Tulsi Gabbard sworn in as National Intelligence director

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi swore in Tulsi Gabbard as the director of National Intelligence within hours of the Senate confirming Gabbard's nomination earlier Wednesday.

Bondi administered Gabbard's oath of office in the Oval Office, NBC News reported.

Gabbard was one of President Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet nominees but was confirmed by the Senate along mostly partisan lines.

All Senate Democrats voted against Gabbard's nomination, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against her nomination, making the final vote tally 52-48.

McConnell in a statement afterward said he voted against Gabbard's confirmation due to "alarming lapses in judgment" during her political career and said she "failed to demonstrate" that she is ready for the position, ABC News reported.

Several Republican Senate members likewise aired concerns about Gabbard's positions on Ukraine, which she generally has not supported, her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and prior support for Edward Snowden, CNN reported.

Gabbard refused to call Snowden a traitor due to his leaking classified documents in 2013 while he worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency. Those documents revealed the existence of U.S. global surveillance programs.

Snowden also became a naturalized citizen of Russia in 2022, where he had become a permanent resident in 2020 after receiving asylum against espionage charges in the United States.

Gabbard previously argued Snowden should be pardoned, but told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee she would not seek is pardon if confirmed as director of National Intelligence.

Many senators also cited issues regarding Gabbard's prior efforts to repeal Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables targeted intelligence gathering on individuals located outside the United States and who are not U.S. citizens.

Despite internal concerns among GOP members, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Linda Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana voted to confirm her nomination.

Gabbard "brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role," Murkowski said in a statement released Monday night.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune during Senate debate on Monday emphasized Gabbard's former military service and her intent to make the Office of the director of National Intelligence more efficient.

"I am glad that Ms. Gabbard plans to focus on identifying and eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the office to what it was originally designed to be," Thune said.

Gabbard is a former member of Congress and left the Democratic Party after seeking its nomination for the presidency in 2020. She joined the Republican Party in 2024.

Gabbard also is a former member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005 as a medical specialist. She also completed Alabama Military Academy's officer training program in 2007.

Gabbard represented Hawaii in the House of Representatives from 2013 until 2021.

Her confirmation on Wednesday is the 14th so far for the Trump administration.