Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence

WASHINGTON — The US Senate confirmed former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as President Trump’s spy chief Wednesday, elevating the ex-Democrat and privacy hawk to a cabinet-level position in the Republican administration.

The upper chamber voted 52-48 to confirm Gabbard, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joining all 47 Democrats in opposition.

The Army Reserve lieutenant colonel’s ascent to serve as a principal adviser to Trump on intelligence gathered by 18 separate agencies comes after combative hearings in the Senate.

“I think it’s fair to say that Ms. Gabbard’s nomination has generated a bit more interest and attention than do most nominees,” acknowledged Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) at the start of her confirmation hearing last month.

Cotton emphasized that he had combed through multiple FBI background checks, questionnaires and other documents and found Gabbard’s record was “clean as a whistle” — before accusing Democrats of questioning her “patriotism” and judgment.

The US Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Trump’s top spy chief on Wednesday, elevating the former Democrat and privacy hawk to a cabinet-level position in a Republican administration. AP

Ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had even “smeared” her as a “Russian asset,” Cotton noted.

But the GOP chairman said he hoped that Gabbard’s tenure would return the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to its core mission of doing “real intelligence work,” cut its bureaucratic functions and slim down its staff.

“For too long, faulty, inadequate, or weaponized intelligence has led to costly failures and the undermining of our national security,” Gabbard told senators. “The most obvious example of one of these failures is our invasion of Iraq based upon a total fabrication or complete failure of intelligence.”

The onetime Hawaii rep and later Democratic presidential candidate had also made a splash last year by endorsing Trump in the final months of the 2024 race. AFP via Getty Images

“President Trump’s re-election is a clear mandate from the American people to break this cycle of failure, end the weaponization/politicization of the [intelligence community], and begin to restore trust in those who have been charged with the critical task of securing our nation,” she added.

The four-term congresswoman from Hawaii and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate made a splash last year by endorsing Trump in the final months of the 2024 campaign.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) earlier this week suggested that Democrats were retaliating against both Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. merely because both “became disillusioned with the Democrat Party.”

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, in a video posted on X Wednesday called Trump’s DNI and HHS picks the “worst nominees to date” in a “sleazy, slimy cabinet.” AP

Members of Gabbard’s former party lashed out at her over past support for National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and statements doubting US intelligence assessments that former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad deployed chemical weapons on his own people.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the intelligence panel, called Trump’s DNI and HHS picks the “worst nominees to date” in a “sleazy, slimy cabinet.”

“This woman who can’t even call Snowden a traitor or still even blames NATO for the invasion of Ukraine,” Warner said of Gabbard in a video posted on X Wednesday, adding that all Democrats would oppose her confirmation.

Members of her former party lashed out at Gabbard especially over her support for NSA leaker Edward Snowden. REUTERS

In Gabbard’s confirmation hearing, she claimed that Syria’s dictator faced pointed questions from her “about his own regime’s actions, the use of chemical weapons, and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people.”

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) had also taken issue with Gabbard’s past comment that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine stemmed from “legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO.”

Gabbard replied that she was “offended by the question” and “no country or group or individual will get a pass.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) suggested Democrats were harshly critical of Gabbard and RFK Jr. as Health and the Human Services secretary merely because both “became disillusioned with the Democrat Party.” @elonmusk/X

Cotton made use of at least one of their former colleagues to convince Republicans with reservations: ex-Democrat-turned-independent former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who prodded GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana before they came out in support of the nominee, according to multiple reports.

Some had also taken issue with legislation Gabbard authored in the House to repeal Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for the warrantless collection of data from foreign nationals that the US is monitoring abroad — even if those communications include American citizens.

Other GOP lawmakers like Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mike Rounds of South Dakota had also balked at Gabbard’s refusal to call Snowden a “traitor” in her confirmation hearing, prompting her to put out a Newsweek op-ed vowing to stop “Snowden-like” leaks in the future.

Gabbard also publicly walked back her opposition to FISA Section 702 during the confirmation process, saying in her hearing that “foreign surveillance on non-US persons overseas is critical, period.” REUTERS

“Snowden should have raised his concerns about illegal surveillance through authorized channels,” she wrote.

The Senate voted 52-46 along party lines to end debate on Gabbard’s nomination Monday after she cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee last week in another partisan vote.

Before serving in Congress, Gabbard had served in the Hawaii state legislature and later deployed abroad as an Army National Guard officer during the Iraq war.