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Tulsi Gabbard has had one of the most unexpected political evolutions in recent years. Once known as a Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and a 2020 presidential candidate, Gabbard later aligned herself with Donald Trump and officially joined the Republican Party in 2024. Months later, Trump appointed her as U.S. director of national intelligence, and she was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025 in a narrow 52-48 vote.
Following her confirmation, Gabbard said she hoped to restore trust in the intelligence community, arguing that many Americans believed it had become “weaponized” and politicized. During her time in the role, she remained a high-profile and often polarizing figure within Trump’s administration because of her foreign policy views and shifting political identity.
In May 2026, Gabbard returned to headlines after reports confirmed she would resign as director of national intelligence, citing her husband Abraham Williams’ cancer diagnosis and family priorities. Her resignation renewed public interest in her political career, military service and personal life.
Before her shift to the Republican Party, Gabbard—who was elected to Hawaii’s House of Representatives at just 21—was known for championing liberal causes, including government-run healthcare, free college tuition, and gun control.
Find out more about her below.
She Made History as the First Hindu and Samoan Congressperson in US History
Gabbard is from Leloaloa, a small village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. In 2012, she made history by becoming the first Samoan-American member of Congress, representing Hawaii’s second district for four terms. Raised in a multi-faith household that practiced both Christianity and Hinduism, Gabbard is also notable for being the first Hindu ever to serve in Congress.
Gabbard did not seek re-election in 2020, choosing instead to focus on her presidential campaign. Since leaving Congress, Gabbard has launched a podcast called The Tulsi Gabbard Show and has made multiple appearances on Fox News and comedian Joe Rogan‘s podcast. Additionally, she spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2022, further aligning herself with conservative circles.
She Left the Democratic Party in 2022
In 2022, Gabbard announced her departure from the Democratic Party in a video message posted to X on October 11, where she outlined a long list of reasons for her decision to leave.
“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic party that’s under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers, who are driven by cowardly woke-ness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our Constitution, who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police but protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents, and above all, who are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war,” she said while providing broad talking points about her grievances.
After listing her reasons, Gabbard called on more Democrats to leave the party. “I believe in a government that’s of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by, and for the powerful elite. Now, I’m calling on my fellow common sense, independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic party,” she said.
She Is a Combat Veteran
In 2004, Gabbard left the Hawaii State House of Representatives to deploy with the Hawaii National Guard in a medical unit to Iraq. She volunteered for another deployment in 2008, this time serving as a military police platoon leader, training counterterrorism units, according to a profile from The Atlantic. During the years between her deployments, Gabbard graduated at the top of her class from Officer Candidate School in Alabama.
Along with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, Gabbard is one of the first female combat veterans ever elected to Congress. Notably, she also holds the distinction of being the first female combat veteran to run for president.
She Ran for President in 2020
Long before she left the Democratic party, Gabbard was on the primary ticket in the 2020 election in an attempt to run against Trump. The Democratic representative from Hawaii made the announcement on Jan. 11, 2019, telling CNN’s Van Jones, “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week…There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I’m concerned about and that I want to help solve.”
She explained that the key issues that her campaign focused on included healthcare, criminal justice reform, and climate change. “There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace,” Gabbard said during her announcement on CNN. “I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth.”
She Has Been Accused of Having Russian Ties
While Gabbard sought the Democratic presidential nomination, Russian state propaganda often portrayed her favorably, while simultaneously denigrating other Democratic candidates, including Joe Biden, according to research from the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank.
Gabbard has also sparked controversy with several statements about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, notably claiming that the U.S. has funded biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine. On the day Russia invaded, she wrote on social media that the war could have been prevented if the U.S. and its Western allies had recognized Russia’s “legitimate security concerns” regarding Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
These remarks have led many to accuse her of amplifying Russian propaganda. Republicans in Congress, including former Representative Adam Kinzinger, called Gabbard’s statements “traitorous” and accused her of embracing “Russian propaganda.” Senator Mitt Romney also criticized her, stating that she was “parroting fake Russian propaganda.”
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