On Wednesday, the newly elected Republican US President Donald Trump chose 43-year-old Tulsi Gabbard as the new director of the US Secret Service (DNI), a former Democrat, but currently a critic of the administration of the outgoing US President Joe Biden, advocating, among other things, US support for Ukraine. TASR writes about it according to the Reuters and AFP agencies.
Once a potential candidate for vice president
Gabbard, a former Hawaii member of the House of Representatives, left the Democratic Party in 2022. She subsequently worked as an independent politician and in October 2024 joined the Republican Party, which she had previously supported. At one time, she was even considered a potential candidate for vice president in the Trump administration, whom she helped prepare for a debate against his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, for example.
She should take over the leadership of the US Secret Service from Avril Haines in January, when Trump himself and his entire administration take office. Her nomination still has to be approved by the Senate. Given that the Republicans in this upper chamber of the US Congress will have the majority of seats from January, however, it should be a formality.
“I know Tulsi will bring to our Secret Service the fearless spirit that defined her illustrious career,” Trump said. According to him, Gabbard has fought for the freedom of the United States and all Americans for more than two decades. Gabbard herself thanked Trump for the nomination, which she called an opportunity to serve in his cabinet “defending the security and liberty of the American people”.
Little direct experience
Reuters points out that Gabbard has little direct experience working in the Secret Service and was therefore not generally expected to be nominated by Trump for such a post. From 2004 to 2005, she served in Iraq as a major in the Hawaii National Guard and is currently a lieutenant colonel in the reserve.
In 2020, Gabbard unsuccessfully applied for the nomination of the Democratic Party as a candidate for the presidential election, later she supported Joe Biden, who won the election.
After leaving the Democratic Party, she became increasingly critical of President Biden and his administration and gained popularity among conservatives, frequently appearing on far-right television and radio shows. According to AFP, for a long time he holds the so-called isolationist views and also supports a number of conspiracy theories.
Request for resumption of criminal proceedings
US special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to stay a request to reopen the criminal case against US President-elect Donald Trump over the illegal handling of classified documents found at his Florida residence. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
Smith justified the move by saying he wanted to buy time for the prosecution to assess the impact of Trump’s return to the White House on the case.
Top-secret US government documents were found unsecured by FBI agents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida home during a search warrant in 2022. Trump was charged in the case with illegally transferring classified documents, thwarting government attempts to obtain them back and false statements.
Stopped prosecution
Judge Aileen Cannon stayed the prosecution in the case in July. She cited doubts in the appointment of Smith, who presented the case to the court. The prosecutor’s office appealed against the decision.
Smith’s team plans to consider how to proceed in the case by Dec. 2. By this date, he also wants to decide on the procedure in the case in which he accuses Trump of trying to reverse the defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump, who denies the accusations in both cases, announced back in October that he would fire Smith immediately when he takes office in the White House.
