Donald Trump picks Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence

WASHINGTON ? President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday picked former congresswoman and Army veteran Tulsi Gabbard as his nominee for director of national intelligence, a cabinet-level post.

"I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights, and securing peace through strength," Trump said in a statement.

Gabbard was a Democrat when she served in the House of Representatives from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021. She ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020 before leaving the party in 2022 and becoming a Republican this year.

Gabbard, 43, is an American Samoan native who had been a rising star in the Democratic Party. Her opposition to the Iraq war, as an Army officer who had deployed to the Middle East, helped her gain credibility with progressives. In 2012, then-President Barack Obama endorsed her bid for Congress.

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Senate will need to confirm Gabbard

The director of national intelligence is the top intelligence official in the country and is a key adviser to the president. The position requires confirmation from the Senate, where members are already saying they will support her nomination.

In announcing Gabbard's appointment as head of the country's sprawling, $71.1 billion intelligence community, Trump devoted three paragraphs to her change in party affiliation and her endorsement of the now president-elect, noting the would-be spymaster's book on leaving the Democratic party had reached the New York Times bestseller list.

“I like Tulsi a lot," said U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida who is Trump's nominee for secretary of state. "We got to know each other quite a bit over the last couple of months. I admire her service to our country previous to that. And when you win by the margins that President Trump won by, that means you have created a big tent.”

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, said she has "no reservations" about Gabbard and said she "seems to really be in sync" with Trump.

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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, was more skeptical.

“These are extraordinarily serious jobs, and it's why, you know, the Senate has an advice and consent process," Warner said. "I've got a lot of questions. I know the former congresswoman, but I've got a lot of questions."

Gabbard has slim intelligence experience compared with the current holder of the office, Avril Haines. Haines was a deputy CIA director and deputy national security advisor.

Gabbard had rifts with Democrats

Rifts with the Democratic establishment began to emerge in 2015 when Gabbard offered support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had been waging a brutal civil war that included the use of banned chemical weapons. In 2016, Gabbard endorsed independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

Gabbard was the only member of the House, Democrat or Republican, to vote "present" in 2019 on Trump's first impeachment.

"I could not in good conscience vote against impeachment because I believe President Trump is guilty of wrongdoing," she said in a statement at the time. "I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country."

In 2022, Gabbard tweeted a video to announce her complete break with the party, saying it was "now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness." She accused party leadership of “stoking anti-white racism” and undermining the Constitution.

"I believe in a government that's of the people, by the people and for the people," she said. "Unfortunately, today's Democrat party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by and for the powerful elite."

In August, Gabbard blasted the Biden administration’s foreign policy and endorsed Trump.

“This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world, and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before,” Gabbard said. “This is one of the main reasons why I’m committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House.”

This story has been updated to add addition information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence