Washington DC - On Wednesday, the US Senate voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump's administration.

The vote came down to 52-48, with all Democrats voting nay. The only Republican to oppose the nomination was Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

She is now the 14th nominee confirmed to Trump's cabinet since he took office on January 20.

Gabbard served in Congress as a Democratic Representative for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District from 2013 to 2021, and in 2020, she ran for president.

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In October 2022, she publicly announced she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent, but in the years that followed, she made frequent appearances on Fox News and other right-wing media, espousing views and rhetoric that clearly aligned well with conservative audiences, such as "deep state" conspiracy theories.

Last year, she completed her MAGA transformation by endorsing Trump for president and officially joined the Republican Party in October.

Trump's choice to tap Gabbard for the national intelligence role has been met with controversy, with critics pointing to her lack of experience and open support for US adversaries, such as Syria's Bashar Al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Later Wednesday, the Senate is also expected to vote on appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, to head the Department of Health.