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Tulsi Gabbard Former United States Representative

Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, Mauputasi County, Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. She was the fourth of five children born to Mike Gabbard and his wife Carol. In 1983, when Gabbard was two years old, her family moved back to Hawaii, where they had lived in the late 1970s.

Tulsi Gabbard is an American politician and military officer, serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2021. She previously served in the Hawaii Army National Guard from 2003 to 2020. In November 2024, President-elect Trump selected Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence in his second term, beginning in January 2025.

A former member of Congress, Gabbard served as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. She was the first Samoan American member of Congress, and also its first Hindu-American representative. In 2022, she left the Democratic Party and became an independent. In 2024, she joined the Republican Party.

In August 2024, Gabbard endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 United States presidential election. After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Gabbard became an honorary co-chair of Trump’s 2024 presidential transition team.

In November 2024, Trump announced his intention to nominate Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence. His nomination followed scrutiny of his past statements on Syria, as well as concerns over his comments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which were viewed as sympathetic to Russia.

Many Republicans have defended her record, noting that Gabbard has served honorably in the US armed forces for more than two decades.