Topline
The Senate approved Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence Wednesday—despite some bipartisan skepticism about her foreign policy views and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voting alongside Democrats to oppose her confirmation.
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives ... [+]
Timeline
The Senate confirmed Gabbard 52-48, with McConnell and all Democrats voting against her—but key moderate Republicans like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voting yes.
McConnell explained his no vote in a statement that chided Gabbard’s “alarming lapses in judgement,” citing her previous controversial comments on the Russia-Ukraine war that many viewed as sympathetic toward Russia, her past support for National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and a statement she made on X in 2023 warning of the “remilitarization” of Japan, a key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific.
The Senate voted along party lines 52-46, with two senators not voting, to advance Gabbard’s nomination, which will now face one final vote potentially as soon as Tuesday night, NBC News reported.
The Senate Intelligence Committee privately voted along party lines to send Gabbard, one of President Donald Trump’s more controversial picks, to the Senate floor for approval, where she can only afford to lose three Republican votes if every Democrat votes against her confirmation, as is expected.
Ahead of the vote, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.—who had a heated exchange with Gabbard during her hearing about Edward Snowden and was reportedly one of the last votes she needed to make it out of committee—tweeted he would support her nomination after securing commitments from her “that will advance our national security.”
Collins, a moderate Intelligence Committee member who had expressed reservations about Gabbard, said she will support the nominee because they share the same vision of shrinking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and said she looks forward to working with Gabbard to "strengthen our national security.”
During a Senate Intelligence Committee grilling, Gabbard would not give a yes or no answer when asked multiple times if she believes Snowden is a “traitor,” as her previous defense of Snowden, including sponsoring legislation to drop the charges against him during her time in Congress, are a sticking point for senators on both sides of the aisle, though Gabbard did tell the committee she believes he “broke the law.”
Gabbard had a tense exchange with Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.—one of the three who is reportedly on the fence about whether to vote for her—when Moran asked whether Russia would be given “a pass” in policy recommendations, alluding to Gabbard’s previous statements some viewed as sympathetic toward the Kremlin, to which Gabbard answered: “I’m offended by the question, no country or group or individual will get a pass.”
Gabbard, in her opening statement, listed what she described as politicization of intelligence agencies, echoing Trump’s rhetoric: she said Trump’s opponents weaponized the FBI to “falsely portray him as a puppet of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” and she criticized former Obama Director of Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan.
Gabbard, addressing her controversial meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said she has “no love for Assad, [former Libyan dictator Muammar] Gaddafi or any dictator,” adding “I just hate al-Qaeda.”
Collins, Moran, and Young, who sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee that will interview Gabbard publicly Thursday, have not indicated how they will vote, Politico reported, threatening the chances that the panel could vote against sending Gabbard’s nomination to the full Senate for approval.
Collins told The Hill she’s not convinced Gabbard has reversed course on her previous opposition to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to surveil non-citizens abroad without a warrant, telling the outlet Gabbard’s answers in a questionnaire were “very hedged on . . . I read them as ‘I’ll take a look at the reforms and see if they meet my concerns.’”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also sits on the intelligence committee, told The Hill “it remains to be seen” whether Gabbard will pass muster with the panel, which is split 9-8 between Republicans and Democrats, meaning all GOP senators must vote in favor of Gabbard, assuming all Democrats vote against her.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC he is inclined to vote in favor of all of Trump’s nominees, but wants to “see how the hearing goes,” specifically citing Gabbard’s controversial visit to Syria and her previous call for charges to be dropped against Snowden.
What To Watch For
Trump’s nominees can afford to lose no more than three votes to be confirmed, assuming all Democrats vote against them. Three Republicans—McConnell, Collins, and Murkowski—proved during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation process they are willing to buck their party and vote against Trump’s picks. Hegseth was ultimately confirmed, but Vice President JD Vance needed to cast a tiebreaking vote.
What Is The Director Of National Intelligence?
The director of national intelligence serves as the head of the Intelligence Community, a group of over a dozen spy agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The post was created after the Sept. 11 attacks, which were blamed partly on a failure by U.S. intelligence services to share information. The director also advises the president on intelligence issues and puts together the President’s Daily Brief, a digest of national security information. Trump’s selection of Gabbard reflects his longstanding distrust for the intelligence agencies, which stretches back to his first term.
Who Is Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard in 2002 became the youngest person elected to serve in Hawaii’s state legislature at the age of 21. She joined the Army National Guard in 2003 and served a year in Iraq then joined the Army Reserve in 2020. She represented Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district as a Democrat from 2013-2021 and was seen as a rising star in the Democratic party early in her political career. She ran for president in 2020 before dropping out and endorsing Joe Biden. She was known for clashing with other Democratic candidates, especially on foreign policy.
Why Did Gabbard Leave The Democratic Party?
Gabbard announced in 2022 she was leaving the party to become an independent, calling it “an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness” in a video announcement. She became a frequent guest on conservative news programs over the next two years and appeared alongside Trump on the campaign trail before announcing in October she was joining the Republican Party and endorsing Trump. “Today’s Democrat Party is completely unrecognizable,” Gabbard said while making the announcement at a rally in Greensboro alongside Trump.
What Happened With Gabbard And Harris During The 2019 Debate?
Gabbard’s clash with then-Sen. Kamala Harris during the debate was a breakout moment in her longshot campaign. Despite Biden being the frontrunner, Gabbard targeted Harris by highlighting her role in bringing marijuana-related convictions during Harris’ time as a prosecutor in California during an exchange about criminal justice reform.
What Are Gabbard’s Foreign Policy Views?
Gabbard has taken a controversial stance on U.S. military involvement in foreign conflicts, describing herself as a “dove” when it comes to “counterproductive wars of regime change,” but a “hawk” on “the war against terrorists.”
Why Is Gabbard Controversial—and What Does Gabbard Think About Russia And Syria?
In addition to her shifting political stance, Gabbard has interacted with and defended U.S. adversaries, including Russia and Syria. She has blamed the Biden administration for fueling Russia’s war with Ukraine and argued against Ukraine’s admission to NATO. She also alleged U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine could leak dangerous pathogens, after Russia baselessly claimed the U.S. and Ukraine are operating biological weapons facilities in Ukraine (though she didn’t appear to repeat the bioweapon claim in particular). Gabbard met with Assad, who terrorized his own people in the country’s civil war, in 2017 and said during a 2019 MSNBC interview he “is not the enemy of the United States,” though she later called Assad a “brutal dictator.” Gabbard also co-sponsored legislation during her time in Congress calling on the U.S. government to drop its charges against Snowden, who was charged with violating the Espionage Act for leaking national defense information. Due to those stances, some Democrats have accused her of being sympathetic toward Russia’s regime—a claim she has long denied.
What Do Republicans Say About Gabbard?
So far, no Republican senators have said they’ll vote against Gabbard, but at her hearing several expressed reservations. Collins questioned Gabbard’s stance on Snowden, and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., initially questioned whether Gabbard would support Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Gabbard voted against legislation authorizing the act during her time in Congress, but reversed course after she was nominated for director of national intelligence, issuing a statement earlier this month stating her support for the surveillance program. Lankford said publicly he would support her after she endorsed Section 702, and Gabbard secured Collins’ support on Monday.
Further Reading
