After intense pressure from the White House and allies, Republicans in the Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence.
The committee’s decision came after multiple Republicans — including Sens. Susan Collins, Todd Young and Jerry Moran — initially suggested they were undecided about the nominee for director of national intelligence. The widespread hesitation about Gabbard’s history and fitness for the role, as well as the fiery reception Gabbard saw at her confirmation hearing, suggested that she could be one of the only Trump nominees to go down.
Any Republican opposition could have caused Gabbard to stall in committee and potentially derailed her nomination entirely. But all of the Republicans ultimately fell in line after urging — and threats — by Trump and Gabbard allies.