Tulsi Gabbard member of team leading Trump’s transition back to Washington

A former Democratic Hawai‘i state legislator, former U.S. congresswoman from Hawai‘i, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Hawai‘i Army National Guard veteran who served two tours in the Middle East and ex-Hawai‘i Democrat is helping lead the process for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tulsi Gabbard is a co-chairperson of the 47th U.S. president’s transition team, giving her the potential to influence what his second administration looks like and possibly shape federal policy.

Her position also provides a direct line to Trump, and Gabbard says — under the right circumstances — she’ll use that to Hawai‘i’s benefit.

She told Honolulu news station KHON2 she’s still an island girl — even while she’s in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I bring Hawai‘i and the people of Hawai‘i with me in my heart, everywhere I go,” said Gabbard. “And if given the opportunity to, in these circumstances, raise their concerns, of course, I take every advantage of that.”

She is part of a transition team led primarily by Trump friends and family, including former 2024 independent presidential hopeful and anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as the president-elect’s adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Fellow transition co-chairpersons are Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick and former World Wrestling Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Linda McMahon, who served as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019 during Trump’s first term.

The team pledged Trump’s second term as president won’t look much like his first 4 years from 2016 to 2020, and the president-elect now has less than 70 days to build out his administration before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025.

That means filling about 4,000 positions with people picked for their jobs by Trump and his transition team, from secretary of state and other Cabinet chiefs to part-time board and commission members, about 1,200 of whom will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Hawai‘i House of Resprentatives Minority Floor Leader Rep. Diamond Garcia, a Republican who represents House District 42 (Fernandez Village and portions of Varona Village, ‘Ewa and Kapolei) on O‘ahu, told KHON2 that Gabbard’s position on Trump’s transition team and influence with the president-elect present a chance to finally fulfill the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

The act was spearheaded by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, who was a Republican non-voting delegate from Hawai‘i to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1902 until he died in 1922, and passed in 1920.

It was signed into law July 9, 1921, by President Warren G. Harding.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act set aside about 200,000 acres of land to establish a permanent homeland for Native Hawaiians, with the intention of returning Native Hawaiians to the land while encouraging them to become self-sufficient homesteaders on the leased parcels of trust land.

However, by the beginning of 2024 a list of beneficiaries waiting to receive homestead land or housing had grown to about 29,000

“President Trump is a developer. He’s a builder,” Garcia told the Honolulu news station. “Let’s build homes and clear the waitlist and truly fulfill the vision that Prince Kūhiō set 103 or 104 years ago.”

He pointed out that with a woman of Pacific Island heritage having the White House saved in her contacts and the ear of the next U.S. president, it’s evident Gabbard can elevate Hawai‘i concerns to the highest national level.

“This is our time to unite regardless of party,” Garcia said. “And Hawai‘i is blessed because we have direct access now to the Trump White House to get things done for Hawai‘i.”

“Whether it’s people like Rep. Garcia or others who are advocates for Native Hawaiian issues in Hawai‘i, what I can say is I’ve seen President Trump paying special attention to some of these issues,” Gabbard said.

She endorsed Trump’s presidential bid in August, shifting her further away from the Democrats.

Gabbard has long signaled some level of support for the now president-elect, even while serving in U.S. Congress as a Democrat. She was the only Democratic lawmaker in 2019 to vote “present” when the House impeached Trump for his dealings with Ukraine.

She also was known for being at odds with the Democrats’ establishment during her four House terms from 2013 to 2021.

Gabbard endorsed then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2020, but 2 years later became an independent, saying the Democrats were dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues.

She has since campaigned for several high-profile Republicans, been a contributor for Fox News and started a podcast.

Gabbard became a Republican earlier this year, formally announcing her party change during a Trump rally in October in the key swing state of North Carolina.

She would not comment to KHON2 whether she is vying for an appointment to Trump’s Cabinet or administration and said she is focused on helping the president-elect build a strong team committed to upholding the Constitution of the United States.

The 43-year-old is the daughter of Hawai‘i state Sen. Mike Gabbard, who represents Senate District 21 on O‘ahu (Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, ‘Ewa and portions of Fernandez Village), and former Hawai‘i Board of Education member Carol (Porter) Gabbard.

“The aloha spirit that I carried with me is something that I will, I will continue to do no matter where I am, with that heart always for service and working towards the best interests of the people of my home state of Hawai‘i and our country,” Gabbard said.