Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) announced that he would support Tulsi Gabbard‘s nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community, guaranteeing her advancement to the Senate floor Tuesday.
“American intelligence officers around the globe deserve our respect and support. I appreciate Tulsi Gabbard’s engagement with me on a variety of issues to ensure that our intelligence professionals will be supported and policymakers will receive unbiased information under her leadership,” Young said in a statement ahead of a critical vote in the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Young was one of the last remaining committee members who was publicly undecided on Gabbard due to her perceived skepticism of U.S. intelligence agencies.
“I have done what the Framers envisioned for senators to do: use the consultative process to seek firm commitments, in this case, commitments that will advance our national security, which is my top priority as a former Marine Corps intelligence officer,” he added. “Having now secured these commitments, I will support Tulsi’s nomination and look forward to working with her to protect our national security.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee vote, which will be conducted behind closed doors, comes after a hearing in which Young appeared dissatisfied with Gabbard’s answers to questions about NSA leaker Edward Snowden and her refusal to call him a “traitor.”
The Indiana senator’s office released a letter from Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman turned Trump ally, in which she made several assurances that appeared to assuage his concerns.
Sen Young Letter FINAL by web-producers
In the letter, Gabbard commits to “holding accountable and seeking justice against any Intelligence Community employee, contractor, or subcontractor who is suspected of making or facilitating an unauthorized disclosure of any intelligence program.” She also commits not to “advocate for any protections which should only be extended to lawful and legitimate whistleblowers to any Intelligence Community employee, contractor, or subcontractor who makes or facilitates an unauthorized disclosure of any intelligence program.”
Gabbard said she is dedicated to working alongside the committee to evaluate “whether existing laws, regulations, and policies are sufficient to deter an Intelligence Community employee, contractor, or subcontractor from making an unauthorized disclosure of any intelligence program.”
She also reinforced a statement stressing that she would not make a recommendation in “a personal or professional capacity regarding the legal standing of Edward Snowden to the President of the United States or the Attorney General of the United States.”
With the support of Young and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who announced her intention to vote yes on Monday, Gabbard is expected to advance out of the Senate Intelligence Committee panel and toward a full Senate vote.
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There was some prior concern that Gabbard’s nomination would fail if she didn’t win the support of all committee Republicans. The committee is split 9-8 in favor of Republicans, meaning if all panel Democrats oppose Gabbard, as is expected, a single GOP flip could prevent her nomination from reaching the floor.
The Republican Party has a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, which means any of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees can only afford to lose three Republican’s support to still get confirmed.
David Sivak contributed to this report.
