Tulsi Gabbard Passes Key Vote in Senate

Tulsi Gabbard has moved a step closer to becoming director of national intelligence. The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee voted 9-8 in a closed-door meeting Tuesday to advance her nomination to a full Senate vote, the Washington Post reports. During her confirmation hearing before the panel last week, senators from both parties pressed Gabbard on her refusal to call Edward Snowden a traitor. The votes of committee members were not disclosed, but no Democrats on the panel have expressed support for Gabbard, reports the AP. Gabbard can afford to lose up to three Republican votes in the full Senate vote.

In the days after the hearing, GOP senators who expressed skepticism about Gabbard being the right person to oversee intelligence agencies faced pressure from Trump supporters including Rosanne Barr, who urged her followers on X to call the offices of Sens. Todd Young, Susan Collins, and Jerry Moran, the Post reports. In a now-deleted post on social media, Elon Musk called Young a "deep state puppet." Hours before the vote, Young said he had decided to support Gabbard after securing "commitments that will advance our national security," Politico reports. Collins said earlier Monday that Gabbard had addressed her concerns about Snowden. (More Tulsi Gabbard stories.)