Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: If you think political turncoats in ‘weaker’ democracies alone get rewarded, think again.
Donald Trump has also rewarded Tulsi Gabbard, a freshly-minted Indian-American convert, who is only three-week-old in the Republican Party, with a plum posting in his second shot at the White House, beginning in January 2025.
She was once accused of being a “Russian spy!”
The US President-elect on Wednesday announced that Tulsi Gabbard, 43, a former Democrat and the first-ever Hindu elected to the US Congress, would serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in his second term, the media reported on Friday.
A four-term Congresswoman, the 2020 US presidential candidate, and NYT bestselling author, Gabbard is a veteran with three deployments to war zones in the Middle East and Africa. In October, she quit the Democratic Party and became a Republican to be part of the Grand Old Party (GOP).
“I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans,” Trump announced.
“As a former candidate for the Democratic 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!” Trump said.
Gabbard first served in elected office in the Hawaii State House of Representatives when she was only 21 years old. After the 9/11 attacks, she enlisted in the Army National Guard. In 2004, she gave up an easy re-election campaign and volunteered to deploy to Iraq with the 29th Brigade Combat Team where she served in a medical unit, according to a media release.
After returning home in 2006, she worked in the US Senate as a legislative aide to the late Senator Danny Akaka, who was the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. She then volunteered for a second Middle East deployment as a platoon leader.
Having experienced firsthand the true cost of war, Gabbard ran for United States Congress at the age of 31, vowing to honor the lives and sacrifice of her brothers and sisters in uniform. She prevailed in a difficult election and went on to serve in Congress for eight years as a member of the Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Foreign Affairs Committees. Foregoing a run for re-election to Congress in 2020, she ran for president as a Democrat.
In October 2022, however, she announced she was leaving the Democrat Party, and becoming an Independent.
Her first book For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind was released on April 30, 2024, and hit number four on the New York Times‘ Bestsellers List the following week.
On August 26, 2024, Gabbard formally endorsed Trump for a second term and soon after began serving as co-chair of his transition team. On October 22, 2024, she joined the Republican Party because of President-elect Trump’s leadership and how he has been able to transform the Republican Party, bringing it back to the party of the people and the party of peace, the release said.