Tulsi Gabbard is an American politician, military officer, and public servant who served as a U.S. Representative from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, American Samoa, to parents of Samoan and European descent, she was raised in Hawaii. Her father, Mike Gabbard, is a longtime Hawaii state senator. Gabbard entered politics at a young age, becoming the youngest person elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2002, serving until 2004. She later worked as a staffer for U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka, served on the Honolulu City Council from 2010 to 2012, and was elected as a Democrat to Congress in 2012. During her congressional tenure, she gained prominence for her anti-interventionist foreign policy views, criticism of U.S. military interventions, and her brief, unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She has been adversarial toward figures like Antony Blinken, whom she has publicly attacked over foreign policy issues.

Gabbard's military career is equally notable; she enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003, deployed to Iraq as a combat medic, and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before transferring to the U.S. Army Reserve in 2020, where she continues to serve. Personally, she is a Hindu, converted from her family's Scientology background, and has been married to cinematographer Abraham Williams since April 9, 2015. In 2022, disillusioned with the Democratic Party, she left to become an independent before endorsing and joining the Republican Party in 2024. Her views have drawn both praise for independence and criticism for associations with controversial figures and stances on issues like regime change policies.

In a significant career pivot, Gabbard was appointed the eighth Director of National Intelligence in 2025 under President Donald Trump's second administration, overseeing U.S. intelligence agencies. This role positions her at the center of national security influence networks, amid ongoing debates about her ideological shifts and past allegations of sympathizing with authoritarian leaders, though she has denied such claims.