Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is angling to become defense secretary in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, The Post has learned.
The Pentagon post is at the top of Gabbard’s wish list, four sources told The Post Tuesday, but the soon-to-be 47th president has yet to make his final decision.
One GOP insider said Gabbard was “going to privately petition Trump early this week” about becoming defense secretary, though the source added that the 43-year-old could also be interested in becoming CIA director.
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.
She has been a member of the National Guard since 2003, deploying to Iraq, Kuwait and the Horn of Africa.
However, that could throw an obstacle in the way of her serving Trump, as federal law holds that a defense secretary cannot have served on active duty in the armed forces for at least seven years before taking office — a provision intended to ensure a civilian-run military.
If Gabbard is nominated to lead the Pentagon, Congress would have to approve a waiver that overrides the seven-year requirement — a consideration it recently extended Trump’s first defense secretary, James Mattis, as well as current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Despite being a former Democrat, Gabbard’s potential nomination earned an outpouring of enthusiasm from some of the most conservative members of Trump’s first administration due to her views on foreign policy, namely avoiding new wars and ending current ones.
John McEntee, who led the White House Presidential Personnel Office — which makes administration staffing decisions — during the final year of Trump’s first term, said Gabbard would be an excellent choice.
“It would be cool to have someone less hawkish in the cabinet,” said McEntee, who became a TikTok celebrity and dating app co-founder during the Trump interregnum.
“Ultimately, Donald Trump will make the decision he feels is best and we should trust his judgment.”
