President-elect Trump will soon choose his nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence community and is believed to be considering a former Democrat.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Hawaii House Democrat, is on a short list of contenders for director of national intelligence, multiple sources have confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Former Utah Republican House Rep. Chris Stewart is also in ‘active discussions’ with the transition team about the role, a source said.
Stewart resigned from the House in 2023 to be with his wife when she had health issues. He co-founded lobbying firm Skyline Capitol with Trump’s former national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, who was also rumored to be considered for an administration job.
Gabbard, a veteran and active duty Army reservist, served in the House as a Democrat from 2013 to 2021, before joining the Republican Party and campaigning for Trump in his most recent race for president. She is now a co-chair of the Trump transition team.
In September, Gabbard told Fox News Digital she would be ‘honored’ to join a Trump administration and added that bringing an end ‘to the influence of the military industrial complex,’ working to prevent World War III and bringing the U.S. back ‘from the brink of nuclear war’ would be among her priorities.
She was reportedly interested in the defense secretary job, but Trump is reported to have promised that appointment to former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, also an Army veteran.
Gabbard has criticized Democrats as ‘pro-censorship’ and ‘anti-freedom,’ but her criticisms have extended to Republicans, as well. She has spoken out against U.S. involvement in the Middle East and criticized Trump during his first administration for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Gabbard controversially met with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017 during the country’s civil war. She was opposed to the U.S. arming Syrian rebel groups and said she was ‘ready to meet with anyone if there’s a chance it can help bring about an end to this war.’
Gabbard was reportedly placed on a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) watchlist for terrorists known as ‘Quiet Skies’ earlier this year.
The program allows federal air marshals to follow U.S. citizens and collect information on their behavior in an effort to stop threats ‘posed by unknown or partially known terrorists.’
‘As I was traveling, I ended up in 30 to 45 minutes of going through screening every time I would go to the airport to fly,’ she told Fox’s One Nation. ‘I noticed air marshals, I noticed K-9 teams. There were things that I saw and noticed that were highly unusual. But the deepest pain and harm and stress that’s been caused by this is that, forever going forward, I will always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if and how my government is surveilling me.’
In Congress, she co-sponsored legislation that would ban first-time use of nuclear weapons and often decries politicians who ‘beat the drums of war and ratchet up tensions.’
Gabbard, who is a Fox News contributor, could not be reached for comment.
Trump, on Tuesday tapped John Ratcliffe, his former director of national intelligence, to lead the CIA.
The director of national intelligence leads an office that advises the president, National Security Council and Homeland Security Council on national security matters. Any nominee for the role must be confirmed by the Senate or appointed on an acting basis.
