Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hangs in the balance
Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to serve as director of national intelligence may be in jeopardy following her fiery testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Gabbard put on a disciplined master class during her confirmation hearing, but it may not be enough to secure the votes needed in the Senate. Assuming all Democrats vote to tank President Donald Trump's nominees, Gabbard can afford to lose only three Senate Republican votes with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote. One of the most likely defectors politicos have been keeping tabs on is Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who voted to tank Pete Hegseth's nomination to the Department of Defense. Onlookers kept their eye on Collins' highly anticipated interaction with Gabbard during the hearing. Despite her historic defection, Gabbard seemed to have appeased Collins. 'People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest. But that nomination is in trouble.'While Gabbard may have cleared one hurdle, others sprung up during her hearing. Several senators, including Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, pressed Gabbard over her past support of the NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Lankford and other lawmakers urged Gabbard to call Snowden a traitor, but Gabbard refused. That being said, she acknowledged that Snowden was a criminal and outlined a four-step plan to prevent any "Snowden-like" leaks in the future. All things considered, Gabbard performed as well as she could have. The question is whether it was enough to pull herself across the finish line.Although Lankford previously committed himself as a "yes" vote on Gabbard, he was "surprised" at the nominee's response to concerns about her Snowden stance. "I was surprised because that doesn't seem like a hard question on that," Lankford said Thursday. "It wasn't intended to be a trick question by any means." Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana also seems to be on the fence about Gabbard. Young pressed the nominee with a similar line of questioning, asking about her past introduction of legislation that called to pardon Snowden. "He likely endangered American lives through his action," Young said Thursday. "As a leader of the intelligence community, how do you think you would be received on some of these past actions to support or even to pardon Snowden?" While some lawmakers expressed hesitancy, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas put out a statement that could only barely be described as an endorsement of Gabbard. "Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 provides that the president shall appoint officers with the advice and consent of the Senate," Cornyn said. "Having won the election decisively, I believe President Trump has earned the right to appoint his own Cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, it is my intention to consent to the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.”Gabbard's nomination was not the first to encounter pushback. Despite the overwhelming public enthusiasm for Hegseth, he was barely confirmed thanks to Vance's vote. As it stands, it's unclear if Gabbard has enough votes to clear all the hurdles. "People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest," one Republican senator anonymously told The Hill. "But that nomination is in trouble."At the same time, just because some senators are hesitant doesn't mean they are a hard "no" on Gabbard. If there is any takeaway from previous confirmation battles like Hegseth's, it's that pressure campaigns work. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to serve as director of national intelligence may be in jeopardy following her fiery testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Gabbard put on a disciplined master class during her confirmation hearing, but it may not be enough to secure the votes needed in the Senate. Assuming all Democrats vote to tank President Donald Trump's nominees, Gabbard can afford to lose only three Senate Republican votes with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote.
One of the most likely defectors politicos have been keeping tabs on is Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who voted to tank Pete Hegseth's nomination to the Department of Defense.
Onlookers kept their eye on Collins' highly anticipated interaction with Gabbard during the hearing. Despite her historic defection, Gabbard seemed to have appeased Collins.
'People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest. But that nomination is in trouble.'
While Gabbard may have cleared one hurdle, others sprung up during her hearing. Several senators, including Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, pressed Gabbard over her past support of the NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Lankford and other lawmakers urged Gabbard to call Snowden a traitor, but Gabbard refused. That being said, she acknowledged that Snowden was a criminal and outlined a four-step plan to prevent any "Snowden-like" leaks in the future.
All things considered, Gabbard performed as well as she could have. The question is whether it was enough to pull herself across the finish line.
Although Lankford previously committed himself as a "yes" vote on Gabbard, he was "surprised" at the nominee's response to concerns about her Snowden stance.
"I was surprised because that doesn't seem like a hard question on that," Lankford said Thursday. "It wasn't intended to be a trick question by any means."
Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana also seems to be on the fence about Gabbard. Young pressed the nominee with a similar line of questioning, asking about her past introduction of legislation that called to pardon Snowden.
"He likely endangered American lives through his action," Young said Thursday. "As a leader of the intelligence community, how do you think you would be received on some of these past actions to support or even to pardon Snowden?"
While some lawmakers expressed hesitancy, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas put out a statement that could only barely be described as an endorsement of Gabbard.
"Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 provides that the president shall appoint officers with the advice and consent of the Senate," Cornyn said. "Having won the election decisively, I believe President Trump has earned the right to appoint his own Cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, it is my intention to consent to the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.”
Gabbard's nomination was not the first to encounter pushback. Despite the overwhelming public enthusiasm for Hegseth, he was barely confirmed thanks to Vance's vote. As it stands, it's unclear if Gabbard has enough votes to clear all the hurdles.
"People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest," one Republican senator anonymously told The Hill. "But that nomination is in trouble."
At the same time, just because some senators are hesitant doesn't mean they are a hard "no" on Gabbard. If there is any takeaway from previous confirmation battles like Hegseth's, it's that pressure campaigns work.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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