Tulsi Gabbard (/ˈtʌlsi ˈɡæbərd/, born April 12, 1981) is an American politician of the Democratic Party serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2013. She was also a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee until February 28, 2016, when she resigned to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Elected in 2012, she is the first Samoan American and the first Hindu member of the United States Congress.
She served in a combat zone in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and was deployed to Kuwait from 2008 to 2009. Gabbard previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004, becoming at age 21 the youngest woman to be elected to a U.S. state legislature at the time.
Gabbard is noted for her charisma and unorthodox political positions. Gabbard supports abortion rights, opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has called for a restoration of the Glass–Steagall Act, and has been in favor of same-sex marriage since 2012. She denounces regime change wars like those in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, and has opposed the U.S.-led removal of Bashar al-Assad from power, arguing that the country's civil war is a source of the Syrian refugee crisis. She has been mentioned as a potential candidate for President of the United States in 2020.