Tulsi Gabbard sails through Senate confirmation after Republicans fall in line

The Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence on Wednesday. Gabbard is the 14th member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet to be confirmed.

Although many considered Gabbard's DNI bid a long shot, the Senate confirmed her in a 52-48 vote. Notably, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against Gabbard's confirmation.

Although Gabbard shared heated exchanges with senators during her confirmation hearing in late January, one by one, the GOP got behind Trump's DNI pick.

"Miss Gabbard is a patriot," Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said. "She's someone who's been motivated by service. ... The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission, collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information. That's what Tulsi Gabbard is committed to ensuring."

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Although Gabbard shared heated exchanges with senators during her confirmation hearing in late January, one by one, the GOP got behind Trump's DNI pick.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Monday night that she would vote to confirm Gabbard after she voted to invoke cloture on her nomination.

"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence," Murkowski said. "While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security."

"As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected," Murkowski added.

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Gabbard also secured support from Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has previously been a holdout on other nominees like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence," Collins said in a statement. "As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community."

Ahead of the Senate Intelligence Committee's vote to advance Gabbard's nomination to the Senate floor, Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana also publicly committed to supporting Gabbard. Other Republicans like Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas gave less enthusiastic endorsements for Gabbard but nonetheless backed the nominee.

"President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence," Cassidy said in a statement Monday. "I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation."

"Having won the election decisively, I believe President Trump has earned the right to appoint his own cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances," Cornyn said in a statement after Gabbard's hearing. "Therefore, it is my intention to consent to the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence."

While many were skeptical about her confirmation, Gabbard became another success story for the Trump camp.

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