McConnell May Hold Key to Gabbard's Nomination

In public and in private, Mitch McConnell has been silent on whether he'll support President-elect Trump's nominees, sources tell Axios. And for those working on behalf of former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, the silence is becoming alarming. Gabbard's team isn't counting on McConnell's vote, though Trump's team believes Gabbard can be confirmed without it, Axios reports. Others aren't so sure. If the former GOP Senate leader does come out against Gabbard, viewed by Democrats as "compromised," others may be inclined to follow. As Politico's Jonathan Martin reports, "one aide to a senior lawmaker told me that, in a secret ballot, she'd lose at least 15 Republicans."

For one thing, Gabbard "couldn't clearly articulate what the role of director of national intelligence entails" during her meeting with GOP Sen. James Lankford, an unnamed Trump transition official tells the Wall Street Journal. She reportedly also conflated Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for the surveillance of foreigners outside the US for national security reasons, with FISA's Title I, which allows for the targeting of suspected spies living within the US, during a meeting with Sen. Mike Rounds. Both Lankford and Rounds sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which Gabbard will need to win over if she hopes to ease her path to confirmation.

The committee has a 9-8 GOP majority, but GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Todd Young are considered swing votes, per Axios. Collins previously said she would reserve judgment until after Gabbard's background check and hearing. Still, Trump's transition team believes fears of primary challenges for senators who go against Trump's nominees will be enough to get them in line, per the Journal. Rounds' concerns were allayed when Gabbard, who previously called for repealing Section 702, backed it this week. "Tulsi has been working hard and I was pleased she had taken my advice to meet with the experts I recommended," he tells the Journal, adding Gabbard will get his vote. (More Tulsi Gabbard stories.)