Senate committee advances Tulsi Gabbard's nomination as intel chief

Washington — Tulsi Gabbard survived a crucial Senate Intelligence Committee vote on Tuesday after her nomination to be President Trump's director of national intelligence appeared to be in jeopardy. 

In a 9-8 vote, the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced Gabbard's nomination to the full Senate. The vote fell along party lines.

Republicans on the panel who were seen as potential "no" votes began to drop their objections Monday, with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine saying that Gabbard had addressed her concerns and shared her vision of downsizing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana announced Tuesday he would back Gabbard after he secured "commitments that will advance our national security." 

Mr. Trump's choice to lead the intelligence community was seen as one of the most vulnerable nominees heading into her confirmation hearing on Jan. 30, when she was grilled on a number of controversial positions she has taken over the years. She faced skepticism from senators over her decision to meet with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, her past push to pardon National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, her comments about Russia's war in Ukraine and her past opposition to renewing a key government surveillance authority, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 

The most contentious moments of the hearing came as she was repeatedly pressed by Republican and Democratic senators on whether she would characterize Snowden as a "traitor." 

Gabbard declined to directly answer the question, responding each time that "Edward Snowden broke the law." She never said that he was a "traitor" and at one point seemed to defend his actions, telling the panel that he had exposed "egregious illegal and unconstitutional programs" that led to reforms. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Gabbard vowed to pardon Snowden, who leaked a trove of information on the U.S. government's top-secret mass surveillance programs. Snowden fled to Hong Kong and later Russia, where he lives in exile, after the leak. 

"I do not agree with or support all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it," Gabbard told senators. 

Gabbard also sought to alleviate concerns about her criticisms of FISA Section 702, which allows the U.S. to collect foreign communications without a warrant. U.S. officials say it's crucial to protecting national security because it helps disrupt terrorist attacks, cyberattacks and espionage activities. It does not allow U.S. citizens to be targeted, but their communications can be swept up when they are in contact with a targeted foreigner. 

Gabbard told senators during her confirmation hearing last week it was "essential" to national security, years after she tried to repeal the controversial law. 

"There are a number of areas that we would be blind from a national security perspective without this capability," she said. "It also must exist next to having safeguards in place to ensure Americans' civil liberties are protected."

The former congresswoman from Hawaii has also faced criticism for her comments about the war in Ukraine and meeting with Assad, then doubting that his regime used chemical weapons against civilians. 

At her hearing, Gabbard conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin "started the war in Ukraine" and that her skepticism of the chemical weapons attack was based on "conflicting information and evidence" that she was given at the time. 

Alan He contributed to this report.

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