Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation on Wednesday was a striking reversal of fortunes for a Cabinet nomination that appeared to be precarious weeks earlier.

The former progressive Democrat’s positions on a range of issues, including her opposition to government surveillance authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaker Edward Snowden, the Assad regime in Syria, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Trump administration’s Iran policy had engendered deep skepticism among Senate Republicans.

Making matters worse, Gabbard’s initial interviews with several Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversaw the early stages of her confirmation process, went poorly. Some committee Republicans told colleagues they were not impressed with Gabbard’s performance during their first meetings with her. 

Some Republican senators who had concerns about Gabbard but don’t sit on the Intelligence Committee said the support of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the panel, had a significant impact. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) told Punchbowl News he credited Cotton and “pro-Gabbard people he spoke to from the intelligence community” as having “played a major role in getting him to support Gabbard.”

A member of the Senate GOP leadership team told JI that Gabbard securing the support of every Republican on the Intelligence Committee to advance her nomination to the Senate floor also helped encourage other wary members to get on board.

“When you look at how diverse the Intel Committee is, it was a signal to those of us who are not on the committee that she was reported out,” the senator said.

Among the Intelligence Committee Republicans who had concerns about Gabbard was Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), who engaged in extensive conversations with Vice President J.D. Vance about her views on whistleblowers, according to a source familiar with the matter. The discussions occurred after Elon Musk and other allies of President Donald Trump had begun attacking the Indiana senator online for being undecided on Gabbard’s nomination.

Following their initial conversation, Vance instructed his aides and others in the White House to reach out to the conservative and MAGA-world influencers who had been attacking Young online and instruct them to cease criticizing him publicly, according to Politico. 

Musk was among those who was reportedly contacted, leading him to phone Young to clear the air before taking back publicly his claim that the senator was a “deep state puppet.”

Young announced his decision to support Gabbard’s nomination two days later, last Tuesday, after having secured commitments from her in writing regarding whistleblower protections. The senator, who did not support Trump’s 2024 reelection bid, also praised Vance for his overall approach to addressing the concerns that were raised. 

“He was respectful, he listened a lot more than he talked, and frankly, he seemed to be effective on his end in getting me the sort of concessions that were required to get me to a yes,” Young said of the vice president. “He came through, he delivered for me, and I’m grateful for that.”

A source close to the Indiana senator described Vance to JI as “instrumental in securing the commitments necessary for his support for Gabbard.”

Even though they granted Gabbard their support, some Senate Republicans are hardly enthusiastic about her serving as DNI.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who is up for reelection this cycle, said in a brief statement that he had decided to vote for Gabbard because Trump had selected her, appearing to tepidly suggest he had not voted to confirm her because he thought she was right for the role. 

“President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence. I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation,” Cassidy’s statement read.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said similarly when announcing his decision to support Gabbard in late January that he believed Trump had “earned the right to appoint his own Cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances,” but declined to praise Gabbard whatsoever.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was slightly more forgiving in his statement, in which he said he was “very glad” to support Gabbard and touted her military service and their time in the same Capitol Hill Army Reserve unit.

“Every president deserves their team. Tulsi has the trust of President Trump, and I’m sure she will serve him well,” Graham said of Gabbard.