President Donald Trump has nominated former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), a key government position that oversees the nation's intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
Gabbard faced tough questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee in her nomination hearing last month, but is now set to receive a vote to advance her nomination to the full Senate.
When is Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation vote?
The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote on Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be the next Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.
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Interested parties will not be able to see the vote since it will be behind closed doors.
How close could the vote in the Senate committee be?
Just one Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee could vote "no" on Tuesday and thwart Republicans ability to send her nomination to the full Senate favorably.
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Is the vote for DNI behind open doors?
The Senate Intelligence Committee vote is behind closed doors, and the committee does not release a roll call of the final votes, but we should get an idea of who voted NO or YES once the vote is called.
When would Tulsi Gabbard receive a vote before the full Senate?
If Gabbard's nomination in the Senate Intelligence Committee advances, it would need a vote before the full Senate before she was confirmed.
It's unclear when exactly she would receive a vote before the full Senate.
What to know about Tulsi Gabbard's testimony
Gabbard is seen as the most endangered of Trump's picks, potentially lacking the votes even from Trump’s party for confirmation for Director of National Intelligence. But her hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee offered a roadmap toward confirmation.
It opened with the chairman, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., swatting back claims that Gabbard is a foreign “asset,” undercover for some other nation, presumably Russia. He said he reviewed some 300 pages of multiple FBI background checks and she’s “clean as a whistle.”
But Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, questioned whether she could build the trust needed, at home and abroad, to do the job.
Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, defended her loyalty to the U.S. She dismissed Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, when he asked whether Russia would “get a pass” from her.
“Senator, I’m offended by the question,” Gabbard responded.
Pressed on her secret 2017 trip to meet with then-Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has since been toppled by rebels and fled to Russia, she defended her work as diplomacy.
Gabbard may have made some inroads with one potentially skeptical Republican. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine asked whether Gabbard would recommend a pardon for Edward Snowden. The former government contractor was charged with espionage after leaking a trove of sensitive intelligence material, and fled to residency in Russia.
Gabbard, who has called Snowden a brave whistleblower, said it would not be her responsibility to “advocate for any actions related to Snowden.”
Picking up one notable endorsement, Gabbard was introduced by an influential voice on intelligence matters — former Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican who was chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
Gabbard responds in op-ed in Newsweek
Over the weekend, Gabbard posted an op-ed to Newsweek responding to some of the questions she had received in the hearing, including on the question of whether Snowden should be termed a "traitor."
Gabbard said she think the conversation should focus on labels, but rather on the appropriate and legal processes for whistleblowing."
In her op-ed, Gabbard said, "Snowden should have raised his concerns about illegal surveillance through authorized channels, such as the Inspector General or the Intelligence Committee, instead of leaking to the media. If confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence, I would reiterate to all members of the intelligence community that I expect them to use authorized channels available to whistleblowers for any concerns. Those who choose to go outside of the many protected legal whistleblower channels to illegally disclose sensitive classified information will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Gabbard picks up important vote
On Monday, Collins released a statement in support of Gabbard as DNI.
"After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence," Collins said in a statement.
"In response to my questions during our discussion in my office and at the open hearing, as well as through her explanation at the closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ms. Gabbard addressed my concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden. I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security," Collins went on to say.
What senator to watch in Gabbard nomination vote?
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) is considered a senator to watch in the nomination process.
“It’s 50-50 she gets through,” a person familiar with the confirmation process said of Gabbard to NBC News about the upcoming full Senate vote.