BREAKING: Senate Intelligence Committee votes to advance Tulsi Gabbard as DNI in closed-door session

President Donald Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has advanced after receiving a vote of 9 to 8 from the Senators on the Intelligence Committee. The Senate has yet to do a full confirmation vote.

Leading up to the vote, Republicans who were seen as potential "no" votes voiced their support of Gabbard. These included Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) as well as Todd Young (R-IN). Collins said of Gabbard, "She shares my vision of returning the agency to its intended size," and had said that the role had gotten too large.

Young said that he had "engaged in extensive conversations" with Vice President JD Vance as well as Gabbard to come to his conclusion that he would support Gabbard after being hesitant to do so. He said he gained "commitments that will advance our national security" from Gabbard during their talks.

The committee vote took place in a closed-door meeting with the Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Going into her nomination process, Gabbard has gained the support of many military members, including in a letter signed by over 250 military veterans, with many of them holding positions as officials in government and at other capacities.

During last week's hearing in front of the Intelligence Committee, she was questioned on her position on Edward Snowden, comments on the war in Russia with Ukraine, as well as meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017.

Gabbard, who has served in the military herself, said during her confirmation hearing last week, that she will "continue to live by the oath that I have sworn at least eight times in my life, both in uniform and as a member of Congress. I will support and defend our God-given freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same."

Although she took plenty heat from some Senators in the hearing last week, Sen. Tom Cotton came to her defense, saying, "She has undergone five FBI background checks. I spent more than two hours last week reviewing the latest, putting eyes on more than 300 pages. It's clean as a whistle."

Left-wing media pundits as well as some Democrats have pushed the claim that Gabbard is something akin to a “Russian asset” as she became more aligned with Trump during his 2024 campaign. Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022 after running for president during the 2020 election cycle.

She joined the Republican Party in 2024. Her military career started in 2003 and Gabbard also served as Representative for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District from 2013-2021.