Former Democratic elected official Tulsi Gabbard delivering a speech at a campaign rally on October 24, 2024 in Las Vegas for Republican candidate Donald Trump, re-elected on Nov. 6 as President of the United States. (Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)
In 2019, Tulsi Gabbard was still a Democrat. Two years after her failed bid in the party’s 2020 presidential primaries, she chose to switch sides. That decision is now paying off, as the former representative has been appointed Director of National Intelligence in Donald Trump’s upcoming administration. This role positions the Hawaii native as the president's chief adviser on intelligence matters and a key figure on national security councils.However, her appointment casts uncertainty over the future direction of national intelligence services, given her past criticisms. She notably criticized their false claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which the Bush administration used to justify the 2003 invasion.She also questioned their report accusing Bashar al-Assad’s regime of using chemical weapons in a 2017 attack that killed...
In 2019, Tulsi Gabbard was still a Democrat. Two years after her failed bid in the party’s 2020 presidential primaries, she chose to switch sides. That decision is now paying off, as the former representative has been appointed Director of National Intelligence in Donald Trump’s upcoming administration. This role positions the Hawaii native as the president's chief adviser on intelligence matters and a key figure on national security councils.However, her appointment casts uncertainty over the future direction of national intelligence services, given her past criticisms. She notably criticized their false claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which the Bush administration used to justify the 2003 invasion.She also questioned their report accusing Bashar al-Assad’s regime of using chemical weapons in a 2017 attack that...