Senate Committee Approves Gabbard’s Nomination for Director of National Intelligence

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence approved former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s bid to become the next director of national intelligence. The 9–8 closed-door vote means that Gabbard’s nomination will head to the Senate floor for a full vote, where she is likely to be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s intelligence director. On Monday, key moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced that she will vote in support of Gabbard’s nomination. Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence community was highly scrutinized during the committee’s public hearing on the matter on Jan. 30. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism about Gabbard’s fitness for the role, given her previous support for intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and her previous opposition to a law that allows the federal government to indirectly collect intelligence on American citizens without a warrant....