US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Hindu American Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat member of Congress, to his cabinet as the Director of National Intelligence.
"Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength," Trump said on Truth Social on Wednesday announcing his pick for the post.
For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans," Trump said referring to her rank as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve serving in the Iraq War.
She left the Democratic Party and formally became a member of the Republican Party this year and contested the elections seeking Trump's support while encouraging Indian Americans to vote for him.
It was an ideological 180-degree turn because she had long been identified with the Democratic Party's Left and did indeed support the Leftist Senator, Bernie Sanders, for the presidential nomination in 2016.
She will be the second Hindu on the US cabinet, after Arati Prabhakar, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, now serving with Biden.
India is the world's largest democracy and one of the United States' most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region," Representative later said after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019.
"We spoke about the need to continue to work together to address the pressing issues that impact us and the world," she said.
"We discussed the situation of Kashmir, civil rights, women's empowerment and poverty elimination, and the growing tensions with Iran," she said.
The Director of National Intelligence heads 18 different agencies, with her agency involving the National Counterterrorism Center, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Centre, and the Foreign Malign Influence Centre.
This includes compiling the daily intelligence report to the President, a global situational overview, and acting as an early warning system against emerging dangers.
In the national security space, Trump has selected Mike Waltz, who is co-chairing the India Caucus in Congress, to act as his new National Security Adviser.
Nominee of the Secretary of State is also an Indian supporter- Marco Rubio.
Gabbard was born in Hawaii to a father of Samoan, as well as English, ancestry, and a mother of European extraction; her parents were Hindu.
In 2004 she became the first Hindu ever elected to Congress and swore her oath on the Bhagavad Gita.
Once a rising star of the Democratic Party, she was vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, but resigned in 2016, accusing party leadership of undemocratically promoting Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential nominee.
She ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and during a candidate's debate in 2019 took a memorable swipe from the left at Vice President Kamala Harris accusing her of hypocrisy because of her record of targeting African-Americans and people of color during her prosecutorial career in California.
Gabbard reportedly was one of the advisers for Trump when he prepared for his debate with Harris.
As a former presidential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, she has broad support in both parties," Trump said.
Though her nomination will sail through the Senate with Republican support, most Democrats will consider her a turncoat.
Her Hindu religion has drawn attacks from some activists and American media like the Intercept and Indian media like the Caravan which have accused her of being associated with Hindu nationalists.
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