Senate Republicans Undecided On Tulsi Gabbard Voted To Confirm Biden’s Nominee For Same Role

Most Republican senators who are undecided on former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence (DNI) previously voted to confirm former President Joe Biden’s nominee to the same role.

With Gabbard scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday morning, a considerable number of GOP senators are noncommittal on her nomination to serve as President Donald Trump’s DNI. Several of these senators, including Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, previously voted to confirm Biden’s DNI Avril Haines who passed the Senate with near unanimous support.

Gabbard can afford to lose the support of just three Republican senators assuming all Senate Democrats vote against her nomination. In addition to McConnell, Collins and Murkowski — who all opposed Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as Defense secretary — Gabbard’s holdouts include Republican Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and John Curtis of Utah.

Curtis, who is undecided on Gabbard, met with Trump’s DNI nominee on Jan. 16 and committed to “carefully evaluate her qualifications to ensure America’s intelligence capabilities remain the best in the world.”

“Senator Curtis believes that every president is afforded a degree of deference to select his team and make nominations,” a spokesperson for Curtis told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He also firmly believes in and is committed to the Senate’s critical role to confirm or reject nominations based on information and insight from confirmation hearings. Curtis takes his constitutional duty to provide advice and consent seriously and his goal is to ensure that Utahns’ voices are heard. He plans to carefully examine the records and qualifications of every nominee President Trump sends to the Senate.”

Though Curtis is newly-elected to the Senate and thus has no prior history of voting for cabinet nominees, Young voted to confirm Haines to lead the DNI during Biden’s presidency.

The potential for multiple GOP defections on Gabbard’s nomination is unusual from the senators of a president’s own party who tend to show deference to the executive’s nominees, a fact that Gabbard’s team wants GOP senators to remember as they consider her nomination.

“Out of 72 cabinet-secretary nominees from Clinton through Biden, only 2 got a no vote from a senator of the president-elect’s party — much less enough no votes to defeat the nomination,” Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for Gabbard, told the DCNF in a statement. “Let’s not pretend there’s some sort of historical obligation to oppose the president’s nominations. It’s actually the opposite.”

GOP Sens Confirmed Biden’s DNI Nominee

McConnell, Collins, Murkowski and Young — all undecided on Gabbard’s nomination — notably agreed to expedite Haines’ confirmation vote and supported her nomination.

Haines was the first Biden nominee to secure Senate confirmation, clearing the upper chamber 84-10 just hours after Biden was sworn into the Oval Office.

Collins, who voted for all of Biden’s cabinet nominees in 2021, put out a statement following her vote in support of Haines, arguing the Biden nominee was “well-qualified” to serve in the role.

“Ms. Haines is well-qualified to serve in this position, and I appreciate her pledge during the Intelligence Committee’s hearing to be apolitical and share Intelligence Community views with the President and his staff even when they do not match their policy positions,” Collins wrote in a statement on Jan. 20, 2021, following her vote in favor of Haines’ confirmation. “I also value her commitment to the IC workforce, with whom she has served before as Deputy Director of CIA. While I do not agree with all of her policy positions — such as on Iran — I believe she is more than qualified to serve as DNI, and I look forward to working with her to strengthen our national security.”

Murkowski notably voted for all but two of Biden’s cabinet nominees in 2021.

The Senate approved both of former President Barack Obama’s DNI picks, James Clapper and Dennis Blair, by voicevote. Collins, Murkowski and McConnell, who were serving in the Senate when both nominees were confirmed, did not appear to oppose the move nor ask for a roll call vote recording their position on Clapper and Blair, which a voice vote does not require.

Clapper was notably one of the 51 intelligence officials that signed the since-debunked letter alleging the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation.”

Collins and Murkowski also voted to confirm John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency during Obama’s second term. Brennan also signed the Hunter Biden laptop disinformation letter.

Trump revoked both former intelligence officials’ security clearance on Jan. 20.

Gabbard’s Fight To Clear Intel Panel Vote

Gabbard must clear the Senate Intelligence Committee before her nomination is brought to the Senate floor for consideration.

Due to the committee’s 9-8 Republican majority, Gabbard must earn the support of all GOP senators on the panel to pass the committee vote, assuming all Senate Democrats oppose her nomination.

The committee vote will also be closed to the public, meaning senators’ votes on Gabbard’s nomination will remain anonymous, barring individual members’ decisions to disclose how they voted.

If Gabbard fails to net any Democratic votes, her nomination’s fate could hinge on the support of Collins. The Maine Republican, who does not take a position on nominees prior to their confirmation hearing, told the Hill she will press Gabbard on several questions she wants answered during the hearing about whether Gabbard supports the government’s warrantless surveillance powers and would back reauthorizing the program.

Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young, a member of the Senate Intel panel who is also undecided on Gabbard’s nomination, is seen as a critical vote Gabbard must secure in order to advance out of the committee.

Young met with Gabbard on Jan. 8. A spokesperson for Young referred the DCNF to a statement the Indiana Republican gave to the Washington Examiner on Jan. 24, stating that he is also intent on pressing Gabbard on her views during the hearing.

“I am waiting for the hearing to ask questions I have,” Young told the Washington Examiner. “I wouldn’t characterize any of them as concerns at this point, but there are things I need to learn. There are answers I intend to elicit.”

Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Intel committee who initially appeared apprehensive of Gabbard’s nomination, has been publicly supportive of the DNI nominee after meeting with her twice. However, Rounds has not committed to voting “yes” to advance Gabbard’s nomination to the Senate floor.

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told Fox News Monday morning that Gabbard’s nomination is in the greatest peril among Trump’s cabinet nominees.

“I think most if not all will be confirmed,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told Fox News Monday morning. “The one most on the bubble, as you know as well as I do, is Tulsi Gabbard.”

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