The United States Senate on Wednesday (Feb 12) confirmed former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.

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Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voted against confirming Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. He had also voted against Pete Hegseth’s confirmation for secretary of the Department of Defense last month.

In a last-minute plea, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “I plead with my colleagues, I know it’s the last minute, to think twice, to vote no, as we all will vote, because this is such an awful nomination who will endanger our national security and our intelligence operations throughout the country and the world.”

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Gabbard faced intense grilling from both Republican and Democratic senators during her confirmation hearing last month. She was particularly critical of previous intelligence officials, accusing former CIA and Director of National Intelligence leaders of “weaponisation and politicisation of the intelligence community.”

During her confirmation hearing, Gabbard thanked Trump, saying that she was “honoured and grateful” to be chosen for the role, especially “at a time when trust in the intelligence community, unfortunately, is at an all-time low.”

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During the hearing, she addressed criticisms levelled against her, saying, “These attacks accuse me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognising the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters.”

She further added, “The fact is, what truly unsettles my political opponents is I refuse to be their puppet. I have no love for Assad or Gaddafi or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that we have leaders who cosy up to Islamist extremists, minimising them to so-called rebels.”

(With inputs from agencies)