President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has selected former Democratic congresswoman-turned-Trump supporter Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence. The move is expected to ignite a fierce confirmation battle in the Senate, as Gabbard’s political journey has been anything but conventional.
Gabbard, an Army National Guard veteran who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020, left the Democratic Party in 2022, citing ideological differences. Her support for Trump grew during the 2020 campaign, and she later served on his transition team. Her switch to the Republican Party before the 2022 election was the latest step in her transformation from a critic of U.S. military interventions to a staunch ally of Trump and his foreign policy.
Her views on the military mirror Trump’s own: while she has expressed admiration for its strength, she has also been vocal about skepticism regarding its deployment overseas. Gabbard’s stances on foreign policy—particularly her favorable views toward controversial leaders like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin—have drawn sharp criticism. Her appointment as intelligence director would likely intensify debates about her alignment with U.S. interests and national security priorities.
