Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, reportedly made the announcement on Monday that she will back Tulsi Gabbard in her bid to become the director of national intelligence (DNI).
This will provide Gabbard with a significant assist in her efforts to be confirmed.
Collins was regarded as an important swing vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday afternoon in order to possibly move Gabbard closer to a floor vote.
During the previous month, Collins had voiced his concerns regarding Gabbard.
However, in a statement that she released on Monday, she referred to Gabbard’s support for reducing the size and scale of the post of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and stated that the former Democratic congresswoman had alleviated her concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden.
“After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence … has become far larger than it was designed to be, and Ms. Gabbard shares my vision of returning the agency to its intended size.” Collins announced.
As soon as Collins is placed in the “aye” column, all focus is directed at Senator Todd Young (R-Indiana), who has been seen as the other Republican on the panel who is expected to be a swing vote.
During the confirmation hearing, Young questioned Gabbard with the question of whether or not she believed Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who turned leaker, is a traitor.
Young was obviously frustrated with Gabbard’s responses to her question.
Young was referred to as a “deep state puppet” in a message that was published on social platform X over the weekend by Elon Musk.
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