Washington DC [US], February 11 (HBTV): The US Senate on Monday voted along party lines to advance Tulsi Gabbard's nomination for director of national intelligence, paving the way for a final confirmation vote, Politico reported.
With the support of 52 Senate Republicans, Gabbard is expected to be confirmed as the nation's top intelligence official. Forty-six Democrats opposed her nomination, while two senators were absent during the vote.
The vote was conducted under a procedural rule called cloture, which is often used for contentious Cabinet nominees, such as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This rule allows up to 30 hours of debate before a final vote can take place. Gabbard had previously been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee in a party-line vote following a heated confirmation hearing in late January.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a floor speech on Monday, 'The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission—collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information. That’s what Tulsi Gabbard is committed to ensuring if she is confirmed to be DNI, and I believe she has the knowledge and leadership capabilities to get it done,' NBC News reported.
The final vote on Gabbard's nomination is scheduled for midnight Tuesday unless all senators agree to vote earlier. Following that, Thune stated that the Senate would proceed with a procedural vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for health and human services secretary, a position for which he was nominated by former President Donald Trump.
Gabbard, nominated by Trump for the role, is a former Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Democratic congresswoman, and 2020 presidential candidate who switched to the Republican Party last year. She has, at times, referred to the tens of thousands of intelligence personnel she would oversee as members of the 'deep state.'
She has also questioned US intelligence findings on the former Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people and has echoed Kremlin narratives regarding the causes of Russia's war in Ukraine.
(ANI)