Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said former President Joe Biden’s administration was aware of ‘very sexually explicit, highly inappropriate and unprofessional chatter’ happening on internal agency messaging boards across national intelligence entities for years, but they allowed it to go on.
‘I’ve had whistleblowers come forward just in the last few days who work in the [National Security Agency] and who said, ‘Hey, we saw this, and we reported it through official channels under the Biden administration,’’ she told Fox News Digital in an interview at the White House on Wednesday, following President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting.
‘And essentially they were told this is no issue, step aside,’ Gabbard said.
It all comes back to ‘the Biden administration’s obsession with’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to the new Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
The chatrooms ‘were set up because of DEI policies,’ she said.
Gabbard said the discussions had been going on for two years.
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Biden and former DNI Avril Haines but did not immediately receive comment.
‘They were shut down immediately after President Trump issued his executive order shutting down the DEI across the federal government,’ she noted.
After discovering the chats, Gabbard directed the agencies under her to terminate those involved, which she said amounted to over 100 people. She further directed their security clearances to be revoked.
The employees who were part of the chats ‘violated the trust that the American people placed in them to work in these highly sensitive jobs that are directly related to national security,’ she explained.
As for DEI, Gabbard said, ‘We’re just scratching the surface here’ regarding how much money, time and resources have been spent on DEI in intelligence agencies.
According to the director, ‘getting rid of the DEI center that was stood up under the Biden administration, we immediately saved taxpayers almost $20 million.’
An additional $3 to 4 million was saved by nixing the various DEI conferences that employees would travel to, she added.
Gabbard joined billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisor Elon Musk, Trump, and other confirmed and unconfirmed Cabinet picks on Wednesday during a meeting she described as energetic.
Gabbard explained that many of the Cabinet officials are friends with one another and that they’ve all been inspired by Trump and Musk’s quick and aggressive work with DOGE.