Tulsi Gabbard Appointed as Director of U.S. Intelligence Agencies by President Donald Trump

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In a surprising move, newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump has appointed Hindu-American Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of U.S. Intelligence Agencies. At 43 years old, Gabbard will oversee the operations of 18 intelligence agencies in the United States.

Although Gabbard does not have formal ties to India, her mother converted to Hinduism, and she famously took her oath in Parliament while holding the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text for Hindus. Gabbard has maintained close relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and previously referred to the ban on Modi’s U.S. visa following the Gujarat riots as a significant mistake.

In 2014, Gabbard visited India for 15 days at Modi's invitation, participating in key events as an official guest. More than 100 members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contributed to her campaign.

Gabbard served in the U.S. military for 20 years, with deployments in Iraq, Kuwait, and Africa. Before joining the Republican Party in 2024, she left the Democratic Party in October 2022. In 2021, she introduced a resolution in Congress to protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh and accused Pakistan of harboring Osama bin Laden.

The position of Director of Intelligence was established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Gabbard, who refers to herself as a "karma yogi," is not only the first Hindu in Congress but also the first member from American Samoa. Her parents are originally from the United States.

Gabbard served as a member of the Hawaii State Legislature from 2013 to 2021. She has held a congressional seat four times and ran for the presidency in 2020 but withdrew her candidacy due to a lack of sufficient support.