Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
Tulsi Gabbard is an American politician and a military veteran but more known for her service as the U.S. Representative from Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Tulsi Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, American Samoa. Tulsi Gabbard made history as the first American Samoan and the first Hindu member of Congress. Gabbard entered political life at a very young age: she was elected into the Hawaii State Legislature at 21 years old and remains the youngest person to ever have served in that body.
Equally impressive is her military career. Gabbard enlisted with the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 and deployed twice, first to Iraq in 2004 and then to Kuwait in 2009. Her military experience deeply influenced her outlook on politics, especially with respect to foreign policy and national security.
Throughout her years in Congress, Gabbard has been known for bucking consensus on many issues and at times breaking from party lines. She has also been an outspoken critic of US military interventions and called for a more restrained foreign policy approach.
Political career and presidential run
Among others, her political career includes working in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and from 2013 to 2016, she served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. In 2019, Gabbard announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination to take part in the 2020 election. Climate change, healthcare reform, and ending “regime change” wars were the focuses of her campaign. Despite that, her campaign was suspended in March 2020 after she was not able to win any significant percentage in the primaries.
Over the years, Gabbard has flipped her affiliation, officially leaving the Democratic Party in 2022 to identify with Republicans. The transition associates her with an evolving political ideology and closer identity with conservative principles on national security and foreign policy.
Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence
On November 13, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced he had chosen Tulsi Gabbard to be his nominee for Director of National Intelligence, DNI. Trump spoke of Gabbard’s commitment to fighting on behalf of the freedom of Americans and how respected she was across party lines. He said her military background would serve as an asset in bringing a “fearless spirit” into the intelligence community.
The DNI now has become so crucial because it leads the intelligence community of the U.S. and coordinates the work across different agencies for national security. Gabbard would have to be confirmed by the Senate, but her unique background as both a veteran and former congresswoman makes her an unlikely pick for this powerful position.
Controversies and criticism
Gabbard also had her share of controversies during the political career path. Indeed, she faced a considerable amount of backlash during her time in Congress for certain stances she had taken-particularly on foreign policy. Critics have indeed accused her of being too sympathetic toward strongmen leaders because of her meetings with leaders such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
During the presidential campaign, Gabbard was berated by fellow Democrats for an unconventional strategy toward campaigning and for bucking the party orthodoxy on everything from Syria to sexual identity. Critiques of U.S. military interventions that resonated with some voters alienated others; to them, it reflected a departure from the mainstream Democratic vision.
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