Tulsi confirmed: Gabbard survives Todd Young’s attack on the Constitution

Despite frequent claims that Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be director of national intelligence was in danger, repeated ad nauseam in the Washington press, ultimately she didn’t even need J.D. Vance to come back to break a tie. Only Mitch McConnell broke with the rest of his Republican colleagues to oppose her confirmation, which — as I’ve previously written — was never in doubt once she got out of the Intelligence Committee. 

Yet it’s worth noting one of the untoward prices paid along the way, given the egregious nature of its violation of the separation of powers. Indiana senator Todd Young, a member of the Senate Republican coalition not noted for his intellectual capacity or the respect of his peers, chose to make, as a price of his support, a list of demands of Lieutenant Colonel Gabbard. Young’s conditions were viewed as astounding by more than one of his Senate colleagues. 

In a lengthy message on the eve of the Intel Committee’s vote, Senator Young insisted that the nominee commit to numerous promises that run afoul of any basic understanding of the separation of powers, in a litany that included a commitment to inform his office of every time that Gabbard travels abroad — something never asked of a previous DNI, a clear violation of expectations of secrecy on the part of service to the executive and a demand that would render moot the ability of the DNI to engage in sensitive behind-the-scenes negotiations.

One senator’s chief of staff joked to me that the price of serving in an intelligence role is apparently now “wearing a LoJack”, while another top staffer for a different senator labeled the Indiana Republican “Todd ‘Nanny-Cam’ Young”.

Yet there is something serious about all of this — and it will almost certainly be tested in the coming months of the administration. Given the levels of suspicion and demands some Republican senators have regarding Trump’s contrarian cabinet — including Gabbard but also Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel and potentially others — attempts to cordon off their ability to make sweeping change is absolutely something to expect from senators whose priorities align more with Trump’s critics than his supporters. Overstepping the bounds of the Constitution is already something they’ve shown a willingness to entertain with demands like this — and if they’re willing to do so publicly, expect more clumsy attempts to undermine behind the scenes.