Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii turned Donald Trump supporter — and now, nominee for director of national intelligence — has been one of Trump’s more controversial cabinet picks, drawing opposition even from generally compliant Republicans. Whether or not she manages to get confirmed will be a barometer of the extent to which the Trump administration can push the envelope on embracing "antiestablishment" ideas that, not long ago, would have been anathema to virtually all Republicans except for an isolationist right-wing fringe.

Gabbard’s critics have noted that her nomination for a post that involves the coordination of intelligence among various agencies is baffling and ominous given her history of hostility to those very agencies. Gabbard has stated, in social media posts and in her 2024 book "For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind," that intelligence agencies are part of a "shadow government pulling the strings" in the United States, that they have........

© Newsday