President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has selected former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
In a press release from the Trump-Vance transition team, Trump praised Gabbard for “fighting” for the United States and “the freedoms of all Americans.”
“I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For more than 20 years, Tulsi has fought for the freedoms of our country and all Americans.” President Trump said in a statement. “As a former Democratic presidential nominee, she has broad support from both parties. She is now a proud Republican!”
Trump added that Gabbard “brings to the intelligence community the fearlessness that has defined her distinguished career” and will defend the constitutional rights of the American people.
“Tulsi makes us all proud!” Trump added.
A press release from the Trump-Vance transition team continued to highlight Gabbard's time in the National Guard, which included several deployments to the Middle East.
Gabbard previously ran as the Democratic presidential candidate in the 2020 presidential election. During the Democratic primary debate, Gabbard criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, then a California senator, for her record as the state's attorney general and for jailing thousands of people for marijuana.
A critic of the Democratic Party, he announced in August that he would support Trump as the presidential candidate. In her support for Trump, Gabbard noted that Trump “didn't start the new year at all” during his first term as president and took “actions to quell and prevent war.” He emphasized that.
After announcing she would leave the Democratic Party in 2022, Gabbard announced she would join the Republican Party in October 2024, describing the party as “the party of the people.”
