5 Things to Know About Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick to Lead Intel Community

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman actively serving as an Army Reserve officer, to be his director of national intelligence (DNI).
The DNI is a Cabinet-level position, established in 2004, responsible for overseeing the U.S. government’s intelligence-gathering efforts. If confirmed, the role would require Gabbard to coordinate both information-gathering and interagency cooperation between the various U.S. intelligence and national security components.
The role also entails coordinating intelligence sharing between the United States and its allies and partners.
Additionally, the DNI serves as the president’s top intelligence adviser, preparing his daily intelligence briefings.
Trump has, at times, shown skepticism toward the U.S. intelligence community. As DNI, Gabbard could prove critical in any plans Trump has to overhaul the U.S. intelligence community.
She was serving in the Hawaii State House of Representatives at the time and has said she gave up an easy 2004 reelection campaign to instead volunteer for deployment in Iraq. In Iraq, she served on a medical unit attached to the Hawaii National Guard’s 29th Brigade Combat Team.
She went on to attend the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy and graduated in 2007 as the first woman to finish as the distinguished honor graduate in the academy’s 50-year history.
Gabbard went on to become a military police platoon leader in the Hawaii National Guard’s 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion. She deployed to Kuwait, again as a volunteer, in 2009.
By 2020, Gabbard had transferred from the Hawaii National Guard to the Army Reserve. She continues to serve and currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Following her stint in the Hawaii state Legislature, she ran for U.S. Congress and won office in the 2012 election cycle. She was reelected three more times and concluded her last term in office in January 2021.
After winning her first congressional race, Gabbard was elected to a four-year term as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She stepped down as vice chair to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.
Gabbard also ran for president in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Gabbard has repeatedly called into question the U.S. military presence in Syria.
She has also shown a willingness to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against accusations he’s committed war crimes throughout the ongoing Syrian civil war. She met in secret with Assad in January of 2017.
Snowden currently lives in Russia and remains wanted by the United States on charges of violating the Espionage Act.