Tulsi Gabbard’s Confirmation Chances Get an Enormous Boost as Swing Senator Comes Down on Her Side

February 4, 2025 Mark Wolf US 0

Only on rare occasions does an individual emerge as the only viable candidate for an important government post.

Thus, when an obscure senator finally decides to bring his or her views into line with the express wishes of President Donald Trump and his tens of millions of supporters by voting to confirm said candidate, one may rightfully celebrate without bothering to inquire as to the reasons why.

Tuesday on the social media platform X, Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana indicated that he would support Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, thereby bringing the prospect of Gabbard’s confirmation to near-certainty.

“I appreciate Tulsi Gabbard’s engagement with me on a variety of issues to ensure that our intelligence professionals will be supported and policymakers will receive unbiased information under her leadership,” Young wrote. A copy of a letter from Gabbard to Young accompanied the senator’s post.

In that letter, Gabbard responded to Young’s specific concerns. Namely, she pledged to crack down on “unauthorized disclosure” of intelligence from various sources.

Gabbard’s “commitments” to Young prompted the senator to announce his support for her.

“Having now secured these commitments, I will support Tulsi’s nomination and look forward to working with her to protect our national security,” he wrote.

According to Politico, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at length with Young about concerns over whistleblowers in the intelligence community. That conversation prompted the written commitments from Gabbard.

Among Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, as of Tuesday afternoon only Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas had yet to indicate publicly how he plans to vote on Gabbard’s nomination.

Meanwhile, on the betting site Polymarket, Gabbard’s odds of confirmation soared to 98 percent.

An Iraq War veteran and a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Gabbard ran for president as a Democrat in 2020.

Related:

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Her pro-freedom and anti-establishment views, however, rankled some of America’s worst people. Establishment politicians such as former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, for instance, smeared Gabbard as a Russian asset.

In 2022, Gabbard finally abandoned the Democratic Party, citing its wokeness, elitism, and warmongering totalitarianism.

Then, in August 2024, she began campaigning for Trump. In October, she announced that she had joined the Republican Party.

Is Tulsi Gabbard a good pick for DNI?

Meanwhile, she has revealed that she endured persecution at the hands of former President Joe Biden’s intelligence agencies.

“Personally, just 24 hours after I criticized [former Vice President] Kamala Harris and her nomination,” Gabbard told senators at her confirmation hearing on Thursday, “I was placed on a secret domestic terror watch list called Quiet Skies.”

Readers may view Gabbard’s comments in the video below, posted to X.

As a general observation, one might include Gabbard on the short list of most popular Trump surrogates in and out of government, at least among members of the president’s anti-establishment base. That list includes Vance, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Personally, I advocated for Gabbard to replace former Vice President Mike Pence on Trump’s 2020 ticket. Of course, I cannot document that, so you may call me a liar if you like. Nor did my advocacy reach eyes or ears outside my own circle of family and friends. But I distinctly recall thinking that Gabbard’s anti-establishment views had her situated inside the wrong party.

In any event, whatever Young’s reasons for finally supporting the impressive Gabbard — too impressive for Washington, D.C., by the way — we must now pray for her swift confirmation. Her anti-establishment views and experience of persecution by Biden’s intelligence agencies make her uniquely suited to the position. And for that reason Trump’s supporters will accept no one else.



Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

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