The meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hung over Gabbard, Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, as she ran for president in 2020.

Gabbard, a former congresswoman-turned Trump diehard, is likely to face scrutiny for her secret 2017 meeting with Syria's dictator.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) said Wednesday she is “appalled” by President-elect Trump’s choice of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) as the director of national intelligence (DNI). In a

Tulsi Gabbard - a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party to back Donald Trump - is the president-elect's pick for director of national intelligence. The wide-ranging role would mean she oversees US intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA), which focuses on intelligence gathering.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Tulsi Gabbard as U.S. intelligence chief has sent shockwaves through the national security establishment, adding to concerns that the sprawling intelligence community will become increasingly politicized.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democratic representative and critic of the Biden administration, as his director of national intelligence.

Donald Trump was expected to pick an outsider to lead the U.S. intelligence community. He exceeded expectations by choosing Tulsi Gabbard. The former Democratic member of Congress from Hawaii has many critics and no formal intelligence experience.

Gabbard, an Army Reserve officer whose antiwar views are seen as sympathetic to Moscow, is considered an unconventional choice to lead U.S. spy agencies.