The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as the nation’s new Director of National Intelligence (DNI), giving President Donald Trump a major victory in his ongoing push to reshape America’s intelligence community.
The final vote was 52-46, with every Republican senator voting in favor except Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who delivered a rare and symbolic rebuke to the president. All 47 Democrats opposed the nomination, citing concerns about Gabbard’s foreign policy positions and her political shift in recent years.
Despite the opposition, Gabbard’s confirmation underscores the deep loyalty of Senate Republicans to Trump during his second term, as well as the president’s determination to place unconventional figures in high-level national security posts.
A Historic Role for a Political Outsider
Gabbard, 43, will be sworn in later today at the White House, officially taking the reins of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The position oversees the nation’s sprawling network of intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA, FBI, and military intelligence branches.
Her appointment is historic not only because she is the first former Democrat to hold the role under a Republican administration, but also because she represents one of the most dramatic political transformations in recent U.S. history.
Gabbard served as a Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii between 2013 and 2021 and gained national attention as a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Known for her outspoken criticism of U.S. military interventions abroad, she often clashed with leaders in her own party.
In 2022, she formally left the Democratic Party, calling it “an elitist cabal of warmongers,” and two years later endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential run. In 2025, she officially registered as a Republican, aligning herself fully with the party she had once frequently opposed.
McConnell’s Lone “No” Vote
Senator Mitch McConnell’s decision to oppose the nomination surprised many observers and highlighted lingering divisions within the Republican Party. Though McConnell did not deliver a lengthy floor speech explaining his vote, aides said the senator remained skeptical of Gabbard’s lack of traditional intelligence experience and her history of breaking with Republican foreign policy orthodoxy.
“Senator McConnell has long prioritized national security and the credibility of our intelligence agencies,” one aide said on condition of anonymity. “His vote reflects those concerns, not personal animosity toward Ms. Gabbard.”
McConnell has occasionally split from Trump during his presidency, but Thursday’s vote made him the only Republican senator willing to publicly oppose one of Trump’s top nominees.
Republican Support Secures the Nomination
While McConnell broke ranks, his opposition was not enough to derail the nomination. Earlier in the week, Republican senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) signaled that they would support Gabbard, effectively securing her confirmation.
“I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,” Murkowski said in a statement on X. She acknowledged concerns about some of Gabbard’s past positions but praised her commitment to reducing government overreach while safeguarding national security.
“As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected,” Murkowski added.
Cassidy echoed that sentiment: “President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence. I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation.”
With Republican support united—aside from McConnell—the path to confirmation was never seriously in doubt.
Democratic Opposition
Democrats lined up in near-unanimous opposition, framing Gabbard as an unqualified and politically motivated choice.
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized her confirmation as “a dangerous politicization of the intelligence community.”
Other Democrats cited Gabbard’s past appearances on media outlets sympathetic to foreign adversaries, as well as her controversial 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with President Bashar al-Assad. While Gabbard has defended her foreign policy stance as “realism” and “a commitment to peace,” critics accuse her of being too sympathetic to authoritarian regimes.
“She has spent years undermining America’s alliances and echoing the rhetoric of our adversaries,” Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. “That is not the profile we need in a Director of National Intelligence.”
Gabbard’s Vision for the Role
In her confirmation hearings, Gabbard emphasized that her approach to the DNI role would be grounded in independence and accountability.
She pledged to reform the intelligence community, reduce unnecessary surveillance of American citizens, and streamline coordination among agencies that she said had grown bloated and overly politicized.
“I am committed to ensuring that our intelligence community serves the American people, not entrenched bureaucracies or partisan agendas,” Gabbard told senators. “We must focus on real threats—terrorism, cyberattacks, and espionage—without infringing on civil liberties.”
Her stance resonated with Trump’s long-standing grievances against the intelligence establishment, which frequently clashed with him during his first term over issues ranging from Russian election interference to the origins of COVID-19.
Trump’s Calculated Pick
By choosing Gabbard, Trump not only rewarded a high-profile political defector but also sent a clear signal of his intent to challenge Washington’s intelligence establishment.
“President Trump values loyalty, independence, and courage,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said after the vote. “Tulsi Gabbard embodies all of those qualities and will bring fresh leadership to an institution that has resisted reform for too long.”
Political analysts see the move as part of Trump’s broader strategy to reshape national security agencies in his final term, ensuring that they are more aligned with his worldview and less inclined to push back against his agenda.
What the Confirmation Means
Gabbard’s confirmation is likely to reverberate across Washington and internationally. Her critics worry that her skepticism of U.S. foreign interventions may embolden adversaries like Russia and China. Supporters, however, believe her independent streak could provide a necessary check on entrenched intelligence practices that have fueled endless wars and surveillance scandals.
For Trump, the vote was a demonstration of his continued dominance over the Republican Party. Despite McConnell’s defection, nearly the entire GOP caucus fell in line behind the president, signaling the strength of his influence in the Senate.
For Gabbard, the position marks the culmination of a remarkable political journey—from Democratic lawmaker to Republican presidential ally, and now to one of the most powerful national security posts in the federal government.
A Party in Transition
The vote also highlighted the evolving identity of the Republican Party. Once defined by staunch foreign policy hawks like McConnell, John McCain, and Lindsey Graham, the GOP is increasingly shaped by populist skepticism of foreign entanglements—a stance embodied by both Trump and Gabbard.
Whether that shift strengthens America’s security or leaves it vulnerable remains to be seen. For now, Tulsi Gabbard has secured one of the most influential roles in Washington, with the full weight of the intelligence community now under her leadership.
As she is sworn in today, both supporters and critics agree: her tenure as Director of National Intelligence will be closely watched, both at home and abroad.