Tulsi Gabbard overcomes key vote in the Senate and is now within one step of being confirmed

The Senate has advanced Tulsi Gabbard to a final vote. After being approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Donald Trump's nominee to serve as national intelligence director passed the procedural vote with 52 votes in favor and 46 against. No Democrats joined Republicans in the majority.

As advanced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), the Senate could confirm Gabbard on Wednesday night. Despite initial doubts within the GOP, Republican senators rallied to vote in favor of the former congresswoman and are expected to do so again on the final vote.

One of the votes that was in doubt was that of Lisa Murkowski (R-AL). The Alaska senator had already voted against Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and now announced her vote in favor of the Hawaii native.

"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security," she wrote on her X account.

"As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected," Murkowski added.

John Thune (R-SD), Republican majority leader in the Senate, took the floor ahead of the final vote to confirm Gabbard.

"Tulsi Gabbard is a patriotic American. She believes strongly in the mission with which she’ll be tasked: keeping America safe. And you don’t have to take my word for it. Take it from Americans who have served alongside Ms. Gabbard during her 22 years in uniform. From the people who have put their lives in her hands," he said.

"As both a military officer and policymaker, Ms. Gabbard has been a consumer of intelligence. She knows that good decisions depend on having the best information. And she knows that the cost of bad information is measured in lives lost. (...) Well, Madam President, sounds like what we need in a director of national intelligence. And I look forward to confirming Ms. Gabbard this week," said Thune, who assumed Republican leadership of the Senate on January 3.

Gabbard's nomination would be succeeded by that of Robert Kennedy Jr., who recently advanced from the Senate Finance Committee thanks to key support from Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA).