Senate to vote on Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation of director of national intelligence

Washington – The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday about Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation of Director of National Intelligence after her nomination survived a crucial Committee reconciliation Last week and cleared an important procedural obstacle Monday.

Gabbard, 43, is a former Democratic congregation who represented Hawaii in the house from 2013 to 2021 and sought the party’s nomination for president in the 2020 election. In 2022 she chose to leave the party and she approved President Trump’s bid from the White House in 2024 .

Gabbard was previously seen as one of the most unlikely by Mr. Trump’s choice to get through the Senate. Although she served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, Gabbard does not have a background in intelligence. And she was faced with control to meet with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, as well as her comments about Russia’s war in Ukraine, her previous opposition to renewing an important government monitoring authority and a push for the pardon of the National Security Agency-Whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Beneath her hearing Before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month, Gabbard was grilled by both Democrats and Republicans about many of the actions and attitudes that have given rise to controversy, with the most disputed moments of consultation about whether she would characterize Snowden as a “traitor.” Gabbard refused to say that.

But when the committee was preparing to hold on whether Gabbard’s nomination should promote Gabbard’s nomination last week, the GOP opposition fell by the road. Sens. Susan Collins from Maine and Todd Young from Indiana both promised to support Gabbard, and her nomination went through with a 9-8 voice along party lines to recommend her confirmation.

The full Senate continued to promote Gabbard’s nomination 52-46 in a party line procedure on Monday night, though Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania did not vote. The vote started the clock on up to 30 hours of debate before a vote on the last passage, thereby a vote on the last passage in the small hours in the morning Wednesday that was pushed back until later Wednesday in the middle of snow -capped Washington conditions.

Senate majority leader John Thune praised Gabbard prior to procedural vote Monday and called her “a patriot”, “motivated by service.”

“The intelligence community has to focus on its central mission – collect intelligence and provide impartial analysis of this information,” Thune said. “That’s what Tulsi Gabbard is obliged to make sure she’s confirmed to be DNI. And I think she has knowledge and leadership functions to get it done.”

At her confirmation hearing, Gabbard defended his qualifications with reference to his experience as a battalion manager and service on the home country’s security, foreign affairs and armed services in Congress. This experience, she said, has “given me a deep understanding of the complex challenges that our nation faces.”

“In both roles that engage with world leaders, in both roles are interested in very classified intelligence,” Gabbard said. “Then I know first hand how important accurate, impartial and timely intelligence is for the president, for Congress and for our warriors. I also know the heavy cost of intelligence errors and abuse.”

Gabbard claimed that “too long, defective, inadequate or the weapon intelligence has led to expensive failures, and the undermining of our national security and god-gone freedoms laid down in the constitution,” added that Mr. Trump’s victory in the 2024 election is “a clear mandate of the American people to break this cycle of failure.”

“If confirmed as DNI, I will do my very best to fulfill this mandate and bring leadership to the intelligence community with a laser-like focus on our essential mission and secure American people’s security, security and freedom,” Gabbard said.

Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.