Tulsi Gabbard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tulsi Gabbard
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Gabbard in 2025
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| 8th Director of National Intelligence | |
| Assumed office February 12, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Alexa Henning |
| Preceded by | Avril Haines |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Mazie Hirono |
| Succeeded by | Kai Kahele |
| Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee |
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| In office January 22, 2013 – February 27, 2016 |
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| Chair | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
| Preceded by | Mike Honda |
| Succeeded by | Grace Meng |
| Member of the Honolulu City Council from the 6th district |
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| In office January 2, 2011 – August 16, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Rod Tam |
| Succeeded by | Carol Fukunaga |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 42nd district |
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| In office November 5, 2002 – November 2, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Mark Moses |
| Succeeded by | Rida Cabanilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1981 Leloaloa, American Samoa |
| Political party | Republican (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Democratic (2002–2022) Independent (2022–2024) |
| Spouses |
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| Relatives | Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard (aunt) |
| Education | Leeward Community College (attended) Hawaii Pacific University (BS) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 2003–present |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commands | 440th Civil Affairs Battalion |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
| Awards |
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Tulsi Gabbard ( born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the 8th director of national intelligence since 2025. She has held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2021, and previously served as U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. A former Democrat, she joined the Republican Party in 2024. Gabbard was the youngest state legislator in Hawaii from 2002 to 2004. She is the first Samoan American to serve in the U.S. Congress and Cabinet.
Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, where she served as a specialist with the medical unit, and received the Combat Medical Badge. In 2007, Gabbard completed the officer training program at the Alabama Military Academy. She went to Kuwait in 2008 as an Army Military Police officer. In 2015, while also serving in Congress, Gabbard became a major with the Hawaii Army National Guard. In 2020, she transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2021.
In 2012, Gabbard became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives after winning the election from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. During her tenure in Congress, she served on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), where she introduced several bills related to veteran issues. Gabbard also served on House Foreign Affairs Committee. She advocated tough actions against Islamic extremism while arguing against military intervention in the Syrian civil war. In her fourth term, Gabbard served on the HASC Subcommittee on Intelligence, which oversaw military intelligence and counterterrorism.
Gabbard briefly launched her 2020 presidential campaign running on an anti-interventionist and populist platform but dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden in March 2020. Previously, she also served as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2013 to 2016 but resigned to endorse Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. After her departure from Congress in 2021, Gabbard took more conservative positions on issues such as foreign policy and border security. She left the Democratic Party in 2022.
In 2024, Gabbard endorsed Donald Trump for the presidential election and joined the Republican Party later that year. After Trump nominated Gabbard to serve as DNI, her past statements on Syria drew scrutiny, alongside concern over her comments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine that were considered sympathetic toward Russia. A group of over 250 veterans and Republicans defended Gabbard's record, noting her military service and Congressional experience. In February 2025, she was confirmed by the Senate, becoming the highest-ranking Pacific Islander American government official in U.S. history.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Military service
- Early political career
- United States House of Representatives (2013–2021)
- 2020 presidential campaign
- Post-congressional activities (2021–2025)
- Director of National Intelligence (2025–present)
- Domestic policy positions
- Personal life
- Awards and honors
- See also
Early life and education
Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, Maʻopūtasi County, on American Samoa's main island of Tutuila. She was the fourth of five children born to Mike Gabbard and his wife Carol (née Porter). In 1983, when Gabbard was two years old, her family moved back to Hawaii, where they had lived in the late 1970s. Gabbard is named after Tulasi, a sacred plant in Hinduism. She has three brothers – Jay, Bhakti, and Aryan – and a sister, Vrindavan.
Gabbard was raised in a multicultural household. Her mother was born in Indiana and grew up in Michigan, and her father, who is of Samoan and European ancestry, was born in American Samoa and grew up in Hawaii and Florida.
Gabbard's childhood in Hawaii included surfing, martial arts, and yoga. She was mostly home schooled, except for two years at a girls' school in the Philippines. Gabbard learned spiritual principles, such as karma, from the ancient Indian text Bhagavad Gita. As a teenager, she settled into the Hindu faith.
As a young adult, Gabbard worked for Stand Up For America (SUFA), founded by her father in the wake of the September 11 attacks. She was also associated with her father's The Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values, an anti-gay marriage political action committee. She worked briefly as an educator for the Healthy Hawai'i Coalition, which promoted protection of Hawaii's natural environment. Subsequently, she worked as a self-employed martial arts instructor.
In 2002, when she was 21, Gabbard dropped out of Leeward Community College, where she was studying television production, to run successfully for election to the Hawaii state legislature, and became the youngest woman ever elected as a U.S. state representative. In 2009, Gabbard graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in international business.
Military service
In April 2003, while serving in the Hawaii State Legislature, Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard. In July 2004, she was deployed for a 12-month tour in Iraq, serving as a specialist with the Medical Company, 29th Support Battalion, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Hawaii Army National Guard. In Iraq, Gabbard served at Logistical Support Area Anaconda, completing her tour in 2005. Because of the deployment, she chose not to campaign for reelection to the state legislature.
Gabbard received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for "participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III." She has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the United States. She also received the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency.
In March 2007, she graduated from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy at the top of her class, the first woman ever to do so. After successfully completing the officer training, Gabbard was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and assigned to the 29th Infantry Brigade Special Troops Battalion, this time to serve as an Army Military Police officer. She was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009 as an Army Military Police platoon leader. She was one of the first women to enter a Kuwaiti military facility, as well as the first woman to receive an award of appreciation from the Kuwait National Guard.
On October 12, 2015, she was promoted from the rank of captain to major at a ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. She continued to serve as a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard until her transfer to the 351st Civil Affairs Command, a California-based United States Army Reserve unit assigned to the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, in June 2020.
On July 4, 2021, Gabbard was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, while she was deployed to the Horn of Africa working as a civil affairs officer in support of a special operations mission. Subsequently, Gabbard was given the command of the 1st Battalion, 354th Regiment, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a lieutenant colonel, Gabbard has top-secret security clearance.
Early political career
Hawaii House of Representatives (2002–2004)
In 2002, after redistricting, Gabbard won the four-candidate Democratic primary for the 42nd district of the Hawaii House of Representatives with a plurality of 43% of the vote. Gabbard then won the general election with 60.7% of the vote, defeating Republican Alfonso Jimenez. At the age of 21, Gabbard became the youngest legislator ever elected in Hawaii's history, and was at the time the youngest woman ever elected to a U.S. state legislature.
In 2004, Gabbard filed for reelection but then volunteered for Army National Guard service in Iraq. Rida Cabanilla, who filed to run against her, called on Gabbard to resign because she would not be able to represent her district from Iraq. Gabbard announced in August 2004 that she would not campaign for a second term, and Cabanilla won the Democratic primary with 58% of the vote. State law prevented the removal of Gabbard's name from the ballot.
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 vacated by City Councilman Rod Tam, of the 6th district, who decided to retire to run for mayor of Honolulu. In the 10-candidate nonpartisan open primary in September 2010, Gabbard finished first with 26.8% of the vote. In the November 2 runoff election she defeated Sesnita Moepono with 49.5% of the vote.
Gabbard introduced a measure to help food truck vendors by loosening parking restrictions. 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. After overcoming opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Occupy Hawai'i, Bill 54 passed and became City Ordinance 1129.
United States House of Representatives (2013–2021)
113th Congress
In early 2011, Mazie Hirono, the incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate. In May 2011, Gabbard declared her candidacy for the open House seat. The Democratic mayor of Honolulu, Mufi Hannemann, was considered the frontrunner in the six-way primary, but Gabbard won with 55% of the vote. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser described her victory as an "improbable rise from a distant underdog to victory." She resigned from the Honolulu City Council on August 16, 2012, to focus on her congressional campaign.
As the Democratic nominee, Gabbard was invited by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where she was introduced as "an emerging star." In the general election, she defeated Republican Kawika Crowley with 80.6% of the vote, becoming the first voting Samoan American and first Hindu member of Congress.
In December 2012, Gabbard applied for appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Daniel Inouye. Despite support from some prominent mainland Democrats, she was not among the three candidates forwarded to the governor by the Hawaii Democratic Party.
In March 2013, she introduced the Helping Heroes Fly Act to expedite airport security screening for severely wounded veterans. The bill received bipartisan support, passed unanimously in both chambers of Congress, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama. She also introduced the House version of the Military Justice Improvement Act.
114th Congress
Gabbard was reelected in 2014, defeating Crowley again with 78.7% of the vote.
She co-sponsored a bill with Senator Hirono to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino and Filipino American veterans of World War II. The bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December 2016.
In November 2015, Gabbard introduced Talia's Law, aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect on military bases. Congress passed the legislation in February 2016, and it was signed into law in December 2016.
115th Congress
In the 2016 election, Gabbard was reelected with 81.2% of the vote, defeating Republican Angela Kaaihue.
In 2017, she introduced the Off Fossil Fuels (OFF) Act, which aimed for a transition to 100% clean energy by 2035. In 2018, she introduced the Securing America's Election Act, requiring all voting districts to use paper ballots to ensure an auditable paper trail. The bill was endorsed by the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause.
116th Congress
Gabbard was reelected in 2018, defeating Republican Brian Evans with 77.4% of the vote. In September 2018, she and Republican Representative Walter Jones co-sponsored the No More Presidential Wars Act to reaffirm Congress's authority over war declarations.
On October 25, 2019, Gabbard announced she would not seek reelection in 2020, citing her presidential campaign. During the campaign, she faced criticism for missing votes, particularly the vote on Syria, though her absentee rate was similar to other members of Congress running for president. Between October and December 2019, she missed 85% of votes but cast a "present" vote on both articles of impeachment in the first impeachment of Donald Trump. After suspending her presidential campaign in March 2020, she resumed regular attendance.
In August 2020, she advocated for Jennifer Smith, a Hawaii Department of Health epidemiologist who reported issues with the state’s COVID-19 contact tracing program. Smith was placed on paid leave, and Gabbard continued to support her until she was reinstated in November 2020.
In September 2020, Gabbard converted her presidential campaign committee, Tulsi Now, into Tulsi Aloha, a leadership PAC. That same month, she criticized Netflix over the film Cuties, arguing that it contributed to the exploitation of children.
House Committee assignments (2013–2021)
During her tenure in Congress, Gabbard served on multiple committees, focusing on military, foreign affairs, and financial issues. Notably, she was a long-time member of the House Armed Services Committee, where she worked on defense funding, military readiness, and intelligence oversight. In 2018, she successfully passed an amendment to improve protective equipment for civil defense agencies near volcanic activity.
In her fourth term, she served on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence, which oversaw military intelligence, national security, and counterterrorism efforts. As a member of this subcommittee, she participated in key hearings on emerging threats, such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in military operations.
- Committee on Homeland Security (2013–2014)
- Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
- Committee on Armed Services (2013–2021)
- Subcommittee on Readiness
- Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations (2019–2021)
- Committee on Foreign Affairs (2013–2019)
- Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
- Committee on Financial Services (2019–2021)
- Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy
- Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion
Caucus memberships (2013–2021)
Gabbard was a member of several congressional caucuses, including:
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
- Medicare for All Caucus
- U.S.-Japan Caucus
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
On January 22, 2013, Gabbard was unanimously elected as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In September 2015, she criticized DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's decision to limit the number of debates in the 2016 Democratic primary. Following her criticism, she was reportedly asked not to attend the October 2015 debate in Las Vegas.
Gabbard later accused Wasserman Schultz of favoring Hillary Clinton in the primary and resigned as DNC vice chair on February 28, 2016, to endorse Bernie Sanders. She appeared on Meet the Press to discuss her resignation and later launched a petition to eliminate superdelegate in the Democratic nomination process. At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she gave the nominating speech for Sanders. In 2017, she endorsed Keith Ellison for DNC chair.
During the 2016 election, she was listed as Sanders's running mate for write-in votes in California. Shortly after the election, she was mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential candidate. A Minnesota faithless elector cast a vote for Sanders as president and Gabbard as vice president, though this vote was nullified per state law.
2020 presidential campaign
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In February 2019, Gabbard officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign. Gabbard was the first female combat veteran to run for president. CNN described her foreign policy platform as anti-interventionist and her economic platform as populist.
Gabbard was the most frequently Googled candidate after the first, second, and fourth 2020 Democratic primary debates. While Gabbard did not meet the polling threshold for the third presidential debate, she did qualify for the fourth debate in Ohio in October 2019. In July 2019, Gabbard was the only 2020 presidential candidate to visit Puerto Rico and join protests urging Governor Ricardo Rosselló to resign.
On March 3, 2020, Gabbard, who is of Samoan descent, earned two delegates in American Samoa, making her the second woman of color (after Shirley Chisholm) and the first Asian-American and Pacific-Islander presidential candidate to earn primary delegates. As of March 15, she was one of the three remaining candidates alongside Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders who had not suspended their campaigns. On March 19, 2020, she dropped out of the 2020 election and endorsed former vice president Joe Biden.
Post-congressional activities (2021–2025)
In January 2021, Gabbard launched her own podcast, called This is Tulsi Gabbard. She also made several appearances on Fox News programs since leaving Congress, where she criticized figures such as House speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. representative Adam Schiff, calling the latter a "domestic terrorist" for what she deemed as his attempt to "undermin[e] our constitution by trying to take away our civil liberties and rights" in the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
In November 2021, she celebrated the victory of Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin in the Virginia Gubernatorial election over Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe, and tweeted, "McAuliffe's loss is a victory for all Americans. Why? Because it was a resounding rejection of efforts to divide us by race, the stripping of parental rights, and arrogant, deaf leaders. This benefits us all". In an appearance on Hannity in April 2022, she expressed support for Florida's publicly debated Parental Rights Bill, and said that in her opinion it did not go far enough in that it only covered grades K through 3, while Gabbard believed it should have continued all the way through twelfth grade. (A follow-up bill in the state did just that one year later.) In 2022 Gabbard spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, drawing criticism from Hawaii Democrats.
Party switch
On October 11, 2022, Gabbard announced on Twitter that she was leaving the Democratic Party. Shortly thereafter, she endorsed and campaigned for several Donald Trump-supported Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections. Among those she endorsed were Senate candidates Don Bolduc, Adam Laxalt and JD Vance, and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
Following Donald Trump's entry into the 2024 Republican presidential primary, commentators suggested that he might consider Gabbard as a potential running mate. On February 22, 2024, she was a featured speaker at CPAC, raising speculation of her candidacy as a potential vice-presidential selection. During a Fox & Friends interview on March 6, she was directly asked about serving as Trump's vice president. She responded, "I would be honored to serve our country in that way and be in a position to help President Trump." In March 2024, Trump cited her as one of his potential choices for his running mate.
On August 26, 2024, Gabbard endorsed Trump's re-election bid during a National Guard Association gathering in Michigan. The next day, she was named as an honorary co-chair of his presidential transition team, alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., joining Trump's sons and the Republican vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance. On October 22, 2024, while speaking at a Trump rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, she announced she was joining the Republican Party.
Media appearances
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In August 2022, Gabbard started serving as the fill-in host for Tucker Carlson Tonight, and she continued to be a frequent guest host of the show until its cancellation in 2023. In November 2022, after years of being a frequent guest on several of their programs, she signed a deal with Fox News as a paid contributor. She currently serves as a frequent guest and occasional host on shows such as The Five, Outnumbered, Hannity, Jesse Watters Primetime, and Gutfeld!.
Director of National Intelligence (2025–present)
Nomination
On November 13, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gabbard as director of national intelligence (DNI), citing her military experience and leadership.
Confirmation
Gabbard testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on January 30, 2025. She pledged to separate her political views from her official duties. "Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience, and the constitution of the United States, accusing me of being Trump's puppet, Putin's puppet, Assad's puppet, a guru's puppet, Modi's puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters," she said in her opening statement.
She denied knowing Edward Snowden while he worked in Hawaii's NSA facility, and defended her past advocacy for reforming the Espionage Act, including a House resolution she introduced with Representative Matt Gaetz. Senators repeatedly asked Gabbard to label Snowden a traitor, but she declined, citing the term's legal and political implications in a follow-up op-ed. She acknowledged Snowden had broken the law by releasing information that caused harm, though she also highlighted the exposure of illegal surveillance practices. She confirmed she would not, as DNI, advocate for Snowden's pardon or clemency.
Senator Michael Bennet criticized her stance on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Gabbard clarified her position, defending the necessity of 702 for national security while stressing the need for reforms to protect civil liberties, particularly advocating for warrants in certain U.S. person queries. Post-hearing, she committed to collaborate with the committee on reauthorizing and any additional reforms."
Regarding her 2017 Syria trip with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, she stated that he arranged the meetings and denied knowledge of extremist remarks made by Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun. She clarified that her trip had been cleared by House Ethics and that she informed the Trump administration upon her return.
In response to concerns about intelligence disclosures, Gabbard stated she would ensure whistleblowers had proper legal channels, including a direct hotline to the DNI. She assured Senator Todd Young that she would not protect those who disclosed classified intelligence programs improperly.
Senator Susan Collins supported her nomination after Gabbard clarified her stance on Snowden and reducing the size of the DNI office. Senator James Lankford, initially concerned about surveillance policies, also backed her after her explanations. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced her support on February 10, 2025, stating that while she had concerns about some of Gabbard's past positions, she appreciated her commitment to oversight and ensuring civil liberties remain protected.
On February 4, 2025, the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced her nomination in a 9-8 party-line vote. The Senate confirmed her nomination on February 12, in a 52-48 vote, with only Senator Mitch McConnell among Republicans voting no.
Tenure
Gabbard was sworn in as the 8th director of national intelligence on February 12, 2025, by Attorney General Pam Bondi, taking the position responsible for leading 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and assuming the role of president’s top intelligence adviser. After her swearing-in, Gabbard promised to "focus on ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people" while echoing Trump's claims of politicization of the intelligence community and the need to rebuild trust. With this appointment, she became the first female military combat veteran to serve as DNI and first Pacific Islander American and first Hindu American to hold a Cabinet-level position.
Domestic policy positions
While in 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Gabbard's political positions were broadly moderate on domestic policy issues, after 2020, she has taken more conservative positions on culture war social issues, including gun control and transgender rights. In 2022, she was also a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). She has also been a frequent critic of the Biden administration.
Immigration
Gabbard along with 47 other Democrats expressed support in 2015 for increased border security and voted with Republicans for vetting of Iraqi and Syrian refugees. At that time, Gabbard also called for halting the visa waiver program after mass numbers of Syrian immigrants entered Germany, until the threat of terrorist attacks was resolved. However, between 2013 and 2021, Gabbard had also expressed support for an easier path to citizenship for immigrants without legal status, increasing skilled immigration, and granting work visas to immigrants. By 2022, she had said she would be open to a proposal for a border wall if experts say it is warranted.
Environment
Gabbard has often supported the causes of Native Americans and tribal lands, such as her support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016, wherein she co-signed a letter requesting the Obama administration to address the tribal concerns about the project. Gabbard successfully passed an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Department of Energy to reexamine the safety of the Runit Dome, a leaking Cold War era nuclear waste site in the Marshall Islands. She later called for "fresh eyes" to ensure a more independent assessment of the waste site's safety.
Gabbard has spoken in favor of a Green New Deal but expressed concerns about vagueness in some proposed versions of the legislation and its inclusion of nuclear energy. She advocated her own "Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act" ("OFF Act") as legislation to transition the United States to renewable energy.
Healthcare and GMO labeling
Gabbard supported a national healthcare insurance program to cover uninsured, as well as under-insured people, and allowed supplemental but not duplicative private insurance. She has since advocated for a two-tier universal health care plan that she calls "Single Payer Plus", loosely modeled after Australia's system and allowing for both supplementary and duplicative private insurance.
Gabbard pushed to reinstate Medicaid eligibility for people from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau working and living in the United States. She called for addressing the national nursing shortage and supported clear GMO labeling, voting in 2016 against a GMO-labeling bill she said was too weak.
First impeachment of Donald Trump
Gabbard voted "present" when the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump in December 2019. In two video messages and a press release, she cited The Federalist Papers essay No. 65, and described her vote as a protest against "a political zero-sum game". Gabbard introduced H. Res. 766, which would censure Trump for several of his foreign policy decisions and "send a strong message to this president and future presidents that their abuses of power will not go unchecked, while leaving the question of removing Trump from office to the voters to decide". A week later, Gabbard said she had serious concerns that the impeachment would increase the likelihood that her party would lose the presidential election and its majority in the House of Representatives.
Personal life
Gabbard lived in Hawaii for most of her early childhood and has been a lifelong surfer. A yoga enthusiast, she regularly practices morning yoga and meditation. She has mentioned being a vegetarian, though some sources have reported her as a vegan. According to Gabbard, she grew up with Hindu values. She follows the Vaishnava tradition of the Hindu faith, and values as her spiritual guide the Bhagavad Gita. She has also described herself as a Karma Yogi (action-oriented Yogi). She took the oath of office in 2013 with her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
After moving to Washington, D.C., Gabbard lived across the Anacostia River with her sister, Vrindavan, a US Marshal. She has worked on several efforts for military veterans, and also noted being inspired by President John F. Kennedy. Among other activities in D.C., Gabbard has been participating in the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, along with members from the Hindu American community. In 2016, she supported the campaign by Hindu Americans for a Diwali commemorative stamp in the United States, noting that the Diwali festival honors values such as righteousness "that transcend different religions, and backgrounds."
She and her family have been associated with the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a Vaishnava affiliated organization. When Gabbard's parents moved to Hawaii, they had joined the circle of disciples around the founder of the SIF connected with International Society for Krishna Consciousness, She described the SIF's leader, Chris Butler, as a guide and "essentially like a Vaishnava Hindu pastor" during her early years. Butler has in return likened her to a star pupil. In 2024, the Trump transition team stated that Gabbard has "no affiliation" with the SIF. Briefly, from 1988 to 1992, Gabbard's parents owned a small vegetarian restaurant, The Natural Deli in Moiliili, Hawaii.
Gabbard's mother became Hindu and gave Sanskrit names to all her children. Gabbard has often mentioned that the teachings of selfless action from the Bhagavad Gita motivated her towards social work. Later in 2014, as a Congresswoman, she also presented a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the latter's visit to the United States. Gabbard supported the efforts of Modi for declaration of an International Yoga Day by the United Nations.
At the age of 21, in 2002, Gabbard married Eduardo Tamayo. She was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, serving with the National Guard. Gabbard divorced in 2006, citing "the stresses war places on military spouses and families" as a reason for the divorce.
In 2015, Gabbard married freelance cinematographer and editor Abraham Williams, a Hindu of European and Samoan ancestry and son of her Honolulu office manager, in a traditional Vedic Hindu wedding.
Gabbard has also been a presenter at iHeartRadio Honolulu's virtual festival, Island Music Awards 2020. Having grown up in Hawaii, Gabbard has noted her lifelong appreciation for the Hawaiian culture and its Aloha spirit, which broadly refers to values such as peace, compassion, and pleasantness. She often greets others with the Aloha salutation, describing it as "I come to you with respect and with love."
Awards and honors
On November 25, 2013, Gabbard received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award at a ceremony at the Institute of Politics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government for her efforts on behalf of veterans. On March 20, 2014, Elle magazine honored Gabbard, with others, at the Italian Embassy in the United States during its annual "Women in Washington Power List".
On February 26, 2015, Gabbard received the National Association of Counties County Alumni Award for her "steadfast commitment to the nation's counties". On July 15, 2015, Gabbard received the Friend of the National Parks Award from the National Parks Conservation Association.
On October 16, 2018, Gabbard was honored as Hawaii Pacific University's 2018 Paul T. C. Loo Distinguished Alumni.
See also
In Spanish: Tulsi Gabbard para niños
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
- List of Hindu members of the United States Congress
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
