Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard (born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and a veteran serving as Lieutenant colonel with the US Army Reserve since 2021.[2] She was a United States House of Representatives from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard worked with Hawaii Army National Guard for 17 years from 2003 till 2020 before transferring to US Army Reserve. While in US Congress, she was a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, she left the party to become an Independent.[3] She was the first American Samoan[4] and the first Hindu member of the United States Congress.[5] Along with Tammy Duckworth, she was also one of its first female combat veterans.[6]
Tulsi Gabbard | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Gabbard in 2024 | |
| Director of National Intelligence | |
Nominee | |
| Assuming office TBD | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Succeeding | Avril Haines |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Mazie Hirono |
| Succeeded by | Kai Kahele |
| Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee | |
| In office January 22, 2013 – February 27, 2016 | |
| Chair | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
| Preceded by | Mike Honda |
| Succeeded by | Grace Meng |
| Member of the Honolulu City Council from the 6th district | |
| In office January 2, 2011 – August 16, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Rod Tam |
| Succeeded by | Carol Fukunaga |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 42nd district | |
| In office November 5, 2002 – November 2, 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Moses |
| Succeeded by | Rida Cabanilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tulsi Gabbard April 12, 1981 Leloaloa, American Samoa |
| Other names | Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo[1] |
| Political party | Republican (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (1999–2022) Independent (2022–2024) |
| Spouse(s) | Eduardo Tamayo (m. 2002; div. 2006)Abraham Williams (m. 2015) |
| Father | Mike Gabbard |
| Relatives | Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard (aunt) |
| Education | Hawaii Pacific University (BS) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 2003–present |
| Rank | .svg){kind=small} Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command United States Army Reserve |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
| Awards |
|
Earlier, Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 and was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, where she served in a medical unit.[7] In 2007, Gabbard completed the Officer training program at the Alabama Military Academy as a distinguished honor graduate.[8] She was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009 as an Army Military Police platoon leader.[9][10] In 2015 Gabbard became a Major with the Hawaii Army National Guard.[11] In 2020, she transferred to US Army Reserve and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant colonel in 2021.[8]
In January 2019, Gabbard announced her plans to run for President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election. On October 25, 2019, Gabbard announced that she would not seek another term in Congress.[12] She dropped out from the primaries on March 19, 2020 and announced her support for Joe Biden.
After leaving the U.S. House in 2021, she became more conservative on social issues such as abortion and transgender rights and even spoke at the 2022 CPAC.[13][14][15] Gabbard joined the Republican Party in October 2024.[16] A month later, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gabbard to serve as the Director of National Intelligence during his second administration.
Early life
Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, American Samoa,[17] the fourth of five children.[18] Her father, Mike Gabbard, is of American Samoan descent. She graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2009.[19][20]
Hawaii House of Representatives (2002–2004)
In 2002, Gabbard ran to represent the 42nd House District of the Hawaii House of Representatives. She won the four-candidate Democratic primary with a plurality of 48% of the vote over Rida Cabanilla (30%), Dolfo Ramos (18%), and Gerald Vidal (4%).[21] Gabbard then defeated Republican Alfonso Jimenez in the general election, 65%–35%.[22] In 2002, at the age of 21, Gabbard had become the youngest legislator ever elected in Hawaii's history and the youngest woman ever elected to a U.S. state legislature.[23][24] She represented the Oahu 42nd District, which covers Waipahu, Honolulu, and Ewa Beach.
Gabbard strongly supported legislation to promote clean energy.[25] Regarding the environment, Gabbard supported legislation to better protect air quality and the water supply.
Honolulu City Council (2011–2012)
After returning home from her second deployment to the Middle East in 2009, Gabbard ran for a seat on the Honolulu City Council.[26] Gabbard finished first with 33% of the vote in the primary.[27] In the November 2 runoff election, she defeated Sesnita Moepono, 58%–42%, to win the seat.[28] Gabbard introduced a measure to help food truck vendors by loosening parking restrictions.[29] She also introduced Bill 54, a measure that authorized city workers to confiscate personal belongings stored on public property with 24 hours' notice to its owner.[30]
United States House of Representatives (2013–present)
In early 2011, Mazie Hirono, the incumbent Congresswoman in Hawaii's second congressional district, announced that she would run for a U.S. Senate seat. Soon after that, in May 2011, Gabbard announced her candidacy for the House seat.[31] Gabbard won with 62,882 votes or 55% of the total. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser described her win as an "improbable rise from a distant underdog to victory."[32] Gabbard resigned from the City Council on August 16 to prevent the cost of holding a special election.[33]
Gabbard traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina and spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[34]
In December 2012, Gabbard was highly thought to be the frontrunner replaced for the U.S. Senator from Hawaii after Daniel Inouye died.[35]
Gabbard was reelected on November 8, 2016, defeating her Republican opponent, Angela Kaaihue, by about 130,000 votes, or 170,848 to 39,668 votes (81.2%–18.8%).[36] Gabbard was overwhelmingly reelected in 2018.[37] She defeated her Republican opponent, Brian Evans, by around 110,000 votes, or 153,271 to 44,850 votes (77.4%–22.6%).
Gabbard is the first Samoan American member of the United States Congress[38] and the first Hindu member of the United States Congress.[39][40]
In October 2019, Gabbard announced her retirement from congress.
Democratic National Committee
Gabbard, a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, was critical of the decision by DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to hold only six debates during the 2016 Democratic Party primary season, compared with 26 in 2008 and 15 in 2004.[41][42]
Gabbard resigned as DNC vice-chair on February 28, 2016, in order to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination.[43][44] She was the first female U.S. Representative to endorse Sanders.[45] At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Gabbard gave the nominating speech putting his name forward.[46]
2020 presidential campaign
On October 19, 2018, Politico announced that Gabbard was "weighing a 2020 presidential bid", and would wait until after the 2018 midterms for an official announcement.[47] On January 11, 2019 interview with CNN, Gabbard confirmed her plans to seek the Democratic nomination and officially announced her candidacy the following week.[48]
After failing to qualify in recent debates or winning any primary contests, Gabbard left the race on March 19, 2020 and supported Joe Biden.[49][50][51]
Post-congressional career
Since leaving the House of Representatives on January 3, 2021, Gabbard has become more conservative about issues such as abortion, foreign policy, transgender rights, and border security.[52] She has appeared on Fox News, including serving as a fill-in host for Tucker Carlson Tonight.[53]
In October 2022, Gabbard announced that she had left the Democratic Party altogether.[54] Gabbard campaigned for several Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.[55] She later endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 United States presidential election.[56][57][58]
Gabbard joined the Republican Party in October 2024 while campaigning for Trump in North Carolina.[16]
Director of National Intelligence
In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his plans to nominate Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence for his second administration.[59]
Personal life
In 2002, Gabbard was a martial arts instructor.[60]
In 2002, Gabbard married Eduardo Tamayo. The couple divorced in 2006.[61] In February 2015, Gabbard got engaged to Abraham Williams, and the two married on April 9, 2015.[62]
While on Meghan McCain's podcast in 2024, Gabbard mentioned that she and Williams had tried to start a family and had undergone several in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, without success.[63]
References
Other websites
- Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Archived 2019-08-28 at the Wayback Machine official U.S. House website
- Tulsi Gabbard for Congress Archived 2019-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Healthy Hawai'i Coalition (HHC) Archived 2012-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Tulsi Gabbard at the Open Directory Project
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Vote Smart
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Tulsi Gabbard Archived 2017-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America
- Tulsi Gabbard Marriage Archived 2019-01-13 at the Wayback Machine Tulsi Gabbard's marriage in Vedic tradition