Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence, appears before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
WASHINGTON — Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard got a step further on Tuesday in her bid to serve as the next director of national intelligence after a U.S. Senate panel propelled her nomination to the Senate floor.
Gabbard — who has stood among President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees — managed to secure enough votes in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to advance her nomination, 9-8, along party lines, the panel confirmed to States Newsroom.
The lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve faced serious concerns from lawmakers of both parties regarding her nomination following a series of controversies, including over her foreign policy views and meetings she took part in with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
But Gabbard provided further clarity to some of her past statements and actions last week in front of the Senate intelligence panel and described her vision on working “to end the politicization of the intelligence community,” if confirmed.
Tuesday’s committee vote by no means guaranteed Gabbard’s confirmation, but the outcome brought her closer to potentially securing the post responsible for overseeing the vast intelligence community.
That community, made up of 18 agencies and organizations, has a budget of more than $100 billion.
Gabbard, who is now a Republican but ran an unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, managed to win the support of senators on the panel who voiced skepticism surrounding her nomination, including GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana.
Collins said Monday that Gabbard addressed her concerns regarding the nominee’s views on Edward Snowden — a former contractor at the National Security Agency who leaked classified information regarding surveillance efforts.
During last week’s confirmation hearing, Gabbard took heat for refusing to call Snowden a traitor.
However, Collins managed to get Gabbard to say that she would not support a pardon for Snowden, if confirmed.
Gabbard also garnered the support of Young, who in a Tuesday post on social media backed the nominee while sharing a letter she wrote to the Indiana Republican outlining multiple commitments she will make, if confirmed.