Senator Collins says she will support Gabbard’s nomination

Tulsi Gabbard just got some much-needed breathing room in terms of having her nomination approved.

Gabbard has seen considerable resistance, including a handful of Republicans who were less than impressed with her.

She may have just gotten the breathing room she needed to pass as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence after one of the holdouts confirmed she would be voting in favor of the nomination.

Tulsi is Good

First, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had expressed reservations, but he came out over the weekend to confirm that he would be supporting the nomination.

But there was still concern that Senators Collins (R-ME) and Murkowski (R-AK) would vote against her.

While I cannot speak for Murkowski at this point, Collins has confirmed that she will be voting “yes.”

On February 3, Collins stated, “After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence.

“As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence community.”

Collins also stated that she agrees with Gabbard that the reach of the office needs to be dialed back, stating, “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, has become far larger than it was designed to be, and Ms. Gabbard shares my vision of returning the agency to its intended size.”

Gabbard has vowed to revamp the FISA warrant process, something that was horribly abused during the Russian collusion investigation into Trump.

Collins added, “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 took forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security.”

She concluded, “After extensive consideration, conversations with her in my office, attending the hearing and questioning her there, and listening to her in the closed session, I decided to vote — that I will vote for her,”

I have never hidden the fact that I would have preferred to see Gabbard running Veterans Affairs, but she handled herself well during her confirmation hearings.

I won’t say I am completely sold on her, but I am sold enough that if I were a Senator, I would be voting to approve her, but I would also be giving her a very tight leash.

Gabbard is one of a handful of Trump nominees who will be under the microscope the entire time, so she has no wiggle room in terms of making any mistakes.