(Headline USA) The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence after Republicans who had initially tried to undermine her fell in line.
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her contentious relationship with the U.S. national security state. For instance, she’s been a vocal supporter of government whistleblower Edward Snowden, who exposed a vast domestic surveillance system in the Obama era.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no’ vote from a Republican came from Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a longtime proponent of war against Russia.
She is the latest high-ranking nominee to win Senate confirmation as the new administration works to reshape vast portions of the federal government, including the intelligence apparatus.
Staffers at the CIA and other intelligence agencies have received buyout offers, while lawmakers and security experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency accessing databases containing information about intelligence operations.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticized the office, saying it has grown too large and politicized. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.
GOP senators who had expressed concerns about Gabbard’s dovish stance on Snowden, Syria and Russia said they were won over by her promise to refocus on the office’s core missions: coordinating federal intelligence work and serving as the president’s chief intelligence adviser.
“While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, adding that Gabbard will bring “independent thinking” to the job.
McConnell, the former GOP leader, said in a statement after the vote that in his assessment, Gabbard brings “unnecessary risk” to the position.
“The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” McConnell said.
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I think we’re greatly disappointed in any Republican who chooses willfully to vote against the president’s exceptionally qualified nominees.”
McConnell also voted against confirming Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
Democrats noted that Gabbard had no experience working for an intelligence agency and they said her dovish stances on Russia, Syria and Snowden were disqualifying.
Until GOP support fell into place, it was unclear whether Gabbard’s nomination would succeed. Given the 53-47 split in the Senate, Gabbard needed virtually all Republicans to vote “yes.”
Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base has pressured senators to support Trump’s nominees, and Elon Musk, the president’s ally, took to social media recently to brand Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., as a “deep-state puppet.” Young had raised concerns about Gabbard but announced his support after speaking with Musk. The post was deleted after they spoke, and Musk later called Young an ally.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
