Tulsi Gabbards confirmed with support from Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville

February 12, 2025 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate voted in favor of Tulsi Gabbard to serve as President Trump's Director of National Intelligence. Both Senators Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) voted in favor of Gabbards' confirmation.

Senator Britt released a statement expressing her confidence in Gabbards following Wednesday's vote to confirm the former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii.

"Today, I voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence because she will do everything in her power to keep Americans safe and ensure our homeland is secure," said Senator Britt. "When I met with her in my office, she highlighted the importance of analytical objectivity in this role and painting a complete picture to help President Trump make critical decisions with all of the information. I have faith in Director Gabbard's ability to ensure the intelligence community is focused on its true mission by making key reforms that take biased bureaucracy out of national security. She will be a key player in achieving President Trump's Peace Through Strength doctrine. Together, I look forward to making America safe again."

Gabbards also met with Senator Tuberville. During the meeting they discussed the advancement of President Trump's agenda through Making America Safe Again.

"I had the pleasure of meeting with Tulsi Gabbard today, our next Director of National Intelligence," said Senator Tuberville in a statement. "She has my full support and will do an excellent job. We must confirm all of President Trump's national security team and Make America Safe Again."

Senator Britt met with Tulsi Gabbard in January to discuss her plans for the department.

After the meeting, Senator Britt said, "I enjoyed meeting with Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for DNI, and discussing Alabama's critical role in our country's security and her plans to support the president's Peace Through Strength doctrine. I highlighted the importance of Huntsville's Missile and Space Intelligence Center and look forward to the opportunity to host Tulsi in Alabama following her confirmation."

Gabbards had the support of every Republican except former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). Gabbards was confirmed 52 to 48. All the Democrats voted against the former Democratic Congresswoman and one-time Democratic candidate for President.

The director of national intelligence is tasked with overseeing the 18 spy agencies operated by the U.S. government and putting together the President's daily intelligence briefing.

Gabbard in Congress voted against domestic surveillance capabilities. She has since moderated her views and now says that she supports the continuation of those programs she once criticized.

Gabbards now supports a continuation of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was one of the spy powers officials say is necessary to protect the U.S. Section 702 allows the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect digital communications of foreigners abroad from U.S. tech companies without an individualized probable cause warrant. It also allows the FBI to query a subset of the email collection for Americans' data without a warrant.

FISA reportedly now accounts for almost 60 percent of the president's daily briefing.

Trump has also at times been a critic of FISA which he claims was illegally used to spy on his campaign.

"Section 702, unlike other FISA authorities, is crucial for gathering foreign intelligence on non-U. S. persons abroad," Gabbard said in a statement. "This unique capability cannot be replicated and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans. My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI's misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens. Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans' Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people."

FISA and Section 702 come up for renewal by Congress in April of 2026.