Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/tulsi-gabbard-confirmation-vote-senate/index.html

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, a major win for President Donald Trump as Gabbard had been among the most controversial of his Cabinet picks.

The vote was 52-48 mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation.

Gabbard 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.

McConnell appeared to reference some of Gabbard’s positions in a statement he released after voting against her, saying she has “a history of alarming lapses in judgement.”

“The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” McConnell said.