Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she was “honored” and “eager to get to work” after President-elect Trump tapped her to be his next director of national intelligence.
She said she spoke with Trump “about the work that needs to be done, and I was grateful and honored to accept President Trump’s offer to serve our country and support his objective to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people as the Director of National Intelligence.”
Gabbard served four terms in the House as a Democrat before running in the 2020 presidential Democratic Party primary. She left the party in 2022 but did not officially join the GOP ranks until this year.
“The amazing thing is, what I hope the American people are feeling is a sense of hope, and frankly, Jesse, I’ve been heartened to see how engaged people continue to be, even though the election is over, that they’re really looking forward to making sure that their voices are continued to be heard as we go through these next couple of months as President Trump takes office, as he begins to lead this significant change in our government,” Gabbard told Fox News Jesse Waters during her Wednesday night appearance on the network.
Trump’s selection of Gabbard and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to serve as attorney general has stunned lawmakers in Washington.
“It’s starting to get bizarre. At first it just seemed like kind of standard Republican fare. And now we’re going into some interesting territory,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said.
“It’s kind of a ‘who’s the last person you would ever imagine should be in a position?’ sort of territory,” he added. “And … there could be potential problems in trying to get [them] through the Senate confirmation.”
Gabbard, who endorsed Trump in August this year, might face obstacles in the confirmation process. Her past comments on various foreign policy issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, have brought criticism from both sides of the aisle.
“Of course, there’s going to be resistance to change from the swamp in Washington. I think that’s kind of the point the American people are saying, ‘Hey, stop looking at yourself. Stop focusing on your own power, your own position, your own bank accounts,'” Gabbard said when Watters asked how she would deal with “resistance from the inside.”
“How about we have leaders in Washington who are actually looking out for the American people and on every issue across the board,” she added.
