Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
CNN
The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. The vote was 52-48 mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation. Gabbard, one of President Donald Trump’s more controversial picks, faced concerns from several Republican senators over her lack of support for Ukraine; her shifting position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, a key surveillance and security tool; her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; and her past support for Edward Snowden. However, key swing Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana ultimately decided to back her confirmation. On Monday night, Murkowski acknowledged in a statement that she still had “concerns about certain positions (Gabbard) has previously taken,” but added that Gabbard “brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended Gabbard’s nomination in a speech on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, in which he highlighted her military service and focused on her promise to “right-size” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “I am glad that Ms. Gabbard plans to focus on identifying and eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the office to what it was originally designed to be,” he said.
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The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
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