White House faces decision on Gabbard after shaky confirmation hearing

The White House faces a decision on how to move forward with director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard — wait and see if any GOP senators publicly oppose her, or launch a pressure campaign like the one that helped Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth get confirmed.

A number of Republicans emerged from Gabbard’s confirmation hearing this week appearing concerned and unimpressed with her answers on Edward Snowden, government surveillance and her communication with foreign adversaries. But no GOP senator has said flat out they will oppose her nomination.

That has left the White House and GOP allies feeling like she can get through.

“There’s no need for a plan B because plan A is going to work,” a Senate leadership aide told The Hill. “No senators said they’re no or announced they’re opposing her. And those who have expressed further questions are getting answers.”

Although Gabbard faces a tall task like Hegseth, the climb is very different for her. Most of Hegseth’s problems stemmed from personal issues, including allegations of sexual assault, that echoed what Justice Brett Kavanaugh faced in 2018.

Gabbard’s problems, by contrast, are almost exclusively policy-related. She was a Democrat for two decades and holds foreign policy views that differ from a number of Senate Republicans.

She also does not have a close relationship with conservative media like Hegseth, an ex-Fox News host, who received backup from MAGA forces during nomination struggles.

Whether Trump allies would do something similar for Gabbard is not yet known.

“It's unclear because it hasn't gotten to that level ... I haven't seen the same push. It's kind of been more scattered and not as concerted,” a Senate GOP aide said, noting that the possibility is still there.

“The threat remains that there will be a price to pay for opposing any of these guys,” the aide continued. “It's clear that there's going to be pushback from them if they go the wrong way, but I'm not sure to what extent or whether it's the same as Hegseth.”

The Trump team has already pulled one nominee — the president’s first attorney general pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — before he faced a committee vote because it was clear there were not enough Republican votes for him to be approved.

A source close to the Trump team said Gabbard isn’t at that point.

“I think it was clear with Gaetz pretty quickly that he was going to lose. I don’t know if it’s as clear about her,” the source said. “You want to wait and see. They are focused on getting your team in.”

The source added, “They bullied Hegseth in. That was like, Soprano-esque what they did for him. They held no punches.”

Still, Republicans have been more open with their concerns about Gabbard following her committee hearing this week, where she appeared to do herself few favors.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle pressed Gabbard about her previous support for pardoning Snowden for revealing classified information relating to global government surveillance programs. She wouldn’t say that Snowden is a “traitor” after being asked three times by GOP members, just that he broke the law.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Fox on Thursday he is worried about Gabbard’s nomination after talking to his Republican colleagues.

“I’m worried that her nomination may be in jeopardy,” Hawley said. “And I’m just worried about what that will mean.”

Gabbard can’t afford to lose any votes on the Intelligence Committee, which is divided between nine Republicans and eight Democrats.

Heading into Thursday, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) were considered her main obstacles on the panel.

Collins indicated she was pleased with her answers, but she remains undecided. She previously aired concerns that Gabbard hadn’t actually changed her position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets.

Her biggest hurdle after the hearing might be Young, a former Marine intelligence officer, who was visibly frustrated by Gabbard’s unwillingness to label Snowden a traitor.

A second Senate GOP aide echoed Hawley’s remark, telling The Hill that GOP members and staffers thought Gabbard did a poor job before the committee and made multiple unforced errors.

“They thought she was overly combative with what were softball questions from Republicans,” the aide said, pointing specifically to her telling Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that she was “offended” by a question on whether Russia would receive “a pass” when making a policy recommendation. The exchange came only hours after 64 people on a flight emanating from Wichita died after it crashed into the Potomac River following a collision with a military helicopter.

“The day after he's facing a tragedy in his own state — that she'd snap at him for no reason was bizarre,” the aide said. “She's a skilled communicator and people had a high expectation for what her performance would be. I don't think she met that bar.”

Senators not on the committee have also indicated publicly or privately their concerns with her nomination. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), a more moderate member, said he has “more questions than answers” following the hearing.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also made it clear to members he will oppose her nomination if she reaches the floor.

Senate procedure allows the full chamber to bypass the committee result and advance a nominee to the floor via a rarely used process where no recommendation is given. Normally, nominees are voted "favorably" or "unfavorably," but this would allow Gabbard to reach the floor despite reservations from a senator — similar to how Mick Mulvaney moved to a floor vote to become director of the Office of Management and Budget in 2017.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said last week he does not see that being in the cards.

Gabbard has struggled to woo senators since her first meetings on Capitol Hill in December, after which nearly a half-dozen sources told The Hill the sit-downs were “not going well.”

But, a source familiar with Trump world thinking said the White House is “grinding it out” and moving forward with Gabbard’s nomination, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for Health and Human Services secretary, and FBI director pick Kash Patel.

And, Gabbard’s team felt confident after her appearances on Capitol Hill this week.

“Lt. Col. Gabbard was happy to answer questions from the Committee in both open- and closed-door sessions. Especially when able to focus on the threats we face as a nation and how as DNI she will keep the American people safe and restore trust in the [intelligence community],” said Alexa Henning, a Gabbard spokesperson. “We remain in lockstep with [Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton] and look forward to receiving questions from the Committee and to her vote next week.”

Some Republican senators were also less bleak about Gabbard’s prospects than Hawley.

"We're in good shape," said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who's been among those working the phones for Gabbard, yet was not overly confident of where she stood prior to the hearing.

Mullin believes at this point, Gabbard could lose one in committee and head to a floor vote unrecommended, where he believes she would lose two at the moment. He declined to mention any names.

“I’m very bullish on [Kennedy], very bullish on [Kash Patel], and I feel really, really good where we are with Tulsi,” he added.

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