President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress who ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 and has since aligned herself with the U.S. right wing, to serve as director of national intelligence.

The president-elect is continuing to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities complimentary to his own, rather than long-term professionals in their requisite fields.

“As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican!” Trump said in a statement. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!”

Trump announced the pick Wednesday after leaving Washington, where he met with President Joe Biden and House Republican leaders. Minutes earlier, he picked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be his nominee for secretary of state and followed up shortly after by announcing Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a hard-right loyalist with a history of misconduct probes, as his choice for attorney general. All three positions require confirmation by the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. 

Other national security roles Trump has announced appointees for include naming Fox News host Pete Hegseth his nominee for defense secretary, South Dakota Gov. Krisit Noem his pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security and naming Florida Rep. Michael Waltz his national security advisor. Longtime aide Stephen Miller, an architect of Trump's anti-immigrant platform, was named homeland security advisor on Wednesday, as well.

Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider, compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.

On social media, the former House Democrat thanked Trump "for the opportunity to serve as a member of your cabinet to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people. I look forward to getting to work."

Gabbard hasn’t worked directly in the intelligence community, outside of House committees, including two years on the Homeland Security Committee. Like others Trump has selected for his agency leadership, she has been among his most popular political surrogates, often drawing thunderous responses from crowds as she stumped for him in the campaign’s closing months.

After dropping out and endorsing Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, Gabbard left the party she served with for four terms in Congress in 2022 and campaigned for Republicans in the midterms that year. Once a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, Gabbard has earned celebrity on the right, speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conferences and guest hosting Tucker Carlson’s show when he was still on Fox News.

More recently, she helped Trump prepare for his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, who Gabbard notably clashed with during the 2020 Democratic primary debates. During the campaign, she rallied for Trump across the country and traveled with him to Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. 

“Every time she ran, she was good. She did well. She decided to leave, she couldn't take it anymore. But she is very special,” Trump said of Gabbard in August. “And I didn't know this, but she is a lieutenant colonel. That’s not bad. Lieutenant colonel? Not bad. I didn't know that, you know? I just found out. I said, ‘put it down. You got to put that down’ [in his speech]. That’s better than all the other stuff I read.”

Along with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a scion of the Democratic family dynasty, Gabbard's endorsement was frequently cited by Trump in appeals to independent and former Democratic voters. He named both politicians to his transition team in August. 

"This election result is a mandate. It rejects the [neoconservative] agenda of costly, unnecessary wars and embraces Trump’s promise to end wars, prevent global conflicts, revive our economy, and lower the cost of living for Americans," Gabbard wrote shortly after Trump won. "Entrenched politicians in Washington must take notice, or they may find themselves without a job in the next election."

Gabbard served in the Hawaii Army National Guard from 2003 to 2020 before transferring to an Army Reserve unit based in California. She served a year in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, was deployed to Kuwait from 2008 to 2009, and deployed again to Africa in 2021 after leaving Congress.

She has a history of bigoted comments targeting Muslims and the LGBTQ community, as well as ties to Hindu nationalists in the United States and India.