Donald Trump Nominates Tulsi Gabbard As Director Of National Intelligence

Ted Johnson

13 November 2024 at 3:26 pm·2-min read

Donald Trump has nominated Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and Fox News contributor, as his next director of national intelligence.

The president elect also confirmed that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) would be his choice for secretary of state, despite some unhappiness among some of his supporters over the choice. Some had been pushing for Ric Grenell, who served as Trump’s acting director of national intelligence in his first term, as well as U.S. ambassador to Germany.

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Gabbard endorsed Trump’s presidential bid and joined the Republican party last month.

Trump said in a statement, “Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican! 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. Tulsi will make us all proud!”

Gabbard was a member of the National Guard in Hawaii, and served in Congress from 2013 to 2021. She ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 cycle.

By then, she had staked out a position of non-U.S. military intervention. In 2017, she took a trip to Syria, where she met with dictator Bashar al-Assad. The UN said that 300,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, which started as Assad cracked down on the Arab Spring demonstrations. Gabbard also was critical of U.S. policy in Ukraine, and blamed Russian’s invasion on the Biden administration for not acknowledging Vladimir Putin’s “legitimate security concerns.” During her presidential campaign, one high profile commentator, CNN’s Bakari Sellers, accused her of being a “Russian puppet.”

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