Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who ran as a Democratic presidential candidate and endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020, is being considered as the next director of national intelligence, according to congressional reporter Jake Sherman.
Gabbard, who served in the House as a Democrat between 2013 and 2021, officially joined the Republican party in October. She sealed her move joining Trump onstage at a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"I'm joining the party of the people, the party of equality, the party that was founded to fight against and end slavery in this country. It is the party of common sense, and the party that is led by a president, who has the courage and strength to fight for peace," Gabbard told the crowd.
At the rally, Gabbard slammed Vice President Kamala Harris as "anti-freedom" and "pro-censorship." The National Guard veteran also criticized Harris and the Democratic party for ongoing involvement in the Middle East, where she previously served two tours, as reported by the Star Advertiser.
"To those of you here or those watching at home who are independent-minded people like myself, who love our country and are committed to the Constitution and to freedom, the Democratic Party has no home for people like us," Gabbard said at the rally. "But we do have a home in the Republican Party where we are welcomed with open arms by President Trump."
Gabbard chose not to run for her House seat in 2020 so that she could run as a Democratic presidential candidate, and later ended up endorsing Biden. In October 2022, she announced she was registering as an Independent instead of a Democrat.
She also made the headlines earlier this year after alleging she was being targeted by a government program as retaliation for becoming a whistleblower. Her efforts were supported by Republican Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan, who demanded information from the Transportation and Security Administration over the alleged "weaponization" of its faculties.
Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter expressing "deep concern" about the possibility that officials are "continuing a pattern of retaliation against whistleblowers attempting to expose waste and abuse at the agency."
He was making reference to the allegation that TSA was surveilling former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard through its "Quiet Skies" program after she openly criticized the Biden administration, and apparent retaliation against the whistleblowers that ensued.
Gabbard claimed she was being surveilled as a result of criticism uttered in a televised interview in later July. "RETALIATION. A few weeks ago, I had the audacity to tell the truth: that Kamala Harris would essentially be a mouthpiece and puppet of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State. The next day, July 23, they retaliated. Sadly this is what we can expect from the "Harris" Administration," she said.
Jordan claimed in a letter that "the very next day, TSA allegedly placed her under Quiet Skies surveillance," and on "eight flights since, 'two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshals' have surveilled Representative Gabbard."
