U.S. senators’ private concerns with Tulsi Gabbard’s history of unconventional national security views burst into public view on Thursday when the director of intelligence nominee — a former Hawaii congresswoman, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve — sat before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a tense confirmation hearing that did little to dispel the narrative that her path to confirmation remains narrow.
Senate Republicans have a 53-seat majority this Congress and Vice President JD Vance can break a tie in a confirmation vote on the floor. But her first hurdle is to clear the Senate Intelligence Committee, where Republicans have a one-seat majority and a single defection could cost her a favorable recommendation from the panel. Gabbard’s public hearing on Thursday will be followed by a closed-door classified hearing.
Democrats and Republicans on the panel spent the hearing grilling Gabbard about her views on intelligence gathering tools like Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), as well as her 2017 trip to Syria as a then-congresswoman to meet with now-toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad. She also faced many questions Thursday about her characterization of then-president Donald Trump’s decision in 2020 to authorize the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani as an “illegal and unconstitutional act of war,” along with her decision to introduce legislation that same year calling for the federal government to “drop all charges” against infamous national security leaker Edward Snowden.
Early on in the hearing, Senator Susan Collins (R., Maine) asked the DNI nominee: “If confirmed, would you support or recommend a pardon or any kind of clemency for Edward Snowden?” Gabbard said she would not. Pressed repeatedly by Democratic and Republican Senators on the committee whether she considers Snowden a “traitor,” Gabbard said only that he “broke the law,” and that if confirmed, she will ensure that there is not a “Snowden-like leak” under her watch.
“That is not a hard question to answer!” boomed Senator Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) in one particularly tense exchange. Added Senator Todd Young (R., Ind.) later in the hearing: “it’s notable you didn’t say, ‘yes, he clearly hurt — in various ways — our national security.’”
For weeks now, speculation surrounding Gabbard’s confirmation fate has centered around Senate Intelligence Committee members Collins and Young in particular — both of whom have not yet publicly committed to backing her –though it’s possible that other GOP members of the committee have serious reservations about her fitness for the role as well. “There are real concerns that I have, and a number of my colleagues have right now,” one Republican senator told National Review last week. “I would characterize that as enough of my colleagues to prevent the nomination even from going to the floor.”
Other potential swing votes beyond the Senate Intelligence panel include Senator John Curtis (R., Utah) as well as former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), whose vote against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last week raises potential red flags for Gabbard’s confirmation math.
If confirmed, Gabbard will be given sweeping authority to declassify secrets, oversee the country’s vast intelligence apparatus, and brief the president on national security matters. During her hearing, Republican and Democratic members of the committee also sought clarity on whether she would tell the president what he needs to hear on intelligence matters related to American adversaries such as Russia.
“I want to make certain that in no way does Russia get a pass in either your mind or your heart, or in any policy recommendation you might make,” said Senator Jerry Moran (R., Kansas). “I’m offended by the question,” Gabbard said in response, adding: “No country or group or individual will get a pass.”
As NR has reported at length, Trump’s pick to lead the office of DNI has told senators in private meetings that her national security views are informed by her more than two-decade long military career and her overseas deployments, as well as the years she spent on the House Armed Services Committee while in Congress. Gabbard emphasized during her hearing on Thursday that if confirmed, she will check her politics at the door and leave policy making to the president.
“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 remarks. “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.”
Also facing questioning today before their committees of jurisdiction are Kash Patel and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s picks to lead the FBI and department of Health and Human Services.