From US Congress to Intelligence boss — a tale of two Tulsis

Tulsi Gabbard is no stranger to polarisation. Her career has unfolded as a study in contrasts — a woman celebrated for breaking barriers yet criticised for aligning with figures and movements that seem antithetical to her rhetoric of justice and pluralism.

Now, as Donald Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard, 43, faces the most consequential test of her political career.

As soon as news of her nomination filtered out, knives were out.

Virginia's democratic congresswoman and member of the House Intelligence Committee Abigail Spanberger posted on X that she was "appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard."

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton was even more scathing.

"With his (Trump's) announcement of Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence, he's sending a signal that we've lost our mind when it comes to collecting intelligence," he told NewsNation.

At the Senate confirmation, Gabbard is set to face hostile questioning, but confrontation comes naturally to the Hawaii native.

From her early days as the first Hindu elected to the US Congress to her meteoric rise as a maverick in Washington's corridors of power, Gabbard has always reveled in showdown.

For a time, her story captivated the mainstream American media. A fresh face from Leloaloa, American Samoa, was challenging the status quo with her anti-war rhetoric. This was unusual.

Gabbard served as Hawaii's representative in the US Congress from 2013 to 2021. She made headlines in 2016 by stepping down from the Democratic National Committee to support Bernie Sanders in his presidential bid. It was a bold move that painted her as a principled outsider.

Yet, that narrative quickly unravelled as her actions began to raise unsettling questions.

Links with Hindu far-right

One of the most troubling threads in Gabbard's career is her long-standing ties with India's Hindu nationalist ecosystem, led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The RSS, often described as the ideological motherboard of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been accused of pushing for a vision of India that effectively marginalises the country's minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.

Gabbard's connections to the RSS and its affiliates have grown steadily over the years. Early in her political career, several organisations tied to the Sangh Parivar (motley Hindu extreme-right parties) became key donors to her campaigns.

These groups were instrumental in elevating her profile among Indian-Americans, providing both financial support and a platform for her to champion US-India relations.

According to a detailed profile of Gabbard by the American news website Intercept, "Gabbard was embraced early on by pro-Modi elements of the Hindu-American diaspora in the US, who have donated generously to her campaigns."

Over time, her ties to the RSS deepened. Gabbard regularly attended events hosted by Sangh-linked organisations, often delivering glowing speeches about their contributions to community building and cultural preservation.

Her endorsement of India's hardline Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "visionary leader" was, not surprisingly, seen by many not only as an approval of the leader but of the RSS-driven ideology he represents.

In 2018, Gabbard said she would chair the World Hindu Congress, an event with close ties to Sangh-affiliated groups. Facing sharp criticism, she withdrew from the role, but the damage was done. Many saw it as an affinity to powerful but divisive networks for political gain.

Gabbard visited India in 2014 on Modi's invitation and has maintained strong friends among the Hindutva brigade in the US. As per the Indian magazine Caravan, "Amongst Gabbard's many donors are various members of the US chapters of groups such as the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the Overseas Friends of the BJP, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America."

Her defenders insist that her connections to Hindu nationalist organisations are cultural, not political.

Policy of contradictions

Gabbard's foreign policy positions have been equally divisive. Her 2017 meeting with Syria's Bashar al Assad, for example, drew bipartisan condemnation.

Representative Adam Kinzinger has previously accused Gabbard of spreading "actual Russian propaganda" and branding her actions as "traitorous." Senator Mitt Romney went on to say that Gabbard was "parroting fake Russian propaganda."

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this of Gabbard in 2019: "I'm not making any predictions, but I think they (Moscow) have got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate."

"She's the favorite of the Russians," Clinton noted in a podcast with former Obama adviser David Plouffe.

Now, as Director of US National Intelligence, Gabbard faces her most significant challenge yet. She will be the head of 18 intelligence agencies and serve as the principal adviser to the US president on intelligence matters.

With no background in intelligence (during her eight years in Congress, she never served on the House Intelligence Committee), the role demands not just impartiality but competence.

Supporters argue that Gabbard's long-standing criticism of interventionist policies could be the shake-up the US intelligence community desperately needs. However, her critics worry that her ties to far-right groups are a potential blind spot that might cloud her judgment.

Writing in The Washington Post, the writer and columnist Josh Rogin says: "In the intelligence world, sound judgment and a firm grasp of reality are essential. Tulsi Gabbard has shown us, repeatedly, that she lacks both."

Gabbard's career is a story of ambition and contradiction. This is the moment when the contradictions that have defined her will either crumble under the weight of scrutiny or shape her into a leader her critics never imagined.