Ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Eyes Defense Secretary Job After Switching Parties to Support Trump

On By Littum

Former Democratic Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard wants to become defense secretary in incoming President Donald Trump’s cabinet, The Post has learned.

The Pentagon post is at the top of Gabbard’s wish list, four sources told The Post on Tuesday, but the soon-to-be 47th president has yet to make a final decision.

A GOP insider said Gabbard would “privately petition Trump early this week” to become defense secretary, though the source added that the 43-year-old could also be interested in becoming CIA director.

Former Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard wants to become defense secretary in incoming President Donald Trump’s cabinet, The Post has learned. Reuters

A source close to the transition told The Post that Gabbard, who serves as an adviser to that team, is believed to be interested in the defense job — but faces competition from former veterans secretary Robert Wilkie, who heads the Pentagon transition team.

That source said Gabbard would be “far better than Wilkie,” whose tenure in the first Trump administration was marred by allegations that he mishandled a sexual-assault report while serving as undersecretary for Pentagon personnel and readiness — the very office that handles the Department of Defense’s sexual assault prevention and policies.

Others also floated as candidates for the post of defense minister include Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has gained favor in military circles for working closely with the Pentagon on defense legislation, and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala).), GOP sources told The Post.

Gabbard, 43, became an honorary member of Trump’s transition team after supporting the former president during his re-election campaign and switching to the Republican Party. Reuters

Gabbard became an honorary member of Trump’s transition team after supporting the former president during his re-election campaign and switching her affiliation to the Republican Party.

She has been a member of the National Guard since 2003 and deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and the Horn of Africa.

However, that could throw an obstacle in the way of her serving Trump, as federal law states that a defense secretary cannot have served on active duty in the armed forces for at least seven years before she took office – a provision meant to ensure a civilian-run military.

If Gabbard is nominated to lead the Pentagon, Congress would have to approve a waiver that overrides the seven-year requirement — a consideration recently extended to Trump’s first defense secretary, James Mattis; as well as current Defense Minister Lloyd Austin.

Despite being a former Democrat, Gabbard’s potential nomination drew an outpouring of enthusiasm from some of the most conservative members of Trump’s first administration. Stephen Yang

Despite being a former Democrat, Gabbard’s potential nomination drew a flurry of enthusiasm from some of the most conservative members of Trump’s first administration because of her foreign policy views of avoiding new wars and ending current ones.

John McEntee, who led the White House Office of Presidential Personnel — which makes decisions about administration personnel — during the final year of Trump’s first term, said Gabbard would be an excellent choice.

“It would be nice to have a less hawkish person in the cabinet,” said McEntee, who became one Tiktok celebrity and dating app co-founder during the Trump interregnum.

“At the end of the day, Donald Trump will make the decision he feels is best, and we should trust his judgment.”