The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.
Advertisement
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no” vote from a Republican came from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
She will take over the top intelligence post as Trump works to reshape vast portions of the federal government.
Intelligence agencies including the CIA have issued voluntary resignation offers to staff, while cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to sensitive government databases containing information about intelligence operations.
Advertisement
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticised the office, saying it has grown too large and politicised. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.