Trump picks former Democratic congresswoman Gabbard as director of national intelligence

By Matt Spetalnick and Andi Rizal A Hamid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democratic representative and critic of the Biden administration, as his director of national intelligence.

Gabbard, who left the Democratic party in 2022 to become an independent and was considered a possible candidate to become Trump's running mate, would take over from Avril Haines as the top official in the U.S. intelligence community after the Republican president-elect starts his second term in January.

She is not expected to face difficulty being confirmed in the Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans will hold at least a 52-to-48-seat majority starting early next year.

"I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength," Trump said in a statement.

Gabbard, he said, has for more than two decades "fought for the freedom of our country and the freedom of all Americans."

Gabbard has little direct experience with intelligence work and had not been widely expected to be tapped for the post.

She was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a major in the Hawaii National Guard and is now a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Gabbard unsuccessfully sought the 2020 Democratic nomination for that year’s presidential election won by Joe Biden, who she then endorsed.

After leaving the Democratic Party, she became increasingly critical of Biden and his administration and grew popular among conservatives, often appearing on far-right TV and radio shows, where she became known for supporting isolationist policies and showing disdain for "wokeness."

(Reporting by Jasper Ward, Matt Spetalnick, David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle, editing by Deepa Babington)