From progressive Democrat to her unlikely rise as Trump’s top spymaster, Tulsi Gabbard’s journey has defied easy categorization.
Not long ago, Tulsi Gabbard was the face of a progressive insurgency. The four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, a veteran of the Iraq War, had campaigned for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and then, in 2019, launched her own bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on an anti-war platform. She excoriated regime-change wars, denounced the military-industrial complex and made headlines for her unorthodox approach to diplomacy.
Now, in a twist akin to a spy thriller, Gabbard has been sworn in as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under Donald Trump. The role places her at the pinnacle of the American intelligence apparatus, overseeing 18 spy agencies and advising the President on matters of global espionage and national security. The appointment has been met in equal parts with scepticism and applause.
Gabbard’s political evolution has been dramatic. The daughter of socially conservative Hindu parents who settled in Hawaii, she was raised in a community led by a guru with ties to the Hare Krishna movement. As a young woman, she fiercely opposed same-sex marriage - a stance she later renounced. Her political career began in the Hawaiian state legislature, but it was her military service in the Hawaii Army National Guard, including deployments to Iraq and Kuwait, that helped shape her worldview.
Elected to Congress in 2012, Gabbard made history as the first Hindu-American legislator, taking her oath on the Bhagavad Gita. She quickly carved out a niche as a foreign-policy maverick, questioning America’s alliances and interventionist tendencies. She cultivated a strong relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, winning the hearts of Hindu-Americans.
One of the biggest controversies shadowing her tenure is her past engagement with Syria. In 2017, she undertook a fact-finding mission that brought her face to face with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Gabbard defended her visit, insisting that engaging with Assad was essential for peace in the region. It was a diplomatic manoeuvre more reminiscent of Cold War-era realpolitik than of a Congresswoman from Hawaii. Her insistence that Assad was not America’s enemy and her subsequent scepticism about U.S. intelligence reports on Syria led detractors to question her foreign policy loyalties.
Then there is Russia. Gabbard’s reluctance to embrace the dominant Washington narrative on Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical ambitions has led some to cast her as an unwitting ally of Moscow’s strategic goals. Her opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine and her criticism of NATO’s expansion have only amplified such concerns.
Yet, Gabbard’s appeal, especially among conservatives and libertarians, rests on her broader critique of the American establishment. In 2022, she had denounced the Democratic Party as a “warmongering cabal” before exiting it. By 2024, she had openly endorsed Trump, cementing her transformation from insurgent Democrat to Republican ally.
Her confirmation as DNI also carries significant diplomatic ramifications, particularly for India. Gabbard has maintained a close relationship with Modi’s government, voicing strong support for India’s stance on cross-border terrorism and condemning Pakistan’s role in harbouring extremist groups. Modi’s meeting with Gabbard in Washington, just days after her swearing-in, underscored the importance of U.S.-India intelligence cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity and counterterrorism. For Hindu Americans, who have long viewed her as a cultural and political representative, her rise to such a powerful position is a moment of pride.
Naturally, honchos within the intelligence community are not pleased at her appointment, given Gabbard’s history of iconoclasm and her disdain for entrenched power structures, her scepticism of the ‘Deep State’ and her vocal support for whistleblowers.
During her confirmation hearings, Gabbard attempted to strike a conciliatory tone, acknowledging the challenges of restoring public trust in America’s intelligence apparatus. Her critics remain unconvinced. Many recall her polemical writings on government overreach, particularly her warnings about ‘Big Brother’ surveillance.
Within Washington, where loyalty to institutions is often as important as policy expertise, Gabbard remains an outsider in a position that typically rewards insiders.
For Trump, however, Gabbard’s appointment serves a clear political purpose. She embodies his disdain for the Washington establishment and his belief that America’s foreign entanglements have gone too far.
In Gabbard, America’s spy agencies now have a leader who has spent a career questioning their very foundations. Whether that makes her the reformer they need or the disruptor they fear remains to be seen.
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