MAGA Convert Tulsi Gabbard Rewarded with Nation’s Secrets
Five years ago, she was running to replace Donald Trump. Now she’ll be a critical part of his administration.
Michael Santiago/Getty Images
Tulsi Gabbard’s MAGA makeover has finally paid off.
Donald Trump announced Wednesday he was making Gabbard his Director of National Intelligence—a powerful position that, if she’s confirmed by the Senate, will give her near-unfettered access to state secrets as the U.S. intelligence community’s leader.
The cabinet appointment marks quite the turnaround for Gabbard. The 43-year-old Army National Guard veteran—and ex-lawmaker from Hawaii—ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 with hopes of replacing Donald Trump.
Tulsi Gabbard spent the summer campaigning for Donald Trump.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, however, and she spent the late summer campaigning for Trump alongside her fellow MAGA-convert Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans,” Trump wrote in a statement. “As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican!
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“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.”
Marco Rubio campaigned alongside Donald Trump in Florida and North Carolina this summer. At one point, he was viewed as being on a short list of running mates for the president-elect.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Gabbard’s announcement came at the same time Trump revealed that he was tapping Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be his Secretary of State, ending a days-long wait since the first rumors about the position began spreading.
Similar to Gabbard, Rubio evolved as a Trump opponent—in the 2016 Republican primaries, where he infamously was referred to as “Little Marco” by Trump—into a top ally in Congress for the president-elect. That loyalty appears to have been rewarded with his appointment on Wednesday.
“Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me,” Rubio wrote in a statement.
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