Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) confirmed on Sunday that he will vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as the Trump administration’s director of national intelligence, stressing that her views on a section in the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act remain unchanged.
The section in question, Section 702, is meant for the United States government to “tract terrorists overseas” so the U.S. can prevent potential terrorist attacks, Lankford explained. Gabbard had previously spoken out against Section 702 when she was in Congress, but has since changed her stance on the matter ahead of her confirmation vote.
“She voted against that in the House when she was a member of the House of Representatives, and she said she wanted changes,” Lankford said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “She now coming and saying ‘those changes have been done,’ because even since she was in Congress, there have been quite a few changes that we’ve made in Congress to make sure we’re protecting the civil rights of Americans.”
TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO’S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S ADMINISTRATION
Lankford further explained that Gabbard’s shift in supporting Section 702 is not hypocritical, as seeking out potential threats to the nation’s safety and security is a key part of the job description for director of national intelligence. As such, he intends to support her when her confirmation vote for the position is held.
Ahead of the confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet, Lankford has encouraged his fellow senators to look past the “media noise” generated by Trump’s nominees and get them confirmed. He further encouraged the need to get Trump’s Cabinet confirmed to “support the president.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As of Sunday, a confirmation hearing has yet to be scheduled for Gabbard as DNI. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, has his hearing set for Tuesday.
Following the New Orleans terrorist attack that occurred early on New Year’s Day, many Republicans have urged their fellow party members to conduct swift confirmation hearings for Trump’s security team, which, besides Gabbard and Hegseth, also involves Kash Patel for FBI director and Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) for homeland security secretary. Among those issuing this call is Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who requested for Trump’s security team to be confirmed “as quickly as possible.”