Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has cleared a key procedural vote on the Senate floor, setting up her confirmation vote to be the next director of national intelligence on either Tuesday or Wednesday. No Democrats joined with Republicans on the motion to proceed Monday evening.
The Senate voted to invoke cloture, meaning to end debate, on Ms. Gabbard’s nomination on a party-line vote by a margin of 52 to 46.
Senator McConnell has refused to comment on how he will vote on her nomination, though he did vote to invoke cloture on Monday. He did, however, vote to invoke cloture on Secretary Hegseth’s nomination, only to later vote against his nomination.
Senator Curtis has similarly not said how he will vote on Ms. Gabbard’s confirmation, saying in a statement after the Intelligence Committee hearing that Ms. Gabbard’s answers left him with “more confusion than clarity.” Like Mr. McConnell, he voted to invoke cloture on Monday.
Democrats now have the option to hold the Senate floor for up to 30 hours before the confirmation vote is required, meaning they could delay the final vote on Ms. Gabbard to either late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Senator Kaine told The New York Sun on Monday that Democrats will delay Ms. Gabbard’s nomination, and the nomination of another potential Cabinet official, just like they did last week in their overnight protest against President Trump’s nominee for the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought.
“Gabbard’s nomination will not be sped up,” Mr. Kaine tells the Sun. “I think you’re gonna see us do — kinda like last week — on the RFK one this week,” Mr. Kaine said of their delay tactics, referring to the president’s nominee for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is also expected to come to the floor this week for confirmation.
When pressed if he thought that the all-nighter protests were likely to happen against both Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kaine responded, “I think so.”
Ms. Gabbard was viewed as one of the most at-risk nominees of the Trump administration, though she was able to hold her own during her confirmation hearings, winning over the critical votes of Senator Young, Senator Lankford, and Senator Collins. All three lawmakers pressed Ms. Gabbard on her past defenses of Edward Snowden at her Intelligence Committee hearing, and they said they walked away satisfied with her answers.
“In response to my questions during our discussion in my office and at the open hearing, as well as through her explanation at the closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ms. Gabbard addressed my concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden,” Ms. Collins said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security.”
Democrats have raised concerns for months about Ms. Gabbard’s past defenses of not just Mr. Snowden, but the former Syrian leader, President Assad, as well. Following a 2017 meeting with the Syrian dictator, Ms. Gabbard said she did not believe that he was the one responsible for using chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
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