Senate Confirms Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence; Hindu Americans Celebrate Historic Moment

The Senate has confirmed Tulsi Gabbard, one of President Trump’s most controversial nominees, as the director of national intelligence. The vote was 52-48 mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation. But she had support from key swing Republican senators — including Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana — ultimately decided to back her confirmation.

Axios calls it “a big win for the president’s team, which worked hard to resuscitate Gabbard’s nomination when it faltered earlier this year.”

A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, and a former presidential candidate, Gabbard drew scrutiny from Senate Intelligence Committee lawmakers, including from several Republican senators, over her views on surveillance and a series of controversial meetings she held in Lebanon and Syria in 2017, including with then-President Assad. Her nomination moved for a full Senate vote after the Senate Intelligence Committee approved her nomination Feb. 4 in a razor-thin 9-8 party-line vote.

Many Hindu American groups celebrated Gabbard’s confirmation, and lauded her for making history as the highest ranking Hindu American in federal government. Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation reminded those who are celebrating the news of the confirmation to “never forget how she won.” She lauded Gabbard for never seeking “to conceal her Hindu identity in the midst of a despicable, coordinated smear campaign over her faith, her guru & supposed dual loyalty to India.”

In a post, CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) congratulated Gabbard, “the first cabinet member hailing from the Hindu faith,” and called it “a historic moment for the broader Hindu community in the United States.”

A Modi admirer Gabbard had openly criticized Washington’s decision to ban Modi’s visa owing to his alleged involvement in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots. Further, in December 2013, she had voiced her opposition to the House Resolution 417 which criticized India for failing to protect the rights and freedoms of religious minorities. 

In 2019, after meeting Modi in New York, she released a statement noted that the two had “a productive conversation about the importance of the U.S.-India relationship.” A a former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, she further noted that the discussions included “the need to continue to work together to address the pressing issues that impact us and the world — like combating climate change and protecting our environment, improving the economic well-being of our people, increasing trade, counterterrorism efforts, and preventing nuclear war and nuclear proliferation. “

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Contentious Confirmation Hearing

After facing tough questions at the Jan. 30 conformation hearing, from both Republicans and Democrats, it seemed like Gabbard’s confirmation was in jeopardy.  The former Hawaii congresswoman was grilled about her views on Russia, ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Edward Snowden. But she won over the party members on the committee who were wavering, including Collins of Maine and Young, as well as support from Sen. Ton Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, even before the Jan. 30 hearing.  Young asked tough questions in the confirmation hearing but announced his support for.

At the hearing, Gabbard rejected criticism that she has sided with U.S. adversaries. She chided those who questioned her loyalty to the United States given her career in the Army and in politics, calling it outrageous. She maintained she is coming under attack for questioning Washington’s national security establishment and opposing U.S. military “regime change” interventions, including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.  At the hearing Gabbard said she was not “Putin’s puppet” or “Assad’s puppet,” or anyone else’s.  “The fact is what truly unsettles my political opponents is I refuse to be their puppet,” Gabbard said.