Snowden support threatens Tulsi Gabbard's Senate confirmation

• "There's definitely a risk that she won't even survive the committee process," one Republican senator told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
• Gabbard is Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence.

Zoom in: Most of the concerns about Gabbard have so far been sparked by a trip she took to Syria, her references to U.S. bio labs in Ukraine and a history of questioning the findings of the U.S. intelligence community.

Now it's her stance on Snowden, a former NSA contractor who was charged in 2013 with leaking classified documents revealing global surveillance programs. He became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2022.

• As a member of Congress, Gabbard sponsored a House resolution with former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) "expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden."
• Only recently has this come to the attention of Republicans sitting on the Senate Intelligence Committee — and elsewhere in the conference, multiple sources familiar told Axios.
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Axios she is concerned about the legislation, adding that "it's something that came up in my own review of [Gabbard's] record."

Between the lines: "There is not one GOP senator on record opposing Lt. Col. Gabbard's nomination," Gabbard spokesperson Alexa Henning told us in a statement.

• Henning pointed to bipartisan senators on Intel "who have shown positive support for her nomination and qualifications."

The bottom line: Even if Gabbard were to fail to get the votes necessary to be recommended by the Intel committee, there would be ways for her nomination to still be considered on the floor.

• Those processes would be more complicated — and in some cases, highly unlikely to succeed.
• Gabbard's team has already written off Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as we told you last week.