Former Hawaiʻi Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is one step closer to being the nation's next director of national intelligence.
The U.S. Senate could hold its final vote on confirming Gabbard as soon as Wednesday following Monday's 52-46 procedural vote to end debate on her nomination, which fell along party lines.
Created following the Sept. 11 attacks, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees and coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies.
Monday's move came despite Democrats and some Republicans questioning Gabbardʻs lack of experience in the intelligence world, as well as her past comments sympathetic to Edward Snowden and Russia and a meeting with Syria’s now-deposed leader, The Associated Press reports.
She has also repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance tool, though she now says she supports the program.
With strong Democratic opposition and only a thin Republican majority, almost all GOP senators will need to vote yes for her to win confirmation.
Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton of Arkansas emphasized the importance of Gabbardʻs military experience, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he agrees with her plan to reduce the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California called Gabbard a “walking five-alarm fire,” while Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia said he does not question her patriotism, but doubts her judgment — as well as her experience.
