A key Republican Senator is throwing her weight behind Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s controversial choice for director of national intelligence.
Senator Susan Collins (R., Maine), said in a statement Monday that she will support Gabbard’s nomination, lending the former Democratic lawmaker a crucial swing vote amid uncertainty about whether Gabbard will be confirmed.
“After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence,” Collins said.
Collins is up for re-election in 2026 and voted against Trump’s Pentagon Secretary pick Pete Hegseth, making her one of three Republicans to do so. She is generally an independent voice and a longtime moderate in the Senate as a representative of Democrat-leaning Maine.
“In response to my questions during our discussion in my office and at the open hearing, as well as through her explanation at the closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ms. Gabbard addressed my concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden. I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security.”
Collins believes Gabbard is aligned with her vision of scaling back the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to its “original size” from two decades ago when Collins first helped pass legislation creating it.
A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Gabbard was previously a progressive House lawmaker who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on a platform of opposing “regime change” wars abroad.
After growing publicly dissatisfied with the Democratic Party, she eventually became a Republican and endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign, turning into one of his most well-known surrogates. As a congresswoman, Gabbard infamously met in 2017 with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose regime collapsed in December following a long civil war. Assad’s regime was backed by Russia and Iran, and was characterized by severe human rights violations against the Syrian people.
Gabbard previously opposed President Trump’s 2020 drone strike on Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and introduced legislation to drop all charges against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for leaking highly classified information.
Last week, Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee grilled Gabbard on her foreign policy positions and her views about Snowden. Collins and Senator Todd Young (R., Ind.) were considered two of the swing votes on the Intelligence Committee, which must approve Gabbard’s nomination before it gets to a full vote.
At the hearing, Gabbard labeled herself an independent thinker and emphasized that she will defer to President Trump on matters of policymaking.
“The truth is: What really upsets my political opponents is my consistent record of independence, regardless of political affiliation, and my refusal to be anyone’s puppet,” Gabbard said in her opening statement.
“You know who else is committed to defending our country and reforming Washington with a fierce and unparalleled independence? President Donald J. Trump, who ran and won with a mandate for change this November.”
With Republicans controlling the Senate 53–47, Gabbard can only afford to lose three votes on her way to confirmation in a scenario where Vice President J. D. Vance casts a tie-breaking vote in her favor.