On Wednesday, Donald Trump appointed former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard—known for her opposition to US support for Ukraine and her meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—as his incoming Director of National Intelligence.
The Republican president-elect praised Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic presidential candidate, saying she would “bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community.”
Gabbard expressed her gratitude to Trump for the appointment, saying, “Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a member of your Cabinet to defend the safety, security, and freedom of the American people. I look forward to getting to work.”
The former Hawaii congresswoman shifted allegiance from the Democrats to support Trump earlier this year, assisting him in his debate preparations against Kamala Harris, and had been anticipating a role in the new administration.
Gabbard has long championed isolationist foreign policy views and has promoted several conspiracy theories.
In 2022, she made unsubstantiated claims about US-sponsored biolabs in Ukraine— a recurring theme in Russian propaganda used to justify Moscow’s invasion that year.
During her 2020 presidential campaign, she called for the withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq and Syria.
In 2019, Hillary Clinton suggested that a Democratic candidate was being groomed by Russia for a third-party bid, comments widely interpreted as aimed at Gabbard, who vehemently denied the implication.
Gabbard also attracted controversy with her 2017 meeting with Syria’s Assad amid the height of the country’s brutal civil war.