WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump called the former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Being the next director of national intelligence is a powerful position at the top of the nation’s spy agencies, serving as the president’s top intelligence adviser.

Gabbard is a veteran who has served for more than two decades but does not have the typical intelligence experience of past officers. He left the Democratic Party in 2022 and became popular with his supporters by supporting Trump earlier this year.

A few things you need to know about Gabbard:

He was the first Hindu elected to Congress

Gabbard, 43, was born in the US territory of American Samoa, grew up in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. He was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives at age 21 but had to leave after one term when his National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

He was later elected to Congress representing Hawaii. Gabbard, the first Hindu member of the House, took the oath of office using the Hindu devotional work Bhagavad Gita. He is also First American Samoan elected to Congress.

during his four House terms He became known for speaking out against his party’s leadership. His early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders ‘ The 2016 Democratic presidential primaries made him a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.

Gabbard is married to cinematographer Abraham Williams. Her father, Mike Gabbard, is a state senator who was first elected as a Republican but switched parties to become a Democrat.

He ran for president, then left his party

Gabbard sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 on a progressive platform and opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing his military experience, he argued that U.S. wars in the Middle East have destabilized the region, made the United States less safe, and cost thousands of American lives. He accused his own party of not opposing the wars. During a preliminary debate he criticized: then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ record as a prosecutor.

Gabbard later dropped out of the race and endorsed the eventual winner: the President. Joe Biden.

He left the Democratic Party two years later and independentHe said his former party was led by “an elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. He later campaigned for several high-profile Republicans, contributed to Fox News and started a podcast.

“Today’s Democratic Party is no different than the party I joined 20 years ago,” he said. explains his decision.

He’s a star in Trump’s world

Gabbard endorsed Trump earlier this year, and her endorsement quickly made her popular among Trump’s supporters.

Often appears next to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Gabbard, who challenged Biden for the Democratic nomination before running as an independent and then supporting Trump, represented Trump’s alleged appeal across the political spectrum.

Gabbard helped Trump prepare for her debate against Harris this year. In October, while marching with Trump at a rally in North Carolina, he announced that he was officially a Republican and called the current Democratic Party “completely unrecognizable” compared to the party of which he is a member.

Trump has cast both Gabbard and Kennedy in his presidential transition, potentially giving them influence to help his administration and shape the policies the federal bureaucracy will pursue if he returns to the White House.

He’s a veteran but not an intelligence officer

Gabbard served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and served in Iraq and Kuwait.

HE accepted He received the Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III,” the Hawaii National Guard said.

Unlike past rulers, he did not hold any senior government posts. He served on the House Homeland Security Committee for two years.

Current director, Avril HainesHe was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 after serving in senior national security and intelligence positions for several years. Haines was the first woman to serve in this position.

He will oversee Trump’s possible intelligence overhaul

Trump has said he wants to overhaul the nation’s intelligence services, a sector long owned by the federal government. viewed with suspicion and distrust. The president-elect accused U.S. intelligence agencies of trying to undermine his first administration and campaigns.

He also described the intelligence community as part of the “deep state,” his term for thousands of officials who work across a long list of government agencies and whom Trump has never deemed sufficiently loyal.

“We will purge all corrupt actors from our national security and intelligence apparatus, and there are many of them,” Trump said as he listed his priorities for a second term in 2023. “Weaponized departments and institutions will be completely overhauled.”

The director’s office was established in 2004 as part of a series of changes to U.S. intelligence following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Lawmakers hoped the new office would prevent intelligence failures by streamlining interagency cooperation.

The office played a key role in the government’s efforts to detect and expose efforts by Russia, China and Iran to spread false and misleading claims about voting and democracy ahead of last week’s U.S. election. Other chapters focus on cyber threats, counterterrorism, and counterespionage.