Who is Tulsi Gabbard, appointed by Donald Trump as Director of National Intelligence? | Explained News

The former Democratic Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate-turned MAGA Republican is among many Trump loyalists to be appointed to high posts in the week or so following his election to the White House.

Hindu with no India connection

Tulsi Gabbard43, is an US Army reservist, and a four-time Democratic Congresswoman from Hawai’i who became the first Hindu to win a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2012.

Born in 1981 to a Samoan-American father and a mother who hails from the American Midwest, Tulsi grew up in Hawai’i. It was there that her mother, Carol, took an active interest in Hinduism. According to a profile of Tulsi by Hawaii News Now in 2013, Carol gave all her children Hindu names — Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and Vrindavan.

That said, the Gabbard household took pride in being a “multi-racial, multicultural, multi-faith family”. “Janmashtami is Lord Krishna’s birthday. Christmas we celebrate Lord Jesus. So we celebrate both,” Tulsi’s father Mike, who has served in the Hawai’i state senate since 2006, told Hawaii News Now in 2013.

In 2002, Tulsi, only 21 at the time, became the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Hawaii state legislature. But she left after only one term when her Hawaii National Guard unit was deployed in Iraq in 2004. She received her commission in 2007, and continued to serve in the Hawaii National Guard till 2020, when she was assigned to the US Army Reserve. She holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Meanwhile, after returning home from her second deployment to the Middle East in 2009, she again entered Hawai’i politics, this time successfully running for a seat in Honolulu City Council.

In 2012, Gabbard was elected to the US House of Representatives from Hawai’i’s second congressional district. In doing so, she became the first Samoan-American and Hindu to be elected to Congress. Her swearing-in saw her take oath on the Bhagavad Gita which she said had been “a tremendous source of inner peace and strength through many tough challenges in life”, and a text that inspired her to “strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others” and “her country”.

Tulsi is married to cinematographer Abraham Williams.

Anti-US interventionism

Once described by senior Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi as a “rising star” of the party, Tulsi has long held positions that run contrary to the party’s line. In fact, her positions especially on foreign policy have irked politicians across the spectrum.

In 2015, she faced criticism from Democrats for asking the Obama administration to stop supporting Syrian opposition movements against President Bashar al Asad’s regime. “I don’t think Assad should be removed,” she had said at the time, warning that Islamist extremist groups would take over if he were toppled.

In 2020, Tulsi condemned Trump’s decision to order a drone strike on Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general, referring to the action as “unconstitutional” and a “dangerous escalation”.

Ultimately, it was the Democratic Party’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war that was central to her decision to leave the party. Unlike most Democrats, she blames the war in Ukraine on NATO expansion and actions of the Joe Biden-administration, instead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

While resigning from the party in 2022, she described it as having been overrun by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She was also critical of the party’s efforts to “divide” the country by “racialising every issue” and stoking “anti-white racism”. She did not, however, join the Republican party, choosing to remain an independent instead.

She became one of Fox News’ biggest political commentators, where she expressed outspoken support for Trump and his policies well before she officially joined the Republican Party less than a month ago.

In her endorsement of Trump, she said that the former President sees “war as a last resort”, echoing her own positions.

The DNI’s role

The DNI serves as the head of the US intelligence community overseeing and directing the implementation of the National Intelligence Program and acting as the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security.

In this post, Tulsi “would oversee 18 spy agencies and would be responsible for preparing the President’s Daily Brief, a written intelligence summary assembled each morning”, according to The New York Times.

The post was established based on recommendations by the 9/11 Commission report 2004. Before this, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) served as the topmost intelligence officer. Now the CIA chief reports to the DNI. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe to be the next CIA chief. Ratcliffe had served as the DNI in Trump’s first term.

Gabbard’s appointment as the DNI would require Senate approval, which is set to be a formality given that the Republicans have won back control of the US Senate. She will take over from incumbent Avril Haines, who in 2021 became the first woman to be appointed as the DNI.

Tulsi’s term as the DNI is likely to be marred by friction with the US intelligence establishment, with whose assessments Tulsi has often disagreed.