US: Senate moves forward with Tulsi Gabbard's nomination for Director of National Intelligence

With the backing of 52 Senate Republicans, Gabbard is expected to be confirmed as the nation's top intelligence official soon. Forty-six Democrats opposed her nomination, and two senators were absent during the vote.

The vote was conducted under a procedural rule called cloture, which is often used for contentious Cabinet nominees like Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.

This rule permits up to 30 hours of debate before a final vote can take place. Gabbard had previously been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee in a party-line vote following a heated confirmation hearing at the end of January.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a floor speech on Monday said, "The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission, collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information. That's what Tulsi Gabbard is committed to ensuring if she is confirmed to be DNI, and I believe she has the knowledge and leadership capabilities to get it done," NBC News reported.

The final vote on Gabbard's nomination is scheduled for midnight Tuesday, unless all senators agree to vote earlier. Following that, Senator Thune said that the Senate would proceed with a procedural vote on Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s nomination, nominated by Trump for the position of health and human services secretary.

Gabbard, who was nominated by US President Donald Trump for the post, is a former Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Democratic congresswoman, and 2020 presidential candidate who switched to the Republican Party last year. She has, at times, referred to the tens of thousands of intelligence personnel she would oversee as members of the "deep state."

She had also raised questions over the US intelligence findings on the former Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons on its own people, and has echoed Kremlin's views about the cause of Russia launching war in Ukraine. (ANI)