Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), an influential member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced on Friday that he will vote for Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence.
Cornyn, who said earlier this week that he had “questions” about Gabbard’s views on expanded surveillance authority under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, said in a statement that Trump has a “right” to pick his team.
“Having won the election decisively, I believe President Trump has earned the right to appoint his own cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, it is my intention to consent to the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,” Cornyn said.
The veteran lawmaker didn’t seem overly impressed by Gabbard’s performance at her confirmation hearing Thursday, when she repeatedly refused to denounce former NSA contractor-turned-Russian citizen Edward Snowden a “traitor.”
Asked to grade Gabbard’s showing before the Intelligence Committee, Cornyn said: “Umm, I thought she did OK.”
Cornyn told reporters Monday that he had questions for Gabbard, even though he had already said he was inclined to vote for Trump’s nominees “absent extraordinary circumstances.”
“I have questions. I think Sen. Collins and others have talked about Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is very important. Sixty percent of the president’s daily brief comes from 702 intelligence so she’s now acknowledged the importance of it. I want to ask her a few questions about that,” he said on Monday.
