Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as intelligence director

The Senate on Wednesday voted 52-48 to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the only Republican voting against Gabbard’s nomination. During her confirmation hearing last month, Gabbard declined to call Edward Snowden a traitor but did acknowledge that he broke the law. Lawmakers also questioned remarks she’d made that some saw as complimentary of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What will Gabbard do in her new office? She told the Senate Intelligence Committee last month that if she became the director of national intelligence, she would focus on protecting Americans. For too long, the United States’ national security had been undermined by faulty, incomplete, or weaponized intelligence. Gabbard said she hoped to increase information sharing within the intelligence community and make intelligence-gathering systems more effective and efficient. She also hoped to increase accountability and transparency, she added.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Sift about Gabbard’s testy confirmation hearing last month.