What to know about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for national intelligence director

President-elect Trump has nominated former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as his director of national intelligence, despite her lack of experience in the field. If confirmed, Gabbard would oversee 18 agencies, including the CIA and FBI, with a combined $76 billion budget. Gabbard, a former Democrat, endorsed Trump in August and joined his transition team, sparking criticism from Democrats. Born in American Samoa, Gabbard rose to prominence in the Hawaii state legislature and later enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait. She served four terms in Congress as a Democrat representing Hawaii, but became known for defying her party on several issues. Gabbard voted "present" on Trump's 2019 impeachment and sided with Republicans on a bill to place "extreme vetting" measures on Iraqi and Syrian refugees. She also introduced legislation to prohibit the use of U.S. funds to support opposition groups in Syria and secretly met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017. Gabbard ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but eventually endorsed President Biden, and later left the Democratic party, accusing it of being controlled by "warmongers" and stoking "anti-white racism." She has since found a haven in conservative media, appearing frequently on Fox News, and officially joined the Republican party in October.