The Trump administration rescinded a job offer to anti-Israel commentator Daniel Davis to be deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration following Jewish Insider’s reporting on his anti-Israel views, and amid growing criticism of the selection from both sides of the aisle.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to JI that Davis — who had been offered and accepted a role and was undergoing a background check — would no longer be joining the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The New York Times reported that DNI Tulsi Gabbard “opted not to name” Davis to the position, and an associate of Davis confirmed in a post that Davis had been “informed there would be no job.”
The White House did not respond to inquiries from JI about the appointment. ODNI spokesperson Alexa Henning denied on X that Davis had been considered for the role.
Davis’ past comments on Israel and Iran had prompted bipartisan alarm on Wednesday. He suggested that Israel bears some of the responsibility for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, called U.S. backing for Israel’s operations in Gaza a “strategic and moral mistake” and said that Iran does not pose a threat to the United States.
“I am absolutely shocked by these comments,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told JI earlier in the day, before Davis’ job offer was withdrawn. “President Trump is the most pro-Israel president in our nation’s history, and I fully expect every member of the administration to enact his agenda and stand strong with our great ally, Israel.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told JI he had not seen the reporting on Davis, but that his past comments, as described by JI, would be cause for concern.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed particular concern about Davis’ comments about the Oct. 7 attack.
“Daniel Davis blamed Israel for being attacked by terrorists on October 7, when more than 1200 innocent Israeli civilians died at the hands of Hamas. He called it, quote, ‘convenient’ for Israel,” Warner said in a statement to JI. “On the basis of those statements alone, he is utterly unqualified for any role in intelligence analysis, particularly one as important as Deputy DNI.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said, “It’s up to those Republicans who claim to support Israel to tell Trump: No! No friend of #Israel would put Daniel Davis in a position of power.”
The role for which Davis had been considered supervises the compiling of the president’s daily brief, and sometimes directly briefs the president, according to the Times. The slot has generally been filled by longtime CIA officers.
Davis, by contrast, had little if any intelligence experience and hosts a YouTube talk show and podcast which frequently features conspiracy theorists, alleged Russian propagandists and a series of otherwise controversial or discredited foreign policy analysts and leaders.
Several prominent conservative figures off of Capitol HIll also expressed serious concerns about the selection.
“Wow. So bizarre. Fighting antisemitism like never before but installing this guy,” commentator Mark Levin said. “Hard to understand this pick by Gabbard.”
“This guy should be nowhere near the ODNI,” said Marc Thiessen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
The Anti-Defamation League and other pro-Israel groups also strongly condemned the selection.
“It would be extremely dangerous for Daniel Davis to be the Deputy Director of National Intelligence,” the ADL said in a statement. “He has diminished Hamas’s 10/7 attack, undermined US support for Israel’s right to defend itself, and blatantly denies the grave threat the Iranian regime poses to global stability and American interests. All of this makes him unfit for this key security role.”
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, called the pick “troubling” and said, “I don’t know what the Trump administration is thinking with this appointment.”
Democratic Majority for Israel said, “Tulsi Gabbard should immediately reconsider her appointment of Daniel Davis to a top intelligence role. His long record of hostility against one of our closest allies, Israel, particularly regarding the barbaric 10/7 attacks, should disqualify him.”
Jewish Insider’s congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs contributed reporting.