Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed as Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard will be overseeing 18 different intelligence agencies as President Trump's director of national intelligence, after the Senate confirmed her for the post on Wednesday. Despite initial Republican doubts about her qualifications for the job, the vote fell largely along party lines, with 52 Senate Republicans voting to confirm, reports the New York Times. Notably, the AP reports that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against her confirmation; he was the only Republican to do so.

Gabbard's nomination proved contentious over past sympathies with Russia, a meeting with Bashar al-Assad, and her support for Edward Snowden. "While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency," said GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, citing the "independent thinking" Gabbard will bring. Republicans have long held that the office—born of the 9/11 intelligence failures—has grown too bloated and political.

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