The Senate voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence in a vote on Wednesday.
The 52-48 vote passed along party lines, with the exception of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who joined Democrats in voting against her.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, congratulated her in a post on X.
“Americans will be well served by you as DNI,” said Lee.
Utah Sen. John Curtis, who previously showed skepticism about her nomination, revealed he made up his mind ahead of the vote Wednesday.
“After working through a process, examining her nomination, consulting with experts, and following my conscience, I will be voting for Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,” he said in a post on X.
“Anyone that followed my process knows my vote wasn’t predetermined, but the fact that my trusted colleagues in the intelligence community supported her was significant.”
This brings an end to an uphill battle for Gabbard. During her Senate hearing in front of the intelligence panel, many GOP members scrutinized her qualifications and questioned her over meetings with foreign leaders, including former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as her previous statements expressing sympathy for Russia amid its war with Ukraine.
The nominee also declined to directly answer whether Edward Snowden, who exposed government secrets, is a traitor to the U.S.
Gabbard previously advocated for Snowden to be pardoned but did not recommend his pardon during the hearing.
What did concerned GOP lawmakers say about Gabbard?
Following the Senate hearing on Jan. 30, many lawmakers publicly expressed their worries over her nomination, including Curtis.
“Some of her responses, and non-responses, created more confusion than clarity and only deepened my concerns about her judgment and what that will mean in this vital role,” Curtis said, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Keeping his cards close to his chest, Curtis did the work: he personally met with President Donald Trump’s nominees, looked at their past statements, and watched their Senate hearings.
“With Ms. Gabbard, I have said that it was like having a sheet of music that was missing notes. I had hoped that listening to the hearing today that she would fill in those gaps,” Curtis said. “Frankly, there are many notes still missing and a number of sour notes and awkward silences that simply don’t ring true as a political philosophy on critical national security issues.”
Despite the worries, Curtis as well as other GOP swing votes — Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — chose to support Gabbard. But McConnell could not be persuaded. He released a statement justifying his vote against the director of national intelligence nominee.
“The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the president receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” he said. The former Republican majority leader cited her defense of Snowden as a part of her “history of alarming lapses in judgment.”
“Entrusting the coordination of the intelligence community to someone who struggles to acknowledge these facts is an unnecessary risk,” McConnell said. “So is empowering a DNI who only acknowledged the value of critical intelligence collection authorities when her nomination appeared to be in jeopardy.”
The Senate also held a procedural vote on the confirmation of Robert F. Kenney Jr. Wednesday. Kennedy, Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, will face a final confirmation vote Thursday.