Former British spy chief Sir John Sawers does not have a lot of confidence in Tulsi Gabbard as Trump's pick for America's Director of National Intelligence.

Sawers recently called Gabbard's nomination for the position "difficult" because of her "pro-Russian" stances. MSN reports that he also said he sees no "overall global plan" for Trump's foreign policy.

Sir John Sawers has a lot of foreign policy experience, having previously acted as the British ambassador to the United Nations, political director of the Foreign Office, and a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sawers' career culminated in his appointment as the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in November 2009. He served in that role until 2014, having previously served as an intelligence officer for the agency.

Thoughts on Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard has been a controversial figure in American politics for a few years now. Some Republicans are weary of her because she spent her life as a Democrat before flipping and hitching her wagon to the MAGA train.

Most Democrats don't like her either, feeling betrayed and hurt that she would dare leave their party. The former Democratic representative from Hawaii and 2020 presidential candidate has been accused of being a "traitor" for her pro-Russia talking points and making a surprise visit to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017.

Sawers recently sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour for an interview and gave his thoughts on Gabbard:

"I think senators have got a lot of responsibility to ensure that only people who are suited to top jobs get through to them, especially those in the most sensitive areas. The United States is the most powerful intelligence community in the world, and one of its biggest challenges is Russia, and another [of its] biggest challenges is China."

He continued, "To have someone who's a director of national intelligence who basically takes a very pro-Russian approach, well, that strikes me as very difficult, and it makes it difficult for America's partners as well. How do you deal with an intelligence community where the most senior figure in it, the Cabinet member in it, is basically sympathetic to our biggest enemy?"

Sawers then added that Gabbard was not the only thing he was skeptical about regarding Trump's upcoming presidency.

"I don't think it's a Trump doctrine yet," he said. "I think what we have is an approach to the rest of the world."

"Obviously America First is the starting point of that. I think he also has a sort of belief in spheres of influence. He likes and admires, to some extent, other powerful leaders, and I think some of this stuff, which we were taken surprise by about, perhaps on Greenland and Panama and so on, is about consolidating America's sphere of influence over the Western hemisphere, and we'll see what the approach is going to be on Europe, on Ukraine, on the Middle East, and on China," he continued. "It's step-by-step. At this stage, I don't think there's an overall global plan."

What others are saying

Some people are saying that the controversies surrounding Gabbard mean she won't be confirmed.

"Right now it appears that Senators Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell are likely 'no' votes on Tulsi Gabbard's nomination for Director of National Intelligence. This would mean that she would not be confirmed. I support these senators. She is vastly unqualified for the position," said entrepreneur Brian Krassenstein.

Meghan McCain had a much more favorable view of Gabbard: "The criticism of [Tulsi Gabbard] from [Senator Mark Kelly] and [Senator Mitch McConnell] has always been baseless, disrespectful - and now it is increasingly sexist toward an accomplished active duty woman who is a true maverick and a bold hearted American patriot. I look forward to seeing you both next week Senators - and standing with Tulsi at her confirmation hearing. My father never questioned the service of others, and those who claim his legacy should know better than to question hers," she said on social media.

The next step for Gabbard is when America's Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on her nomination on January 30.