Who is Tulsi Gabbard, US intelligence chief who will oversee 18 spy agencies?

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed former Democratic representative and staunch supporter Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence for his second term. As part of her role, she will oversee 18 spy agencies in the United States.

After leaving the Democratic Party in 2022, Gabbard endorsed Trump earlier this year. As the longtime Democratic candidate for the White House, Gabbard brings to our intelligence community the “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career,” Trump said.

Gabbard, who has previously spoken out against U.S. support for Ukraine, thanked the president-elect for the opportunity and added that she was looking forward to getting to work.

With Gabbard poised to succeed Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence, here are five facts about her:

1. Early life

Tulsi Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981 in Leloaloa, American Samoa. When she was two years old, her family settled in Hawaii. As a teenager, she co-founded the Healthy Hawai’i Coalition, an environmental nonprofit. She completed a BSBA in Business Administration from Hawaii Pacific University in 2009. Her father, Mike Gabbard, switched from the Republican Party to the Democrats and is a Hawaii state senator. She is married to Abraham Williams, a cameraman.

2. Military service

Gabbard served in the Army National Guard for over two decades. It was deployed in Iraq and Kuwait. In 2005, she was honored with a Combat Medical Badge for “participation in combat operations under enemy fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III,” according to the Hawaii National Guard. Although Gabbard has not held senior government positions like previous directors, she has two years of experience on the House Homeland Security Committee.

3. First Hindu to be elected to Congress

Gabbard was elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives at age 21, but was forced to leave the House after a single term after her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq. She was later elected to Congress, where she represented Hawaii. She became the first Hindu member of the House of Representatives and was sworn into office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita. She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress.

4. Presidential ambitions and leaving the party

In 2020, Gabbard moved into the spotlight and sought the Democratic nomination for president. She opposed the country’s involvement in foreign military conflicts. She later dropped out of the race and supported Joe Biden, who ultimately won the election. After almost two years, she left the Democratic Party.

5. Trump campaign

Earlier this year, Gabbard endorsed Donald Trump and was very popular with his supporters. At a rally in North Carolina in October, she officially announced she was becoming a Republican, calling the current Democratic Party “completely unrecognizable.”