WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed and sworn in as director of national intelligence Wednesday.
Gabbard — confirmed in the U.S. Senate 52-48, largely along party lines — will now be responsible for a budget of more than $100 billion and oversee 18 organizations and agencies across the vast intelligence community.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell was the only GOP senator to oppose Gabbard’s confirmation. He voted to advance her Cabinet bid earlier in the week.
Every Democratic and independent senator also opposed Gabbard on Wednesday.
At her swearing-in ceremony in the White House, Gabbard thanked Trump for trusting her to “fulfill this critical position as director of national intelligence at any time but specifically during this time.”
“Unfortunately, the American people have very little trust in the intelligence community, largely because they’ve seen the weaponization and politicization of an entity that is supposed to be purely focused on ensuring our national security,” she said.
“So, I look forward to being able to help fulfill that mandate that the American people delivered to you very clearly in this election to refocus our intelligence community by empowering the great patriots who have chosen to serve our country in this way and focus on ensuring the safety, security and freedom of the American people.”
The lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve ran an unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential campaign and later joined the Republican Party.
She faced serious concerns from lawmakers of both sides of the aisle regarding her bid to serve as director of national intelligence but managed to secure the support of every Republican except McConnell.
Gabbard was mired in several controversies, including her views on foreign policy, meetings she took part in with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and accusations of promoting Russian propaganda.
At her confirmation hearing in late January, Gabbard clarified more of her past statements and actions and said she would “work to end the politicization of the intelligence community.”
Gabbard’s confirmation followed a procedural vote Monday, where she advanced 52-46 in a party-line vote. North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman did not vote in Monday’s round.
Ahead of the confirmation vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor Wednesday that every Democrat would oppose Gabbard’s “awful” nomination “because we simply cannot, in good conscience, trust our most classified secrets to someone who echoes Russian propaganda and falls for conspiracy theories.”
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner also spoke on the Senate floor opposing Gabbard’s nomination prior to the vote, saying he’s “profoundly worried that she lacks the qualifications or judgments” to be the director of national intelligence. Warner is the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
