The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. The vote was 52-48 mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation. Gabbard, one of President Donald Trump’s more controversial picks, faced concerns from several Republican senators over her lack of support for Ukraine; her shifting position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, a key surveillance and security tool; her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; and her past support for Edward Snowden. However, key swing Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana ultimately decided to back her confirmation.

Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed as the new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under the Trump administration. Gabbard, a former Representative from Hawaii, brings both legislative and military experience to the role. She served in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021 and has been recognised for her service in the Hawaii Army National Guard, including deployments to Iraq and Kuwait. As DNI, Gabbard will oversee the United States’ intelligence community, an agency established in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her primary responsibility will be to coordinate intelligence operations among various agencies, ensuring national security and effective information-sharing across the government.

The US Senate confirmed former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as President Trump’s spy chief Wednesday, elevating the ex-Democrat and privacy hawk to a cabinet-level position in the Republican administration. The upper chamber voted 52-48 to confirm Gabbard, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joining all 47 Democrats in opposition. The Army Reserve lieutenant colonel’s ascent to serve as a principal adviser to Trump on intelligence gathered by 18 separate agencies comes after combative hearings in the Senate. “I think it’s fair to say that Ms. Gabbard’s nomination has generated a bit more interest and attention than do most nominees,” acknowledged Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) at the start of her confirmation hearing last month.