Indiana Sen. Todd Young has emerged as a key figure in confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s cabinet positions.
Young said Tuesday he'd support nominee for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, POLITICO first reported. Young is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which held a confirmation hearing Jan. 30 for Gabbard. The 17-member committee has a one Republican majority.
Young, who in the U.S. House previously represented Indiana’s 9th district, which includes Monroe County, is seen as a more moderate Republican. His decision came after fellow key Senate Intelligence Committee Republicans Susan Collins and James Lankford said Monday they’d back Gabbard.
Young’s move comes after political pressure from Republicans flanking his right, including billionaire Elon Musk and Meghan McCain, daughter of late Republican senator and Presidential candidate John McCain. Vice President JD Vance also spoke to Young about the senator’s hesitations with Gabbard prior to the vote, according to POLITICO.
Young did not endorse Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Last week, he pressed Gabbard on her past apparent support of whistleblower Edward Snowden. In 2020, as a U.S. Representative, Gabbard co-sponsored a bill calling on the government to drop charges against Snowden. Snowden is a former CIA contractor who leaked American surveillance of phone and internet data of citizens. He faced charges including unauthorized communication of national defense information.
The Senate must approve the president’s cabinet nominees with majority votes. In the case of a tie, the vice president, who is also president of the Senate, casts the deciding vote.
Before that, nominees go through hearings with a Senate committee relevant to their position. The committee then decides whether or not to recommend the nominee to the rest of the Senate.
Young and fellow Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks have voted in favor of all nine of the cabinet members confirmed so far. This includes Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed after three Republicans voted no and Vance cast a tie-breaking vote.
Both Young and Banks have signaled they’ll back Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for secretary of health and human services and one of Trump’s controversial choices among Republicans. Former Indiana Governor and Vice President during Trump’s first term Mike Pence has voiced opposition to Kennedy’s nomination due to his past support of abortion. During his confirmation hearing last week, Kennedy said “every abortion is a tragedy” and vowed to implement Trump’s policies on it.
Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, has faced backlash from Democrats for ties to Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioters and past promises to investigate government officials and members of the media.
The FBI director isn’t a member of the cabinet but is confirmed by the Senate. They are appointed by presidents to 10-year terms to theoretically prevent politicization.
Trump appointed Christopher Wray to the position in his last term. Trump has since blamed him for past FBI investigations into the president and Jan. 6 rioters and what he's called a “weaponization” of the bureau. Trump said in November he would fire Wray. Before that could happen, Wray resigned.
Young hasn’t yet said if he’ll vote to confirm Patel. He posted on Facebook in January he met with Patel to discuss the FBI and restoring trust in its “apolitical mission” but stopped short of an endorsement.
Banks wrote on Instagram in January Patel has his support to “clean up the FBI.”
