Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska and a potential swing vote, said on Monday that she would vote to confirm Gabbard, noting that despite “concerns about certain positions she has previously taken” she believed Gabbard “brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role”.
Gabbard, 43, faced a tense confirmation hearing last month that saw her respond to questions from both Republicans and Democrats over her past comments sympathetic to Russia and defense of the government of the former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who she visited in 2017 while he was under US sanction.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who has been publicly questioned over her affinity for foreign dictators and promoting conspiracy theories, has been confirmed as director of national intelligence by the US Senate.
After Gabbard’s confirmation vote, the Senate immediately moved to a procedural vote on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s nomination for health and human services secretary.
Republicans have since rallied behind Gabbard despite initial doubts over the 43-year-old former Democrat’s lack of significant intelligence experience.
