Tulsi Gabbard is on the short list of candidates for director of national intelligence

President-elect Trump will soon select his nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence community and is believed to be considering a former Democrat.

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat in the House of Representatives from Hawaii, is on a short list of candidates for director of national intelligence, multiple sources have confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Former Utah House Republican Rep. Chris Stewart is also in “active discussions” with the transition team about the role, a source said.

Stewart resigned from the House of Representatives in 2023 to be with his wife when she had health problems. He co-founded the lobbying firm Skyline Capitol with Trump’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, who was also rumored to be under consideration for a job in the administration.

TULSI GABBARD, FORMER Democratic Presidential Candidate, Joins Republican Party at Trump Rally

Gabbard, a veteran and active-duty Army reservist, served as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021 before joining the Republican Party and campaigning for Trump in his final presidential race. She is now co-chair of the Trump transition team.

In September, Gabbard told Fox News Digital she would be “honored” to join a Trump administration, adding that they would “end the influence of the military-industrial complex” and work to prevent World War III and bringing the US “back from the crisis” “On the brink of nuclear war” would be among their priorities.

She was reportedly interested in the defense secretary job, but Trump is said to have promised that appointment to former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, also an Army veteran.

Gabbard has criticized Democrats as “pro-censorship” and “anti-freedom,” but her criticism also extended to Republicans. She has spoken out against U.S. involvement in the Middle East and criticized Trump for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani during his first term.

Gabbard controversially met with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017 during the country’s civil war. She opposed the U.S. arming Syrian rebel groups and said she was “willing to meet with anyone if there is a chance it can help end this war.”

Earlier this year, Gabbard was reportedly placed on a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) terrorist watch list called “Quiet Skies.”

Trump hugs Gabbard during a campaign rally at the Greensboro Coliseum on October 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The program allows federal air marshals to track U.S. citizens and collect information about their behavior to stop threats “from unknown or partially known terrorists.”

TULSI GABBARD SAYS SHE WOULD BE AN “HONOR” TO JOIN A POTENTIAL TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

“When I was traveling, every time I went to the airport to fly, I had to go through security for 30 to 45 minutes,” she told Fox’s One Nation. “I noticed air marshals, I saw K-9 teams. There were things I saw and noticed that were highly unusual. But the greatest pain, the greatest damage and the greatest stress this has caused is that I will always be one in the future. I look over my shoulder and wonder if and how my government is monitoring me.

Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, former National Security Council official, as they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 19. In 2019, during a public impeachment hearing over President Trump’s efforts to link U.S. aid to Ukraine to investigations into his political opponents. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via Reuters)

In Congress, she supported legislation that would ban the first use of nuclear weapons and often criticizes politicians who “beat the war drum and heighten tensions.”

Gabbard, a Fox News contributor, could not be reached for comment.

Trump on Tuesday named John Ratcliffe, his former director of national intelligence, to head the CIA.

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The director of national intelligence heads an office that advises the president, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on national security issues. Any nominee for the role must be confirmed by the Senate or appointed on an acting basis.