Gabbard served as U. She also served as the youngest state legislator in Hawaii from to She was a candidate in the Democratic presidential primaries. She left the Democratic Party in to become an independent. In , she joined the Republican Party. In November , President-elect Trump selected Gabbard for the position of director of national intelligence in his second term. Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in and was deployed to Iraq from to , where she served as a specialist with the medical unit, and received the Combat Medical Badge.
In , Gabbard completed the officer training program at the Alabama Military Academy. She was stationed in Kuwait from to as an Army Military Police platoon leader. In , still while serving in Congress she transferred to the U. Army Reserve. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in During her time in Congress, Gabbard became known for her stand against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and her opposition to U. Around , she often criticized the Obama administration for not using more direct rhetoric in recognizing Islamic extremism as a problem.
Gabbard met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Assad of Syria is one of them. Gabbard served on the House Armed Services Committee for all four terms in Congress and introduced several bills related to veteran issues, including the "Helping Heroes Fly Act". She also served as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee DNC from to but then resigned from the position to endorse Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination. She ran her presidential campaign , but dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden in March Gabbard was the first Samoan American member of Congress.
After her departure from Congress in , she took more conservative positions on issues such as abortion, foreign policy, LGBTQ rights , and border security. In November , Trump announced his intention to nominate Gabbard as the director of national intelligence.
If confirmed, she will become the highest-ranking Pacific Islander American government official. Her nomination drew scrutiny of her past statements on Syria, alongside concern over her comments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine that were considered sympathetic toward Russia.
