Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said the White House “banned” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from a congressional briefing on Iran.
Gabbard has been at odds with the administration over her claim in March that the intelligence community believed Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. President Donald Trump said her March claim was “wrong” last week.
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“I’ve never, ever been part of a major Cabinet-level classified briefing where the director of national intelligence was banned from the room,” Murphy told CNN. “It stands to reason that they knew that she was not going to toe the line. She was likely to refuse to say what the administration wants, which is that [Iran’s nuclear] program was obliterated.”
Sen. Chris Murphy on Tulsi Gabbard not being in the room for the briefing today: “I mean, I've never, ever been part of a major Cabinet-level classified briefing where the director of national intelligence was banned from the room.”
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 27, 2025
(WH says she wasn’t scheduled to be there.) pic.twitter.com/sBHx7tevx7
Gabbard wrote in a post on X on Wednesday that “new intelligence” showed “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” She said rebuilding them would take years, rejecting past intelligence leaks that showed the strikes on the nuclear facilities delayed Iran’s nuclear program by just months.
A senior White House official told the Daily Beast that “CIA Director Ratcliffe will represent the intelligence community tomorrow while Tulsi Gabbard continues her critical work at DNI. The media is turning this into something it’s not.”
The DNI also blamed the media for allegedly distorting the intelligence report. “The propaganda media has deployed their usual tactic: selectively release portions of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (intentionally leaving out the fact that the assessment was written with ‘low confidence’) to try to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the brave servicemen and women who flawlessly executed a truly historic mission to keep the American people safe and secure,” she added.
Gabbard was initially scheduled to attend a briefing with senators on Tuesday, but the meeting was postponed to Thursday and Gabbard was removed from those attending, which included Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
It’s unclear whether she will attend a similar briefing for the House on Friday.
Gabbard’s exclusion comes as the White House plans to limit classified intelligence sharing with Congress because of the past leaked intelligence. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the decision should be undone.
“The administration has no right to stonewall Congress on matters of national security,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Senators deserve information, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening right now abroad.
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The administration and Trump have taken offense at anyone suggesting the sites were anything less than destroyed.
“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.