Tulsi Gabbard: podcast appearances and interviews

Tulsi Gabbard is an American politician and military officer who served as the eighth director of national intelligence from 2025 to 2026. She previously represented Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021 and served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004. Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003, was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 where she served with a medical unit, and received the Combat Medical Badge. She completed officer training at the Alabama Military Academy in 2007 and served as an Army Military Police officer in Kuwait in 2008. Gabbard was promoted to major in 2015 while serving in Congress and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve in 2020, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2021.

During her time in Congress, Gabbard was notable as the first Samoan American and Hindu American member of the U.S. Congress. She served on several committees, including the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Her positions included support for the military campaign against Islamic extremism and opposition to the U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war. She ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 with an anti-interventionist stance, later endorsing Joe Biden, and served as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee until her resignation in 2016. After leaving Congress in 2021, Gabbard adopted more conservative views on various issues and left the Democratic Party in 2022.

In 2024, Gabbard endorsed Donald Trump for president and joined the Republican Party. Her appointment as DNI by Trump drew scrutiny due to past statements on Syria and Ukraine; however, she received support from many veterans and Republicans for her military background and congressional experience. Confirmed by the Senate in February 2025, she became the highest-ranking Pacific Islander American government official in U.S. history. Gabbard resigned from her DNI role in June 2026, citing family reasons.