1. Tulsi Gabbard Politics In America CQ Profile
Democrats clearly think of Gabbard as a rising star, and she seems to be interested in the duties —
official and unofficial — that come with that designation. She’s an active promoter of her party’s
agenda, but the youthful member of the National Guard has extra interest in military matters.
At 21, Gabbard was elected to the Hawaii State Legislature — making her the youngest member in its
history. At 29, she joined the Honolulu city council, and at 31 she was elected to Congress. She is
one of the first two female combat veterans to serve in the House (Democrat Tammy Duckworth of
Illinois, also first elected in 2012, is the other). A few weeks after taking office, Gabbard was recruited
as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and she has spent a significant part of
her first term flying to engagements around the country in advance of the 2014 elections. She has
also made a decent number of appearances in national media outlets.
“She’s been in combat in a leadership role, and she knows how to lead,” said Minority Whip Steny H.
Hoyer of Maryland, speaking to Vogue magazine. “She deals well with men and women, young and
old, Republican and Democrat. She’s got an extraordinary political talent.” Some would also say that
Gabbard has extraordinary political ambition. When Sen. Daniel K. Inouye died in December 2012,
Gabbard asked to be considered as his appointed replacement, even before being sworn into the
House. A few notable politicians (including Sen. Cory Booker, who was then the mayor of Newark,
N.J.) cheered her on.
Gabbard, one of five children, was born in American Samoa — her father is Samoan and her mother
is white. Her family moved to Hawaii when she was 2. She was homeschooled by her civically active
parents, and she has credited them with fostering her interest in public service. Her father, Mike, is a
state senator and former Republican, and her mother, Carol, is a former State Board of Education
member. As a teenager, Gabbard helped her father found and run a nonprofit dedicated to
environmental protection and community health. (Mike Gabbard also founded a nonprofit advocating
against same-sex marriage and civil unions, a view Tulsi Gabbard says she no longer shares. In
several interviews, she has said that her military service changed her perspective on social issues.)
Like her mother, Gabbard is a Hindu. She is the first person of that faith to serve in Congress.
Gabbard started serving in the state House in 2002 but wasn’t there for too long. When the United
States invaded Iraq in 2003, Gabbard joined the National Guard. The next year, she resigned from the
legislature and volunteered to be deployed with her brigade. She served two tours in Iraq. After
returning from her first deployment in 2006, Gabbard moved to Washington to work for Sen. Daniel K.
Akaka as a legislative aide. After her second deployment in 2008, she returned to Hawaii, completed
a bachelor’s degree and won election to the Honolulu City Council in 2010.
In her first year in the U.S. House, Gabbard generally voted along liberal lines, but she had a few
departures when the military was involved. She and 90 other House Democrats voted against an
attempt (spearheaded by Barbara Lee of California) to trim most military accounts by 1 percent in the
fiscal 2014 Defense spending bill. She was one of 18 Democrats to oppose a $3.5 billion cut to the
Pentagon’s overseas contingency fund that was proposed by conservative Republicans.
Gabbard sits on the Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, where she is guided by both
her military experience and the unique needs of Hawaii. When President Barack Obama floated the
idea of a military intervention in Syria’s civil war, Gabbard stood opposed. “I saw the horrors of injury
and death,” she wrote in a Huffington Post opinion piece. “I came home from my yearlong
deployment resolved that I would do whatever I could to prevent my brothers and sisters in uniform
from going to war, unless absolutely necessary to defend our nation. The proposed intervention in
Syria does not meet this test.”
She has called for continued investment in military-led biofuel development — a common position in
the Hawaii delegation, as there are many logistical headaches involved in transporting fossil fuels to
Hawaii. Gabbard also supports increased spending on missile defense, as North Korean missile tests
have made many Pacific Rim lawmakers anxious.
In a January 2013 appearance on CNN, Gabbard said her No. 1 goal in Congress was to be an
advocate for female veterans and women in the military. She applauded the Pentagon’s decision to
lift the ban on women in combat roles. “If you can pull your weight and if you can do the job, you
should be able to do it,” she told ABC News. “What we see in the policy change, now that we’re
seeing starting to be executed, is just a reflection of what women have already been doing in the
military.”

2. She joined in recent efforts to address the problem of sexual assault in the military, co-sponsoring
several bills. One seeks to remove the reporting process from the chain of command of the victim.
“Our legislation ensures that military sexual assault victims who come forward are guaranteed a safe,
fair, and transparent process, free from fear of retaliation,” she said.
Gabbard’s work on veterans issues produced her first clear legislative achievement. In August 2013,
Obama signed her bill to expedite airport security screening for disabled veterans.
The 2nd District was left open in 2012 by Democrat Mazie K. Hirono, who ran for the Senate (and
won). In the primary, Gabbard was an underdog to Mufi Hannemann, a former Honolulu mayor who
had the endorsement of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Initial polls showed Gabbard trailing by
wide margins, but as the campaign wore on she closed the gap, supported in part by veterans
groups, Emily’s List and the Sierra Club. She ended up winning by more than 20 points. No
Republican has won the 2nd District since its creation in the 1970s, and Gabbard cruised in the
general election.
Gabbard still participates in one of her state’s most famous pastimes. “I hold on very tightly to my
surfboard when I’m home,” she told ABC News.