Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing will test Republican senators who’ve otherwise spent the first weeks of Donald Trump’s term falling in line with his cabinet picks.
Several Democratic senators expect at least some resistance from Republicans when it comes to confirming Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence — a development that would mark a departure from the lack of significant opposition that’s defined other nominees’ paths to the cabinet thus far.
The possibility that her nomination could go down has left Democrats optimistic that their message — that Trump’s nominees are unfit and, in some cases, dangerous — is finally getting through, especially after they failed to stop several of Trump’s other controversial cabinet picks including Pete Hegseth.
“I’m not going to speculate on the votes, but I do know that some of my Republican colleagues have similar concerns: Edward Snowden, FISA, Syria, Russia, misinformation concerns,” Sen. Mark Kelly told NOTUS.
Kelly’s concerns underscored the questions that senators across party lines have raised about Gabbard’s history, from her previous opposition of Section 702 to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows intelligence-gathering on foreign nationals living abroad to her visits with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Sen. Ron Wyden, who serves on the Intelligence Committee, said a lot of his Republican colleagues’ concern about Gabbard “revolves around” FISA. Gabbard said she had a change of heart about the policy earlier this month.
“She did this big about-face, and I want to get to the bottom of it,” Wyden told NOTUS.
Though Gabbard hasn’t faced as much vocal opposition from outside actors as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Hegseth and others, some of the key Republicans controlling her confirmation haven’t been quick to back her.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Todd Young, Intelligence Committee members, will be Gabbard’s first test during Thursday’s hearing. Collins wouldn’t be an unexpected defector, since she voted against Hegseth’s nomination on the Senate floor and said last week that she isn’t convinced Gabbard’s flip on Section 702 is genuine.
Young refused to answer questions from reporters on Wednesday, but GOP aides signaled to reporters last week that the Indiana senator is also shaky on Gabbard, The Hill reported.
Sen. Jerry Moran, another Republican on the Intelligence Committee, has not indicated how he’ll approach the committee vote on Gabbard.
“There is not one GOP Senator on record opposing Lt. Col. Gabbard’s nomination. In fact, there are many on record including bipartisan members of the Senate Intel Committee who have shown positive support for her nomination and qualifications. She’s met with almost every GOP Senator in the U.S. Senate and Democrats who’ve accepted her invitation to meet,” Gabbard spokesperson Alexa Henning said in a statement. “She is continuing the advice and consent process in the Senate and looks forward to her hearing.”
Of course, Gabbard will still see significant support in committee — including from the likes of Sen. Mike Rounds, a top Trump ally in Congress, who wrote last month that “I will do all I can to support her through the confirmation process.”
“I know some people will talk about her meetings and so forth, but my focus is on moving forward in terms of how she will be able to work with the president,” Rounds told reporters Wednesday. Rounds also emphasized the importance of the president’s role in nominating Gabbard during earlier comments to reporters Wednesday.
In an attempt to overcome all the opposition, there’s some pressure from Trump’s closest allies to push Gabbard through the process via unconventional measures. In an effort to exert pressure on the could-be defectors to line up behind the president, some senators are vying for the Intelligence Committee’s vote on Gabbard to be open to the public, which would shield senators from the protection granted by the usual anonymous vote tally.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested a backup plan where lawmakers could bring Gabbard’s nomination to the full Senate floor for a vote even if she doesn’t make it out of committee with a favorable rating from senators.
The departure from procedure is rare, and Sen. Mark Kelly said it was “speculation” that the Senate would move forward with that process for Gabbard.
But when used in the past, it’s allowed some nominees to see success after a cold reception from Senate committees, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s first-term pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
Gabbard could go down on the floor as well, however. At least eight senators weren’t sure about supporting her last month, a source told Reuters — enough for her to risk not getting confirmed.
There’s also the possibility of even more pushback from Democrats if Trump allies bring the confirmation to the floor.
“This whole process has been such a mess, you know, especially when it’s come to her,” Sen. Andy Kim, who criticized Gabbard’s ties to Syria last month, told NOTUS. “If someone can’t get out of committee when the president’s party controls the Senate, that should tell a story to the American people that maybe this isn’t the right person.”
This story has been updated with a comment from Gabbard’s spokesperson.
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Shifra Dayak is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.