Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. head into key committee votes on Tuesday with separate holdout GOP senators mum on their plans.
Both nominees had conversations with Republican senators over the weekend as they try to shore up support for their nominations, but are at least one public commitment short of the votes they need to advance out of committee.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is set to vote on Ms. Gabbard’s nomination in a closed-door session on Tuesday where she will need every single Republican on the panel to vote for her, given the expected united Democratic opposition. Mr. Kennedy faces the same situation in the Finance Committee, which will consider his nomination in an open session on Tuesday.
Ms. Gabbard won over Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, who announced her support on Monday, but has yet to get a public endorsement from Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Republican.
Mr. Young on Monday declined to tell reporters how he planned to vote, but offered a positive signal.
“I had a lot of great conversations over the weekend,” he said. “That’s all I’m saying.”
Ms. Collins, who helped author the law that created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said the agency has become much larger than designed and Ms. Gabbard shares her vision for returning the agency to its intended size.
She also said Ms. Gabbard addressed her concerns about her past support for pardoning Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower who leaked thousands of classified documents about U.S. intelligence-gathering programs.
Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, also reiterated his support for Ms. Gabbard on Monday after waffling on his previous commitment when she declined to call Snowden a traitor in response to a question he asked during her confirmation hearing last week.
On the Finance Committee, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is the holdout who could tank Mr. Kennedy’s nomination.
The two spoke over the weekend and Mr. Cassidy told reporters on Monday that their conversation was “cordial” but that he remained undecided on how to vote.
“I’m still working through it,” Mr. Cassidy said.
Mr. Cassidy, a doctor, raised concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s history of questioning the efficacy of vaccines and not accepting scientific evidence to the contrary during the nominee’s two confirmation hearings last week. He chairs the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, which held one of the hearings but does not get a vote.
Mr. Cassidy told Mr. Kennedy as he closed out his panel’s hearing that he was wrestling with a key question: “Does a 71-year-old man who has spent decades criticizing vaccines and who is financially vested in finding fault with vaccines, can he change his attitudes and approach now that he’ll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the United States?”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.