Susan Collins may oppose Tulsi Gabbard after voting 'no' on Pete Hegseth

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) is reportedly on the fence about advancing the confirmation of Tulsi Gabbard, who has been selected by President Donald Trump to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

According to The Hill, Collins, who voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation, is one of two GOP members of the Intelligence Committee on the fence about Gabbard’s confirmation. The committee has a 9-8 party split in favor of Republicans.

Collins told the outlet that she wants to question Gabbard on her stance on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets. While Gabbard has walked back past criticisms of the program, Collins said she doesn’t fully believe that Gabbard has had a change of heart.

"There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing," Collins said. She told the outlet that she wouldn’t go into detail on the questions "because I want to hear her unpracticed responses."

"But there are a lot of obvious issues. Her answers to the written questions were very hedged on it. I know there’s been a lot of reporting that she’s changed her position. That’s not how I read her answers. I read them as, ‘I’ll take a look at the reforms and see if they meet my concerns,’" she added.

Collins said she would not make a decision on Gabbard until after the confirmation hearing, which is set for 10 am on January 30.

A spokesperson for Gabbard, Alexa Henning, said that there are no "no" votes on record currently. "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," Henning said. "She’s met with almost every GOP Senator in the U.S. Senate and Democrats who’ve accepted her invitation to meet. She is continuing the advice and consent process in the Senate and looks forward to her hearing."