Former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who recently joined the Republican Party, reportedly seeks to become defense secretary in President Trump’s administration.

“The Pentagon post is at the top of Gabbard’s wish list, four sources told The Post Tuesday,” the New York Post reports.

According to the New York Post, a GOP insider said the former Democratic Congresswoman was “going to privately petition Trump early this week” about being his defense secretary.

The source reportedly said Gabbard may also be interested in becoming CIA director.

From the New York Post:

A source close to the transition told The Post that Gabbard, who is serving as an adviser to that team, is believed to be interested in the defense job — but faces competition from former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, who is leading the transition’s Pentagon team.

This source said Gabbard would be “way better” than “weak” Wilkie, whose tenure in the first Trump administration was marred by allegations he mishandled a sexual assault report while serving as undersecretary of Pentagon personnel and readiness — the office that handles the Defense Department’s sexual assault prevention and policies.

Others also floated as contenders for the defense secretary post include Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has earned favor in military circles for working closely with the Pentagon on defense legislation, and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), GOP sources told The Post.

Gabbard became an honorary member of Trump’s transition team after endorsing the former president during his re-election campaign and switching her membership to the Republican Party.

Gabbard said she would be “honored to serve” in Trump’s cabinet, NewsNation noted.

“If there’s a way I can help achieve the goal of preventing World War 3 and nuclear war? Of course,” Gabbard said on NewsNation’s “CUOMO.”

“But again, President Trump will make his decision,” she added.

“I’ve been active as a member of the Transition Team,” she said.

Gabbard explained she wants to “try to prevent what happened last time.”

“He ended up with some neocons around him who said yes to his face, and then around his back were trying to undermine his objectives so that they could feed their goals of continuing to keep us in a perpetual state of war to the detriment of the American people and our troops,” Gabbard said.

WATCH:

NewsNation reports:

The United States Army Reserve officer said the way to honor veterans is to ensure “war is a last resort.” Gabbard said Trump understands the American people’s desire to only fight wars as a last resort.

Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, endorsed Donald Trump in August during a National Guard Association gathering in Michigan where Trump was also speaking.

Gabbard ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in the Democratic primary in 2020. In the years since ending her bid, she has exited Congress, left the Democratic Party and appeared at events such as the Conservative Political Action Conference.

On Sunday, Trump posted that former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan would be joining as the “border czar,” and the next day, he said his former adviser, Stephen Miller, would be deputy chief of policy.

 

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