Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick To Oversee US Spy Agencies, Clears Senate Committee

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Gabbard, a former Congresswoman from Hawaii who previously ran for president as a Democrat before joining the Republican Party and supporting President Trump, is facing criticism from Senators over her lack of intelligence experience and her opinions on domestic surveillance powers. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, has moved a step closer to Senate confirmation. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted behind closed doors Tuesday to advance Gabbard’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote. Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman and one of Trump’s more divisive nominees, given past comments sympathetic to Russia, her meeting with Syria’s now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden. Given thin Republican margins in the Senate, she will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes in order to win confirmation.