Tony Dungy is no stranger to making his political stances known, but that’s about as far as he’ll take it.
The former NFL coach has attended conservative rallies, including March for Life, and has been very open about his faith.
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He even criticized Democrat nominee Kamala Harris in this past election cycle for her stance on abortion rights.
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Dec. 23, 2023; Inglewood, California: NBC Sports broadcasters Tony Dungy during the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
Earlier this week, a post on X surfaced that Dungy was considering a run for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat next year as a Republican.
But the rumor was unfounded, the NBC analyst said.
“Not sure where this idea came from but it didn’t come from me,” Dungy said.
“I love my home state of Michigan. I pray they will elect a Senator who honors the Lord and leads the people well. But I can assure you it won’t be me.”
Dungy then gave some pretty decent reasons as to why he won’t run.
NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy speaks during a segment prior to the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 4, 2022, in Canton, Ohio.(Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
“Number 1, I’m not a politician and Number 2 I live in Florida.”
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Democrat senator Gary Peters will not be seeking a third term next year. He was first elected in 201 and won re-election six years later but in a much tighter race. He earned 49.9% of the vote against 48.2% by John James in 2020 after defeating Terri Lynn Land in convincing fashion, 54.6% to 41.3%.
Former Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy during an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 5, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. The Patriots defeated the Buccaneers 19-14.(Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Georgia is the other state that will have a Dem-held seat up for election in 2016, in a state won by President Donald Trump back in November.
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Republicans have not won a Michigan U.S. Senate race in over 30 years, and Peters’ seat has been blue since 1972.
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President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel sparredwith Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday in his lengthy confirmation hearing, where he faced off with lawmakers on issues ranging from Trump’s pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters, his role in elevating a song released by the Jan. 6 inmate choir, and his previous call to shut down the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
He also answered questions about his views on QAnon and on his book, “Government Gangsters.”
Here were the four biggest clashes of the day.
Blumenthal: Patel’s actions giving ‘the appearance’ he has something to hide
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., blasted Patel for refusing to share his grand jury testimony from the probe into Trump’s handling of classifieddocuments after leaving the White House.
FORMER TRUMP OFFICIALS REJECT WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM THAT FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL BROKE HOSTAGE PROTOCOL
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing on Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The charges against Trump were dropped in Florida and New York after he won the presidential election, in keeping with a long-standing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Blumenthal told Patel on Thursday that refusing to share his remarks with the panel gave “the appearance” that he is being less than transparent.
“The appearance here is that you have something to hide,” Blumenthal told him. “I submit to my colleagues on the committee, we need to know what the grand jury testimony is … and you have no objection to our seeking it, but you won’t tell us.”
“Even in a classified, confidential setting, I think that position is disqualifying,” he said, before adding, “What are you hiding?” “Why won’t you tell us?”
Patel declined to give a satisfactory answer.
“The appearance here is that you have something to hide,” Blumenthal said.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP’S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL
FBI director nominee Kash Patel, left, and Sen. Adam Schiff(AP | Getty)
Jan. 6 pardons
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also traded barbs with Patel on Thursday over the president’s sweeping pardon and sentence commutations to the more than 1,500 defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the panel, asked whether Patel believed the U.S. is “safer” after the mass pardons were granted, to which Patel attempted to equivocate the action to pardons issued by former President Joe Biden.
He told Durbin that he has “not looked at all 1,600 individual cases” before adding, “I also believe America is not safer because of President Biden’s commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents,” Patel said, referencing Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murdering two FBI agents on a South Dakota reservation.
The agents’ families, he said, “[D]eserve better than to have the man that point-blank range fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them released from prison.”
“So it goes both ways.”
The January 6 rioters, and their pardons, were a frequent topic of the hearing.
Supporters of President Donald Trump are seen at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
J6 inmate choir, ‘Justice for All’
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., hit Patel with rapid-fire questions regarding his involvement in and promotion of a song recorded by the “J6 Prison Choir,” a group of Capitol rioters, during their incarceration.
Patel shared the song, “Justice for All,” on social media. He said that at the time he “did not know about the violent offenders,” noting that he “did not participate in any of the violence in and around Jan. 6.”
In response, Schiff gave Patel a harsh public dressing-down over the violence and assault endured by the Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Turn around and look at them,” Schiff told Patel before motioning to the officers lined up for protection along the back of the room.
Patel declined to do so.
“I want you to look at them if you can, if you have the courage to look them in the eye, Mr. Patel. Tell them you’re proud of what you did,” Schiff said.
“Tell them you’re proud that you raised money off of people that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper sprayed them, that beat them with poles. Tell them you’re proud of what you did,” Schiff said, adding, “They’re right there. They are guarding you today.”
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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)
Booker doubles down on classified documents
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s questions to Patel regarding any efforts by Trump to declassify documents after leaving the White House were among the most heated moments of the hearing.
Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, asked Patel repeatedly whether he witnessed Trump handling documents marked as classified or moving to declassify them after leaving the Oval Office.
“In the name of all the values you have said today, did you or did you not testify to witnessing the president of the United States declassify documents?” Booker asked, his voice rising several octaves.
Patel told Booker he did not know if the documents he saw being declassified at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida were seized by FBI agents in the special counsel probe, and he urged Booker to obtain them legally.
“The question is: Will you lie for the president of the United States?” Booker said. “Would you lie for Donald Trump?”
“No,” Patel said.
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Booker urged Patel to testify to the Senate over what he said to the grand jury.
It “would be utterly irresponsible for this committee to move forward with his nomination … if we do not know that the future head of the FBI would break the law and lie for the president of the United States,” Booker said.
“He’s refusing the transparency that he claims to adhere to. He is refusing to be direct with the United States Senate,” he continued.
“Did he or did he not lie for the president? That is the question.”
President Donald Trump’s choice to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, passed a Senate cloture vote Thursday night.
The vote was 83-13.
He will proceed to a full vote on the Senate floor for confirmation, which he is expected to easily secure with a strong bipartisan showing.
A former U.S. congressman, the Gainesville, Georgia native also serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Collins was not expected to face a difficult confirmation fight and saw bipartisan support in his committee hearing, with the lone exception of Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who voted against him.
HAWAII’S HIRONO ONLY SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON COLLINS, CONTINUING PARTISAN STREAK AT HEARINGS
Doug Collins, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is sworn in during his Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Collins, a former U.S. Representative and veteran of the Iraq War, has strong bipartisan support and is not expected to face a difficult confirmation. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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If confirmed as VA secretary, Collins would be tasked with overseeing a beleaguered system of healthcare and benefits for the nation’s veterans.
Long wait times to see providers, lack of access to community care, inadequate mental health support and budget shortfalls are just a few of many problems that have plagued secretaries past in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The Senate Thursday evening advanced President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy to a final confirmation vote.
The vote was 62-35.
Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Liberty Energy Inc., an energy industry service provider based in Colorado, was tapped by the 47th president to head the Department of Energy under his administration.
The Trump nominee has received bipartisan support for his nomination, being introduced by a Democrat, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this month.
The Senate held a late-night cloture vote for Wright, to end discussion over his nomination.
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Chris Wright, chief executive officer of Liberty Energy Inc. and U.S. energy secretary nominee, speaks during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.(Al Drago)
The cloture vote passed with bipartisan support, meaning Wright will advance to a final Senate vote, likely to take place on Friday.
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Wright, during his confirmation hearing, said he had identified three “immediate tasks” where he would focus his attention: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs and increasing production in America.
The top Republican on the Senate’s chief health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., indicated Thursday during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s second confirmation hearing of the week that his vote for Trump’s nominee to head Health and Human Services was not a lock, noting that he was “struggling” to confirm Kennedy over his inability to admit vaccines are safe and don’t cause autism.
Kennedy faced two separate hearings in front of Senate lawmakers this week in his bid to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy was probed frequently over his views on vaccines, which have been a sticking point for many senators as they figure out whether to vote in favor of Kennedy’s nomination, or not.
RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
During the hearings, Kennedy refused to reject claims he has posited publicly in the past that vaccines cause autism and argued he is not anti-vaccine but rather “pro-safety.” Kennedy added during the hearings that his plan as HHS Secretary would be to “follow the science,” noting that if the science says he is wrong on vaccines, he will publicly apologize.
But senators, like Cassidy, have suggested during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings that the science says vaccines are safe – and they don’t cause autism.
“My responsibility is to learn, try and determine, if you can be trusted to support the best public health,” Cassidy, a former physician, said during his closing remarks at Kennedy’s Thursday confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). “A worthy movement called ‘MAHA,’” Cassidy continued, “to improve the health of Americans, or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence, and never accepting the evidence that is there … That is why I’ve been struggling with your nomination.”
DOCTOR DEFENDS RFK JR’S VACCINE STANCE: ‘HE’S NOT AGAINST VACCINES’
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., questions Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Cassidy repeatedly asked Kennedy during the Thursday hearing to publicly declare that vaccines don’t cause autism, but Kennedy refused. “That would have an incredible impact,” Cassidy said.
“There are issues we are, man, ultra-processed food, obesity, we are simpatico. We are completely aligned,” Cassidy continued during his closing remarks. “And as someone who has discussed immunizations with thousands of people, I understand that mothers want reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary, safe and effective. We agree on that point, the two of us, but we’ve approached it differently. And I think I can say that I’ve approached it using the preponderance of evidence to reassure, and you’ve approached it using selective evidence to cast doubt.”
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Meanwhile, Cassidy pointed out the massive “megaphone” Kennedy has as a descendant of former President John F. Kennedy, and questioned whether he will use his credibility “to support” or “to undermine” the nation’s public health and its confidence in vaccines.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers is “strongly considering” a second straight Republican run for the Senate in the crucial battleground state of Michigan.
The announcement from Rogers comes two days after two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in the 2026 midterms, which will force the Democrats to defend a key swing state seat as they try to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans.
Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats’ nominee, in last November’s election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
The 61-year-old Rogers made his news in a social media statement released on Thursday in which he spotlighted his relationship with President Donald Trump and the “support” he has received from Michiganders.
GARY PETERS, DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM TRUMP STATE, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION
Republican Senate nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, speaks alongside Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a campaign event hosted by Trump at the Falk Productions manufacturing facility on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.( Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Rogers is a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress. A one-time GOP Trump critic who mulled a White House run of his own in 2024, Rogers later became a strong supporter of the then-Republican presidential nominee and won his endorsement last year.
“I’ve spent the last two years traveling across Michigan with the support of President Trump and millions of voters,” Rogers wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “What I learned more than anything is that hard-working Michiganders deserve strong and honest representation that will have President Trump’s back.”
MEET THE REPUBLICAN SENATOR TASKED WITH DEFENDING THE GOP’S SENATE MAJORITY IN 2026
Pointing to his 2024 showing, Rogers noted that “since receiving more votes than any other Republican candidate that has ever run for Senate in Michigan, the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received since November proves that our mission to send a real fighter to the US Senate has just begun.”
He added that he and his wife Kristi “are strongly considering joining the fight once again ― to be the ally that President Trump needs and the leader that Michigan deserves. Good news is coming soon.”
Peters, a former House member first elected to the Senate in 2014, announced in a social media post that he would not seek re-election.
“Serving Michigan in the Congress has been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity the people of my home state have given me,” Peters, who steered the Senate Democrats campaign committee the past two elections cycles, said.
DEMOCRATS’ NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026
Peters was one of three Democratic senators up for re-election in the 2026 midterms that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was planning to heavily target as they aim to expand their current 53-47 majority in the Senate. The other two Democrats are Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on August 19, 2024(Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
While Rogers is the first Republican to publicly make a move toward launching a 2026 Senate campaign in Michigan, GOP sources tell Fox News others who may consider running are Rep. John James -who’s in his second term in the House and was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in 2018 and 2020 -, longtime Rep. Bill Huizenga, and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.
Hours after Peters’ announcement, there were developments in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who moved his residency from Indiana to Michigan a few years ago, signaled that he’s mulling a Senate bid.
Then-Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
“Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve. He’s honored to be mentioned for this, and he’s taking a serious look,” a source familiar told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan quickly took herself out of consideration.
WHO IS GARY PETERS? 7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MICHIGAN SENATOR
“Governor Whitmer is grateful for Senator Peters’ service. She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate,” a spokesperson for her political action committee, Fight Like Hell PAC, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited. Whitmer is seen standing for a Fox News Digital interview on July 25, 2024 in Durham, New Hampshire. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Responding to Peters’s news, NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina argued in a statement earlier this week that “Gary Peters is reading the room. After spending years ignoring illegal immigration and destroying his state’s auto industry, Michigan is better off without him.”
Scott emphasized that “we’re committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country.”
The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee noted that “no Republican has won a Michigan Senate race in 30 years – including last cycle when Democrats won an open Senate seat even as Trump won the state.”
And DSCC spokesman David Berstein also pledged that “Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026.”
Peters, in his statement on Tuesday, pledged “although I will not be on the ballot next year, I will not just walk away. I plan to actively campaign to ensure we elect a dynamic Democratic candidate to be the next U.S. Senator from Michigan.”
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Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult map in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. And while an early read of the 2026 map indicates they’ll play defense in Michigan, Georgia, and New Hampshire, they may have a couple of opportunities to go on offense.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for re-election in a reliably blue state. And Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina is also up in 2026, in a battleground state Trump narrowly won this past November.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel testified before Senate committees on Capitol Hill Thursday as urgency builds to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Health and Human Services (HHS), faced his second day of questioning on the Hill before the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions on Thursday. Kennedy clashed with Democratic senators over abortion and vaccines on Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on his confirmation.
RFK JR’S CONFIRMATION HEARING GOES OFF RAILS AMID MULTIPLE CLASHES WITH DEM SENATORS: ‘REPEATEDLY DEBUNKED’
Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Tulsi Gabbard arrives to testify during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Jan. 30, 2025.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Also on Thursday, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, Daniel Driscoll, the relatively unknown soldier and former advisor to Vice President JD Vance, fielded questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Once nominees have testified before relevant Senate committees, that panel votes on whether to recommend the nominee before the full Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can then file a motion to end Senate floor debate on the nominee, triggering a cloture vote to halt deliberations. Once debate closes, senators make final confirmation votes.
‘LIES AND SMEARS’: TULSI GABBARD RAILS AGAINST DEM NARRATIVE SHE’S TRUMP’S AND PUTIN’S ‘PUPPET’
For confirmation, a nominee needs a majority in the Senate, or 51 votes. Vice President JD Vance can settle a tie vote, as was the case with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, arrives for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 21, 2025.(Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Elise Stefanik, nominee for United Nations ambassador, testified before the Foreign Relations Committee last week, and the committee voted to advance her nomination to the Senate floor on Thursday.
Stefanik joins Trump’s nominees for director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought, secretary for Department of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, and attorney general, Pam Bondi, among those who have been voted out of committee and await a vote on the Senate floor.
SPARKS EXPECTED TO FLY AT KASH PATE’S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING TO LEAD FBI
Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins, nominee for Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and nominee for Small Business administrator, Kelly Loeffler, have testified but await scheduling for Senate committee votes. Kennedy also awaits a vote by the Finance Committee as he testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions Thursday.
President Donald Trump and Sen. Kelly Loeffler attend a campaign rally on Jan. 4, 2021, in Dalton, Georgia.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Thune moved to end Senate deliberations for Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright and Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. Both nominees await a procedural vote on the Senate floor ahead of the confirmation vote.
Trump’s nominee for Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, passed the cloture vote on Wednesday and awaits his confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
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As of Thursday, the U.S. Senate has confirmed seven of Trump’s Cabinet nominations, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Krisit Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Environmental Protection Agency Administration Lee Zeldin.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, grilled President Donald Trump’s DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard over her previous remarks praising whistleblower Edward Snowden.
“Until you are nominated by the president to be the DNI, you consistently praised the actions of Edward Snowden, someone, I believe, jeopardize the security of our nation and then to flaunt that, fled to Russia,,” Warner asked of Gabbard on Thursday morning.
“You even called Edward Snowden ad I quote here, ‘a brave whistleblower.’ Every member of this committee supports the rights of legal whistleblowers. But Edward Snowden isn’t a whistleblower, and in this case, I’m a lot closer to the chairman’s words where he said Snowden is, quote, ‘an egotistical serial liar and traitor’ who, quote, ‘deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life.’ Ms. Gabbard is simple, yes or no question. Do you still think Edward Snowden is brave?”
‘WARRIOR WHOSE VOTE CANNOT BE BOUGHT’: HUNDREDS OF VETS POUR OUT IN SUPPORT OF TULSI GABBARD FOR DNI
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, arrives to testify during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Gabbard, a former Congresswoman from Hawaii who previously ran for president as a Democrat before joining the Republican Party and supporting President Trump, is facing criticism from Senators over her lack of intelligence experience and her opinions on domestic surveillance powers. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)(Getty Images)
Gabbard pushed back that Snowden “broke the law” and does not agree with his leak of intelligence.
TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’
“Mr. Vice Chairman, Edward Snowden broke the law. I do not agree with or support with all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it. There would have been opportunities for him to come to you on this committee, or seek out the IG to release that information. The fact is, he also, even as he broke the law, released information that exposed egregious, illegal and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government,” Gabbard responded.
Warner is chairman of the Intel Committee.(Reuters)
In 2013, Snowden was working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency when he traveled to Hong Kong to meet with three journalists and transferred to them thousands of pages of classified documents about the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens.
“I’m making myself very clear. Edward Snowden broke the law. He released information about the United States government,” Gabbard continued as she defended her position.
“If I may just finish my thoughts, Senator,” Gabbard continued, as Warner spoke over her. “In this role that I’ve been nominated for, if confirmed as director of national intelligence, I will be responsible for protecting our nation’s secrets. And I have four immediate steps that I would take to prevent another Snowden-like leak.”
Gabbard has previously lauded Snowden, including during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in 2019.
DEMOCRATS TRASH TULSI GABBARD AFTER TRUMP TAPS HER FOR DNI POST
FILE – This June 9, 2013 file photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, in Hong Kong. Snowden wrote in “an open letter to the Brazilian people” published early Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013 by the respected Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that he would be willing to help Brazil’s government investigate U.S. spying on its soil, but that he could do so only if granted political asylum. (AP Photo/The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, File)
“If it wasn’t for Snowden, the American people would never have learned the NSA was collecting phone records and spying on Americans,” she said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast at the time.
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Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning as part of her confirmation process to serve as the second Trump administration’s director of national intelligence.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
The Senate is set for a Thursday confirmation vote for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The upper chamber voted to advance Burgum’s nomination to a confirmation vote on Wednesday by a 78–20 margin.
Burgum appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in mid-January, where he told lawmakers that national security issues and the economy were his top two priorities for leading the agency.
BURGUM GRILLED ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TARGETED BY TRUMP DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’
Doug Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024.(Saul Loeb)
“When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand,” Burgum said in his opening statement Jan. 16. “It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don’t care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies.”
Lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Burgum on whether he would seek to drill for oil in national parks if Trump asked him to.
“As part of my sworn duty, I’ll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that,” Burgum said. “And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people.”
ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, left, questioned Gov. Doug Burgum, right, on whether he plans to “drill, baby, drill.”(Getty Images)
Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign.
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Burgum appeared during the first two Republican presidential debates, but didn’t qualify for the third and ended his campaign in December 2023. He then endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination a month later ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Aubrie Spady, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
Tulsi Gabbard doesn’t currently have enough votes to advance out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Fox News Digital has learned.
The former Democrat representative’s nomination to be director of national intelligence (DNI) under President Donald Trump is in danger as she lacks enough Republican support on the committee, sources confirmed.
Before heading to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, Trump’s picks all have hearings and their nominations are voted on at the committee level. Gabbard’s confirmation hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday.
SCOOP: KEY GOP SENATOR WHO HESITATED ON PETE HEGSETH PUSHES KASH PATEL FOR FBI
Gabbard’s nomination could be in danger if she doesn’t get enough votes to advance.(Getty Images)
So far, no Trump nominees have failed to advance out of their respective committees.
A senior Intel Committee aide confirmed to Fox News Digital that Gabbard does not currently have a majority of its members’ votes, which are necessary to move to the full Senate.
According to the source, half of the Republicans on the coveted committee are not sold on Trump’s DNI pick.
A Senate source familiar told Fox News Digital, “Some members are undecided.”
“Not true that [they] are NOs,” they clarified.
The source confirmed that the undecided senators in question are Republicans.
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Trump picked Gabbard to be director of national intelligence.(KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Gabbard told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Anonymous sources are going to continue to lie and smear to try and take down the President’s nominees and subvert the will of the American people and the media is playing a role in publishing these lies. That doesn’t change the fact that Lt. Col. Gabbard is immensely qualified for this role and we look forward to her hearing.”
The senior committee aide shared that the reasons for GOP uncertainty include her previous Section 702 stance, her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her past defense of Edward Snowden.
“It’s about judgment,” they said.
Gabbard will likely need every Republican vote to move past the committee, assuming Democrats will vote against her.
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Cotton is chair of the committee.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., serves as chair of the committee alongside other Republican members Jim Risch of Idaho, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Jerry Moran of Kansas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Todd Young of Indiana.
Lankford recently came out in support of Gabbard after she reversed her position on a controversial intelligence gathering tool known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Neither the White House nor Cotton’s office provided comments to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Fox News Digital reached out to multiple Republican Senate offices for comment.
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Lankford said he supported Gabbard after her 702 stance changed.(Reuters)
As Gabbard’s confirmation fate hangs in the balance, there is reportedly a push by some Trump-aligned Republican senators to waive the committee’s rules in order to open the vote on Gabbard’s nomination, as Politico reported. This would mean each senator’s vote is accessible to the public.
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The Intel Committee’s rules stipulate that the vote is conducted in a closed meeting and a tally is released afterward. The vote is expected to go forward in a closed manner, in accordance with the rules.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
