This top Trump official is 'missing in action' during major crisis

07 January

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard speaks during AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 20, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

After Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces early Saturday morning, January 3 and transported to a federal detention center in New York City, Trump Administration officials were all over right-wing media promoting President Donald Trump's Venezuela policy. But according to Washington Post reporter Warren P. Strobel, one Trump official who "has been largely absent from public view" is National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.

"Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who, for years, has spoken out against costly U.S. interventions abroad, waited more than three days before commenting publicly about Operation Absolute Resolve," Strobel explains in an article published on Wednesday, January 7. "Her usually busy feeds on X, where she maintains official and personal accounts, were abnormally quiet until she issued a terse statement Tuesday afternoon. She has been missing in action from Fox News and other conservative broadcasts, where she's been a frequent guest championing Trump's priorities and excoriating his perceived enemies in a way previous intelligence chiefs avoided."

A former lawmaker who served in the U.S. House of Representatives via Hawaii as a Democrat, Gabbard ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primary. But she later took a far-right turn and is now a MAGA Republican.

In a Tuesday, January 6 post on X, formerly Twitter, Gabbard wrote, "President Trump promised the American people he would secure our borders, confront narcoterrorism, dangerous drug cartels, and drug traffickers. Kudos to our servicemen and women and intelligence operators for their flawless execution of President Trump's order to deliver on his promise thru Operation Absolute Resolve."

But for the most part, Strobel reports, Gabbard kept a low profile after Maduro was captured.

The Post reporter notes that Gabbard's January 6 tweet is a major departure from her past comments on Venezuela.

In January 2019, she tweeted, "The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don't want other countries to choose our leaders--so we have to stop trying to choose theirs."

Read the full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).

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