Democratic lawmakers are raising alarms after Tulsi Gabbard was spotted at an FBI-executed search of a Fulton County elections office, an appearance critics say falls far outside the traditional responsibilities of the nation’s top intelligence official.

Gabbard, who serves as Director of National Intelligence, was seen Wednesday at the search in Georgia, reportedly dressed in a plain black coat and baseball cap and observed near an FBI evidence truck. Her presence immediately drew scrutiny from members of Congress, who questioned why the head of the U.S. intelligence community would personally attend a domestic law enforcement operation involving election records.

“I think much of the American public are quite reasonably alarmed and asking questions after the Director of National Intelligence was spotted, bizarrely and personally lurking in an FBI evidence truck in Fulton County,” said Jon Ossoff during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday.

Ossoff urged colleagues from both parties to determine whether Gabbard is “straying far outside of [her] lane,” noting that the DNI’s statutory role is to oversee and coordinate the work of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA, and advise the president on national security threats — not to participate in FBI searches.

On social media, Jason Crow accused Gabbard of “spending her time raiding the Fulton County, Georgia election center to feed Donald Trump’s delusion,” rather than focusing on protecting the country from foreign adversaries.

Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress, has emerged as a close ally of Donald Trump. Although she endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, she has since aligned herself with Trump’s efforts to revisit and discredit the results of the presidential election — claims that have been repeatedly rejected by courts, election officials, and independent investigations.

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Gabbard had “no reason” to be present at the raid. Speaking on CNN, McCabe noted that the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the DNI position, gives the office no operational authority over domestic law enforcement activities.

“There is no operational role, not in intelligence and certainly not in domestic law enforcement,” McCabe said.

Similarly, Mark Warner questioned why Gabbard appeared at the Fulton County search while remaining absent from other pressing international matters, including recent developments involving foreign leaders and overseas security threats.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence defended Gabbard’s involvement. Press secretary Olivia Coleman said Gabbard believes election security is “essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation’s security,” adding that the DNI plays a “vital role” in identifying vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, including voting systems.

An ODNI official also cited a federal statute authorizing oversight of a national counterintelligence officer tasked with addressing risks to election infrastructure posed by foreign powers. Critics, however, point out that the law is narrowly focused on foreign interference — not domestic election administration or alleged misconduct by local officials.

A U.S. official familiar with the search warrant said it authorized FBI agents to look for physical ballots, voter rolls, ballot images, and tabulator tapes as part of a broader investigation into whether election records were destroyed or fraudulent votes were submitted.