joe Kent to our leadership team.”
Fetterman explains why he crossed party lines to support Mullin for DHS chief
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who cast the deciding vote to advance GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be Department of Homeland Security secretary, explained his decision Thursday.
He chose to back Mullin, he said in a post on X, due to their “strong committed, constructive working relationship.”
President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that he was firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and naming Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, to replace her.
Mullin’s nomination will now move to a confirmation vote in the full Senate.
FBI director Patel grilled on investigations into non-citizen voting
FBI Director Kash Patel was grilled on the Justice Department’s investigations and prosecutions of non-citizen voting, as Democratic Rep. Jim Himes suggested Republicans are overinflating it as an issue.
Patel, speaking at the House Worldwide Threats hearing, could not tell Himes how many non-citizens had been convicted for voting in US elections, nor could he offer a specific number when he was asked how many active investigations are underway at the FBI. Patel said he would follow up with the committee.
When Himes raised analysis of data compiled by a conservative thinktank that indicated just 77 cases of non-citizen voting over the course of 24 years, Patel said he believed that estimation to be low.
Himes noted that the Senate is spending several days considering a likely doomed elections overhaul bill that imposes additional steps for citizenship voter verification, while President Donald Trump vowed to not sign other bills while that legislation was stalled in Congress.
Himes asked why foreign influence on US elections was not referenced at all in the intelligence community’s annual worldwide threats report if it was such a big issue.
“This annual threat assessment was shaped around the national security strategies, prioritization of threats to our nation and our nation’s interests,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said. “There are multiple platforms and venues where there have been and there will be reporting on threats to our foreign threats to our elections.”
Mullin’s nomination to lead DHS advances after Fetterman joins with Republicans in vote
Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security will get a full Senate vote after Democratic Sen. John Fetterman joined Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to advance it.
The panel’s recommendation hinged on Fetterman’s decision to cross the aisle, after Republican Chairman Rand Paul declared he would not support Mullin, citing concerns with the Oklahoma senator’s temperament.
The committee voted to advance the nomination 8-7.
Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, said at the top of the hearing that he planned to vote no, also questioning whether the lawmaker had the “experience or the temperament” to serve in the role.
If confirmed, Mullin will lead a department of more than 260,000 employees that oversees critical agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said that he hopes to hold Mullin’s confirmation vote early next week.
Read more on Mullin’s grilling before the Senate Homeland Security committee.
Gabbard dodges when pressed on evidence of foreign meddling in Georgia's 2020 election
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard could not point to any specific evidence of foreign meddling in Georgia’s 2020 election when pressed about her presence at the FBI’s seizure of ballots in Fulton County.
As Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, asked her repeatedly at the House Worldwide Threats hearing for any specific intelligence her office had gathered, Gabbard said the agency was “continuing to look at previous attempts to interfere in our elections and any ongoing threats that may exist for the upcoming elections.”
Gabbard’s office has no legal authority when it comes to domestic election administration. The FBI affidavit that justified its seizure of the ballots made no mention of foreign meddling claims, exacerbating questions about why Gabbard showed up the search
Himes also questioned Gabbard on the intelligence community’s review election equipment in Puerto Rico. She acknowledged that she did not inform the committee that she was taking custody of the machines and said they are currently being held at a security facility at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
What to know about the global threats hearing happening in the House today
Top intelligence officials from the Trump administration are back on Capitol Hill today. Here’s what we know.
What: The hearing is about the Annual Threat Assessment, the first such report not to mention foreign threats to US elections since Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Where: The officials will be taking questions from members of the House Intelligence Committee. (They appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday and were pressed about the war with Iran).
When: The hearing will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, the committee said.
Who: A host of top witnesses are expected to be there, according to the committee, including:
- Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe
- FBI Director Kash Patel
- National Security Agency Acting Director Lt. Gen. William Hartman
- Director of Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. James Adams
This is what top intelligence officials said during their Senate hearing yesterday
Top Trump administration officials testified publicly yesterday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago. Today, they are back on Capitol Hill for another hearing in front of the House Intelligence Committee.
They were pressed on the administration’s often-confusing and contradictory claims about the Iran war and the underlying intelligence.
Here are the key things to remember to get up to speed:
- Trump’s claims about Iran nuclear weapons: Trump has stated that Iran had “attempted to rebuild their nuclear program” after his June strikes and the White House has cited an “imminent nuclear threat” posed by Iran. But in Gabbard’s prepared opening statement, she said there have “been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.”
- Threatening the US: Trump claimed Iran was building intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that would “soon reach the United States of America.” Gabbard, however, reiterated a previous assessment that Iran “could use” existing technology “to begin to develop a militarily viable ICBM before 2035 should Tehran attempt to pursue that capability.” That assessment would be updated in light of the current war, she said.
- “Imminent” threat: Asked whether the intelligence showed an “imminent nuclear threat,” Gabbard responded, “The only person who can determine what is and is not a threat is the president.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe reflected on Iranian-backed attacks on Americans in the region and said it has long posed an “immediate” threat.
How Mullin says he would be different from Kristi Noem as head of DHS
During his confirmation hearing to be the next Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin was given multiple opportunities to differentiate himself from outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, who was ousted from the job after a year of controversies and chaos within the agency.
First, during his opening statement, Mullin said he would admit when he was wrong.
Later, he was given the chance to do just that, and he took it. Shortly after Alex Pretti’s killing in January by an immigration officer, Mullin described him as “deranged.” He said during yesterday’s hearing that it was a mistake to do so. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he said, adding: “I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault.”
More than once, Mullin said he hoped that DHS under his leadership would not be in the headlines every day. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said, would hopefully be taken off the “front line” and instead be primarily used to transport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes from local jails through cooperation with local law enforcement.
Mullin also said ICE officers would only enter homes using judicial warrants, with limited exigent circumstances.
He also said he would cooperate with the agency’s inspector general, including by providing all records and documents asked by the watchdog as required by law. Mullin would also do away with one of Noem’s most controversial policies that required her signoff on contracts exceeding $100,000, he said.
