TULSI Gabbard has been nominated to be Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after she made a shocking U-turn against the Democrats.
The former presidential nominee is expected to hold a wealth of power, as she would oversee the nation’s spy agency and serve as a top adviser for Trump.
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Trump’s inner circle
Gabbard is a military veteran who represented Hawaii in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021.
She ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat and endorsed Joe Biden when she dropped out.
However, two years later, she became an independent and blasted the party as an “elitist cabal of warmongers”.
Gabbard’s staunch support of Trump in 2024 quickly ushered her into his inner circle as the former president looked for a united team ahead of his second term.
During his chat with podcaster Joe Rogan, Trump admitted, “I picked a few people that I shouldn’t have picked” for his 2016 term.
In the podcast, he slammed “neocons” for being “disloyal” and has since swayed to more independent thinkers like Robert Kennedy Jr.
Gabbard joined Trump on the campaign stage during the election and helped him prepare for his debate against Kamala Harris.
In 2019, Gabbard made shock waves when she blasted Harris at the Democratic primary for disproportionately jailing minorities for marijuana violations.
Now, she’s preparing to take a place in The White House, where she’ll advocate to end wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and keep American soldiers out of conflict.
GABBARD’S NEW ROLE
The director of national intelligence is one of the most prestigious and powerful White House positions, and Gabbard is the second woman to hold it after Biden appointed Avril Haines in 2021.
She will oversee 18 different intelligence agencies and will have an eyewatering budget of $70 billion to spend.
The role was first created after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The director is charged with preventing the spread of false information by other countries, countering terrorism, and combating cyber threats.
During Trump’s first term, John Ratcliffe, a former US representative for Texas, held the position of director of national intelligence for eight months.
Ratcliffe will have another major role in Trump’s second administration, as the President-elect has nominated him for the position of director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
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Shock choice
During her successful military career, Gabbard rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the National Guard and was awarded a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for fighting through hostile fire in Iraq.
However, she doesn’t have experience in national security roles and only served two years on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Gabbard has some experience with international relations.
In 2017, she met with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and said that “Syria is not the enemy of the United States.”
She has also been a vocal critic of American support for Ukraine.
Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks
In the days following his dominant Election Day victory, President-elect Donald Trump has begun carving out his future administation.
Here’s a list of Trump’s confirmed cabinet picks:
- Susie Wiles – White House Chief of Staff
- Stephen Miller – Deputy Chief of Staff
- Bill McGinley – White House counsel
- Tom Homan, ex-ICE acting director – “Border Czar”
- Elise Stefanik, Republican New York representative – Ambassador to the United Nations
- Lee Zeldin, former New York representative – Environmental Protection Agency administrator
- Marco Rubio, Republican Florida senator – Secretary of State
- Kristi Noem, Republican South Dakota governor – Homeland Security Secretary
- Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor – Ambassador to Israel
- John Ratcliffe, former Texas representative – CIA director
- Pete Hegseth, US Army veteran – Secretary of Defense
- Mike Waltz, Republican Florida representative – National Security Advisor
- Steven Witkoff, real estate investor – Middle East envoy
- Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy – Department of Government Efficiency
- Tim Scott, Republican South Carolina senator – Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Tulsi Gabbard, former Hawaii representative – Director of National Intelligence
- Matt Gaetz, Republican Florida representative – Attorney General
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Jay Clayton , US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Doug Burgum, Republican North Dakota governor – Department of Interior
- Todd Blanche, lawyer – Deputy Attorney General
- Karoline Leavitt – White House Press Secretary
- Chris Wright, oil industry executive – Energy Secretary
- Doug Collins, served in Iraq 2008, former congressman of Georgia’s 9th district from 2013-2021 – Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
- William McGinley, partner at law firm Holtzman Vogel, former White House Cabinet secretary for Trump – White House Counsel
- Steven Cheung, rapid response director for Trump 2016 campaign – White House Communications Director
- William Owen Scharf , federal prosecutor – Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary
- Dean John Sauer, appellate attorney and former Solicitor General of Missouri, lead counsel in Supreme Court for Trump v United States – Solicitor General of the US
- Commissioner Brendan Carr, Former senior Republican on FCC and ex-FFC General Counsel – Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Though some have questioned Gabbard’s lack of experience, Republicans have vowed to support the nominee.
Trump has said that she will “bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community.”
Gabbard will need the support of the Senate if she wants to be confirmed for the role.
However, the odds look good for her since a Republican majority will control the upper chamber.
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