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Outgoing US ambassador Caroline Kennedy has called for calm over Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations, suggesting Australia wait and see who actually gets confirmed before considering implications.
After speaking at the National Press Club earlier today, Kennedy was asked why Australia should continue to trust the US with sensitive intelligence given Trump’s nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Outgoing US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, speaks in Canberra on Monday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Democrats have accused Gabbard of posing a threat to US intelligence through links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In response, Kennedy implied it wasn’t a certainty that Gabbard would be confirmed, while joking about her own familial links to controversial Trump appointments.
“So let’s see what happens with President Trump’s appointment. They have been … making waves, headlines,” Kennedy said.
“There’s another one who is nominated for health and human services,” she joked, referring to her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr, as the crowd erupted in laughter.
“Let’s just calm down and wait and see what happens. But obviously that would be of great concern, and we’ll see who actually gets confirmed.”