Political positions of Tulsi Gabbard

Gabbard describes herself as both a hawk and a dove on the topic of foreign policy and foreign relations: {{blockquote|"When it comes to the war against terrorists, I'm a hawk, [but] when it comes to counterproductive wars of regime change, I'm a dove."{{Cite web |title=Which U.S. Wars Were Justifiable? Tulsi Gabbard Names Only World War II |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/08/739603781/which-u-s-wars-were-justifiable-tulsi-gabbard-names-only-world-war-ii |access-date=2019-07-24 |website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR|language=en}}}} She has said that such wars "undermine our national security and … actually increase the suffering of people in the countries where we wage them."{{Cite web |last=Strawbridge |first=Benjamin |date=2019-03-28 |title=Rep. Gabbard stresses foreign policy at presidential rally |url=https://tnhdigital.com/2019/03/28/rep-gabbard-stresses-foreign-policy-at-rally/ |access-date=2019-09-11 |website=The New Hampshire |language=en-US}} Asked if there were any wars that justified the use of US military force, Gabbard said there are "very few examples", such as World War II. When asked about her coverage in the mainstream media, Gabbard has said: "We have seen for a long time how the mainstream media has been complicit in further pushing and pursuing the foreign policy establishment narrative."{{Citation |last=Rouleau |first=Dack |title=Tulsi Gabbard on the Corporate Media, Julian Assange, and Trump's Chickenhawks |date=July 10, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jknBLfRWkKo |language=en |access-date=2019-10-29 |time=0:40}}

Gabbard was a five-year "term member"{{cite web |title=Stephen M. Kellen Term Membership |url=https://www.cfr.org/membership/individual-membership#chapter-title-0-3 |access-date=August 11, 2019 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations}} of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).{{cite web |title=Council on Foreign Relations Membership Roster |url=https://www.cfr.org/membership/roster |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628215002/https://www.cfr.org/membership/roster |archive-date=June 28, 2019 |access-date=June 26, 2019 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations}}{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2016 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Hosts Council on Foreign Relations Briefing in Honolulu |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/photos-rep-tulsi-gabbard-hosts-council-foreign-relations-briefing-honolulu |website=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |access-date=December 26, 2019 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219022814/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/photos-rep-tulsi-gabbard-hosts-council-foreign-relations-briefing-honolulu |url-status=dead }} When asked about her involvement in it, she said that while many in CFR did not share her worldview, "If we only sit in rooms with people who we agree with, then we won’t be able to bring about the kind of change that we need to see."{{cite interview |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |subject-link=Tulsi Gabbard |interviewer=Pasta Jarduhl |title=Tulsi Gabbard answers questions about The Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSWyjb1uU6w |access-date=August 11, 2019 |work=Presidential Candidate Interview |publisher=MCSC Network |date=May 29, 2019 |interviewer2=Niko House}}

Following her 2017 visit to Syria, Gabbard opposed US involvement in regime change, calling it counterproductive to defeating ISIL, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations.{{Cite web |last=Zannes |first=Alexander |date=January 25, 2017 |title=Gabbard demands end to regime change war following visit to Syria |url=http://khon2.com/2017/01/25/gabbard-demands-end-to-regime-change-war-following-visit-to-syria/ |access-date=February 25, 2017 |website=KHON2}}{{Cite web |title=Tulsi Gabbard on The 'war on terror' |url=https://www.votetulsi.com/node/25013 |access-date=February 25, 2017 |website=votetulsi.com |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226050902/https://www.votetulsi.com/node/25013 |url-status=dead}}

Gabbard considers herself a hawk on war on terror.{{cite news |date=August 28, 2016 |title=The rise of Gabbard: No telling how far independent path will take her |newspaper=Hawaii Tribune-Herald |url=https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2016/08/28/hawaii-news/the-rise-of-gabbard-no-telling-how-far-independent-path-will-take-her/ |url-status=dead |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201143458/https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2016/08/28/hawaii-news/the-rise-of-gabbard-no-telling-how-far-independent-path-will-take-her/ |archive-date=February 1, 2019}} She favors a "very limited use of drones" in situations where the "military is not able to get in without creating an unacceptable level of risk."{{cite news |last=Chávez |first=Aída |date=January 20, 2018 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Endorses "Very Limited Use of Drones" Against ISIS and Al Qaeda |work=The Intercept |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/01/20/tulsi-gabbard-syria-isis-al-qaeda/}}

Gabbard criticized the Obama administration for "refusing" to say that "Islamic extremists" are waging a war against the United States.{{cite web |date=January 16, 2015 |title=Rep. Gabbard: Obama refuses to say enemy is 'Islamic extremists' |url=http://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/01/16/tsr-intv-blitzer-gabbard-radical-islam.cnn |access-date=April 21, 2017 |website=CNN}} She has said it was Al-Qaeda who "attacked us on 9/11" and it is they who "must be defeated." She continued: "Obama won't bomb them in Syria. Putin did."{{Cite web |title=Campaign 2020: Tulsi Gabbard, Democratic Presidential Candidate |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/campaign-2020-tulsi-gabbard-democratic-presidential-candidate |access-date=2019-07-24 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}

In 2016, Gabbard spoke out against Islamism, stating "The ideology shared by ISIS, Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations is Islamism. Distinct from the religion of Islam, Islamism is a radical political ideology of violent jihad aimed at establishing a totalitarian society governed by laws based on a particular interpretation of Islam.”{{Cite web |title=Factsheet: Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-tulsi-gabbard/}}

On December 20, 2019, the Stop Arming Terrorists Act{{cite web |date=December 10, 2016 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill To Halt U.S. Arms Supplies To Syrian Allies |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/12/10/505079126/hawaii-congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-to-halt-u-s-arms-supplies-to |access-date=April 14, 2017 |publisher=NPR}}{{cite news |date=January 13, 2017 |title=Behind Tulsi Gabbard's 'Stop Arming Terrorists' bill |publisher=Fox News |url=https://video.foxnews.com/v/5280982576001/#sp=show-clips}} that she introduced in 2017{{Cite news |last=Carden |first=James |date=2017-03-03 |title=Why Does the US Continue to Arm Terrorists in Syria? |language=en-US |journal=The Nation: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Politics, Literature, Science, Drama, Music, Art, and Finance |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/why-does-the-us-continue-to-arm-terrorists-in-syria/ |access-date=2019-12-27 |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=2019-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228005242/https://www.thenation.com/article/why-does-the-us-continue-to-arm-terrorists-in-syria/ |url-status=dead }} became law as part of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, § 1228{{Cite web |date=2019-12-20 |title=S.1790 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1790/text#toc-H892EE30A450045DD974CC738F00B7CEF |access-date=2020-01-25 |work=116th Congress (2019-2020) |language=en-US}} to prohibit the Department of Defense from "knowingly providing weapons or any other form of support to Al Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the Islamic State" {{Efn|Josh Gottheimer's (D-NJ-5) amendment to add "Hamas, Hizballah, Palestine Islamic Jihad, al-Shabaab, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" was also incorporated.|name=|group=}} or other terrorist groups or individual or groups affiliated with any such organization.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-12 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Opposes Defense Bill that Worsens New Cold War and Nuclear Arms Race |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-opposes-defense-bill-worsens-new-cold-war-and-nuclear-arms |access-date=2020-01-25 |work=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125201701/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-opposes-defense-bill-worsens-new-cold-war-and-nuclear-arms |url-status=dead }}

Gabbard's views on Islamic terrorism have distinguished her from many mainstream Democrats. In 2015 she met with U.S.-backed Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss "the threat of ISIS and Islamic extremist groups".{{Cite web |last=Shankar |first=Soumya |date=January 5, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Is a Rising Progressive Star, Despite Her Support for Hindu Nationalists |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/01/05/tulsi-gabbard-2020-hindu-nationalist-modi/ |access-date=January 12, 2019 |website=The Intercept}} She has advocated increasing pressure on Pakistan to stop terrorist attacks and expressed "solidarity with India" in reference to the 2016 Uri attack.{{cite news |date=October 7, 2016 |title=American lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard slams Pakistan for terror outfits |magazine=Economic Times |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/american-lawmaker-tulsi-gabbard-slams-pakistan-for-supporting-terror-outfits/articleshow/54728915.cms |access-date=November 7, 2016}} Gabbard has said she is mindful that most Muslims are not extremist, but has criticised Obama and Hillary Clinton for not acknowledging the threat posed by radical Islam.{{Cite news |date=10 August 2018 |title=Tulsi Gabbard: How a progressive rising star is a paradox for the left |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/10/tulsi-gabbard-how-a-progressive-rising-star-is-a-paradox-for-the-left|last1=Siddiqui |first1=Sabrina }}

Gabbard co-sponsored legislation that would prohibit the first-use of nuclear weapons.{{cite journal |last=Carden |first=James |date=August 15, 2019 |title=Progressives Are Right to Endorse a 'No First Use' Nuclear Weapons Policy |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/nuclear-weapons-no-first-use-john-bolton-donald-trump/ |journal=The Nation |access-date=December 2, 2019 |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210174851/https://www.thenation.com/article/nuclear-weapons-no-first-use-john-bolton-donald-trump/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last=Lieu |first=Ted |date=January 17, 2019 |title=H.R.669 - Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/669?s=1&r=9 |access-date=December 2, 2019 |website=116th Congress}}{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Adam |date=January 30, 2019 |title=H.R.921 - To establish the policy of the United States regarding the no-first-use of nuclear weapons. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/921?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22tulsi+gabbard%22%5D%7D&s=6&r=9 |access-date=December 2, 2019 |website=116th Congress}}

Gabbard decries powerful politicians who "beat the drums of war and ratchet up tensions" between the U.S. and nuclear-armed countries", dragging the country toward a New Cold War arms race, thereby bringing "the front lines … to our doorstep, as we sit on the precipice of nuclear war." She notes that nuclear strategists say "we are at a greater risk of nuclear war than we ever have been before."{{cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=February 2, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Full Speech - Presidential Campaign Launch |url=http://www.4president.org/speeches/2020/tulsigabbard2020announcement.htm |access-date=August 13, 2019 |website=4President.org}}{{Cite news |last=Tur |first=Katy |date=June 28, 2019 |title=2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard explains her foreign policy priorities |work=MSNBC |url=https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/2020-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-explains-her-foreign-policy-priorities-62893637721 |access-date=August 4, 2019}}

Gabbard has introduced legislation to prevent the use of taxpayer dollars for weapons that violate the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty{{cite web |last=Stevens |first=Stevens |date=June 26, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard on Foreign Policy and War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-foreign-policy-war.html |website=The New York Times}} and has expressed disappointment no moderators at the Democratic presidential primary debates have "raised the issues or asked a question related to the most existential threat we face in this country."{{cite web |last=Tur |first=Katy |date=June 28, 2019 |title=2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard explains her foreign policy priorities |url=https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/2020-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-explains-her-foreign-policy-priorities-62893637721 |access-date=August 7, 2019 |website=MSNBC}}

In a 2018 interview with The Intercept, Gabbard said U.S. efforts at regime change "have ended up worse off for the people of those countries and have been counterproductive to the interests of the American people." The Intercept described her as "an outspoken critic of U.S. involvement in the Middle East from the disastrous Iraq War to NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya that followed Arab Spring protests against the brutal regime of Moammar Gadhafi." She has also called for an end to the nearly two-decades-long U.S. war in Afghanistan.{{cite news |last=Lemon |first=Jason |date=June 27, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Fact Checks Tim Ryan After He Inaccurately Claims Taliban Attacked U.S. on 9/11 |work=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tusli-gabbard-fact-check-tim-ryan-taliban-attack-9-11-1446190}} In her February 2, 2019 campaign launch, Gabbard called on everyone to take a stand against what she described as the "neolibs and neocons" from both parties promoting regime change.

According to Rolling Stone columnist Matt Taibbi, Gabbard's position is "not as has been represented in most press accounts. … She’s not an isolationist. She’s simply opposed to bombing the crap out of, and occupying, foreign countries for no apparent positive strategic objective, beyond enriching contractors".{{cite magazine |last=Taibbi |first=Matt |date=August 9, 2019 |title=Who's Afraid of Tulsi Gabbard? |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/podcast-tulsi-gabbard-kamala-harris-syria-iraq-870003 |access-date=August 13, 2019}}

On November 17, 2015, Gabbard, as one of the Hawaii legislators remarking on Gov. David Ige's support of President Obama's commitment to accept refugees from Syria, said "I’m currently … doing my due diligence on this vetting process … from the appropriate departments, from the Homeland Security, the intelligence community, and so on and so forth. The most humane thing we can do [regarding Syria] is stop creating new refugees."{{Cite web |last=Inefuku |first=Terri |date=2015-11-18 |title=Lawmakers weigh in on Syrian refugees in Hawaii |url=https://www.khon2.com/news/lawmakers-weigh-in-on-syrian-refugees-in-hawaii/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=KHON2 |language=en-US}}

On November 19, 2015, Gabbard sponsored with Austin Scott (R-GA) (also a member of the House Armed Services Committee), H.R. 4108, a bipartisan bill to end U.S. efforts to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al-Assad. Gabbard said that "The war to overthrow Assad is counter-productive because it actually helps ISIS and other Islamic extremists achieve their goal of overthrowing the Syrian government of Assad and taking control of all of Syria—which will simply increase human suffering in the region, exacerbate the refugee crisis."{{Cite web |last=Borrega |first=Richard |date=November 27, 2015 |title=Gabbard not shy about taking on Obama over Syria |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/266406851/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2015-11-19 |title=Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Austin Scott Introduce Legislation to End Illegal U.S. War to Overthrow Syrian Government of Assad |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/reps-tulsi-gabbard-austin-scott-introduce-legislation-end-illegal-us-war |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |language=en |archive-date=2020-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111085716/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/reps-tulsi-gabbard-austin-scott-introduce-legislation-end-illegal-us-war |url-status=dead }}

On January 26, 2017, in response to reports President Trump was expected to order a temporary ban on refugees, Gabbard commented "[W]e must address the root cause that is making people flee their homes— regime-change wars."{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2017-01-26 |title=We should not ban refugees from our country. But we must address the root cause that is making people flee their homes— regime-change wars. |url=https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/824742949191876608 |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=@tulsigabbard |language=en}} In subsequent comments, she added that in Syria she had met with pastors who described intense suffering: "The reality of a genocide against religious minorities is very real".{{Cite web |date=2017-02-09 |title=3000+ Pastors Ask President to Support Refugees |url=https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2017/february/3000-pastors-ask-president-to-support-refugees |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=CBN News |language=en}}

In March 2017, in response to President Trump's announcement of a newly revised blanket ban of refugees, Gabbard said "[W]e must address the cause of this refugee crisis and end the destructive U.S. policy of counterproductive regime-change wars, as we've seen most recently in Iraq, Libya, and now in Syria."{{Cite web |date=2017-03-06 |title=Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Releases Statement Against Refugee Ban |url=https://mauiwatch.com/2017/03/hawaii-rep-tulsi-gabbard-releases-statement-against-refugee-ban/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=MAUIWatch |language=en-US}}

In March, 2013, Gabbard joined with ten other Democratic and eight Republican representatives in a letter to President Obama asking that he "extend and reform visa programs for Iraqi and Afghan allies … who have risked their lives to aid our troops and protect America’s security, … as federal agencies have issued only a fraction of the visas that Congress originally authorized."{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2013 |title=Congress Demands Action on Special Immigrant Visa Program |url=https://refugeerights.org/congress-demands-action-on-special-immigrant-visa-program/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |language=en-US}}

In September, 2015, Gabbard sponsored with Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a bill "[r]ecognizing the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, especially Christians and Yezidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh, and calling for the immediate prioritization of accepting refugees from such communities."{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2015-10-05 |title=H.Res.435 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Recognizing the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, especially Christians and Yezidis, by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Daesh, and calling for the immediate prioritization of accepting refugees from such communities. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/435 |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=www.congress.gov}} Gabbard noted these "and other minority groups in the Middle East are being targeted specifically because of their religious beliefs, and face forced conversions to Islam, mass abductions, sexual enslavements, and executions due to this ISIL-inflicted genocide."{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Chad |date=2015-09-24 |title=Gabbard: Help Victims of Genocide |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2015/09/gabbard-wants-refuge-for-religious-minorities/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}}

In November, 2015, after the ISIS terrorist attacks on Paris, Gabbard and 46 other Democrats voted with congressional Republicans in favor of the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act of 2015 to require "supplemental certifications and background investigations on refugees from Syria and Iraq".{{Cite web |date=2015-11-19 |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 643, On passage of HR 4038, Final American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll643.xml |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=clerk.house.gov}}{{Cite web |last=McCaul |first=Michael T. |date=2016-01-20 |title=H.R.4038 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4038 |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=www.congress.gov}}{{Cite news |last1=Steinhauer |first1=Jennifer |last2=Shear |first2=Michael D. |date=2015-11-19 |title=House Approves Tougher Refugee Screening, Defying Veto Threat |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/us/politics/house-refugees-syria-iraq.html |access-date=2019-12-31 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last1=Yardley |first1=Jim |last2=Bennhold |first2=Katrin |date=2019-11-16 |title=Mounting clues point to brothers, trip to Syria: Attackers were in contact with ISIS, officials say |language=en |newspaper=Boston Globe |agency=The New York Times |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/444569822/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web |date=2019-11-13 |title=2015 Paris Terror Attacks Fast Facts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/europe/2015-paris-terror-attacks-fast-facts/index.html |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=CNN |publisher=CNN Editorial Research}} President Obama said he would veto the bill: "We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic."{{Cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Deirdre |last2=Barrett |first2=Ted |date=19 November 2015 |title=House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees over Obama veto threat - CNNPolitics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/politics/house-democrats-refugee-hearings-obama/index.html |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=CNN}} Gabbard, in explaining her vote, said "voting for this bill was not a vote against refugees" but about "the long term viability and continuation of our country serving as a place of refuge for those who are truly in need of shelter." "It would be a double disaster if someone who came to America as a refugee ended up engaging in a terrorist act … [as] happened before in 2009, when two al-Qaeda terrorists came to the U.S. as refugees from Iraq and were actively supporting al-Qaeda from the U.S. while also plotting an attack on U.S. soil. Following their discovery and arrest, … the refugee program for Iraqis was completely shut down for six months."{{Cite web |date=2015-12-04 |title=CAPAC (Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus) Members Split on Syrian Refugee Bill |url=http://www.rafu.com/2015/12/capac-members-split-on-syrian-refugee-bill/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=rafu.com |publisher=Rafu Shimpo (Los Angeles Daily Japanese News)}}

Also in November, 2015, Gabbard called for a suspension of the Visa Waiver Program for European passport holders until the intelligence community catches up with the influx of Syrian refugees. In response to Wolf Blitzer noting others were concerned about the economic impact of suspending the program, Gabbard said: "You want to talk about the effect on the economy if these actions are not taken and an attack is allowed to occur here, even though we’ve identified this vulnerability?"{{Cite news |last=Huetteman |first=Emmarie |date=2015-11-28 |title=Tulsi Gabbard, Rising Democratic Star From Hawaii, Makes Mark on Party by Defying It |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-rising-democratic-star-from-hawaii-makes-mark-on-party-by-defying-it.html |access-date=2019-12-31 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Blitzer |first=Wolf |date=November 16, 2015 |title=Situation Room |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1511/16/sitroom.01.html |access-date=2019-02-19 |website=transcripts.cnn.com}}

In January, 2017, in response to reports President Trump was expected to order a temporary ban on refugees, Gabbard said, "We shouldn’t ban refugees from entering our country. We need to responsibly ensure thorough vetting is in place …"{{Cite web |date=2017-02-03 |title=APA (Asian Pacific American) Members of Congress Critical of Executive Orders on Immigration |url=http://www.rafu.com/2017/02/apa-members-of-congress-critical-of-executive-orders-on-immigration/ |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=rafu.com |publisher=Rafu Shimbo (Los Angeles Japanese Daily News)}} She called the president's order "unacceptable".

In March, 2017, in response to President Trump's announcement of a newly revised blanket ban of refugees, Gabbard said, "True to our history and values as a nation, we have served as a place of refuge to the most vulnerable in the world. We should not be putting in place a blanket ban of refugees …."

While Gabbard initially voted in favor of sanctions,{{Cite web |date=2016-01-08 |title=Gabbard Wants Iran Missile Sanctions |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2016/01/gabbard-wants-iran-missile-sanctions/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}} she has since condemned the act of "starving [other nations] with draconian sanctions".{{Cite web |last=Behrmann |first=Savannah |title=Tulsi Gabbard says she wants to defeat the 'Bush-Clinton doctrine' on foreign policy |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/10/30/tulsi-gabbard-wants-defeat-bush-clinton-doctrine-foreign-policy/4101086002/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}} In March 2019, she cosponsored Rep. Khanna's letter which expresses concern of the Trump administration's "misguided policies" such as "broad unilateral sanctions" and how they make life worse for ordinary Venezuelan people.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-07 |title=RELEASE: Khanna Leads Progressive Colleagues in Call for a Peaceful Political Solution to Avoid Violent Conflict in Venezuela |url=https://khanna.house.gov/media/press-releases/release-khanna-leads-progressive-colleagues-call-peaceful-political-solution |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Congressman Ro Khanna |language=en}}

In June 2020, Gabbard introduced and passed an amendment to the House version of the 2021 NDAA, which would require the Department of Defense to assess the humanitarian impact of sanctions, though it was not included in the final bill.{{Cite web |last=Petti |first=Matthew |date=2020-07-22 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Wants To Know If U.S. Sanctions Are Killing Children |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/tulsi-gabbard-wants-know-if-us-sanctions-are-killing-children-165342 |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=The National Interest |language=en}} In December 2020, she introduced [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/1270/text?r=130&s=4 H.Res.1270], which called sanctions "an instrument of modern-day economic warfare" and called for no taxpayer dollars, government personnel, or equipment should be used to impose sanctions that inflict suffering on civilian populations.{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2020-12-18 |title=Text - H.Res.1270 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that no taxpayer dollars will be used to enact sanctions that inflict suffering on civilian populations. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/1270/text |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=www.congress.gov}}

In a December 2014 interview Gabbard said she was "conflicted" about the report published that week on the CIA's use of torture in interrogations, saying, "the jury is still out on the report". She also said that while she abhorred torture, were there an imminent danger to American citizens, as president she "would do everything in my power to keep the American people safe."{{Cite web |date=December 17, 2014 |title=US Should Not Be Policing the World: US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/the-buck-stops-here/us-should-not-be-policing-the-world-us-congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-348891 |access-date=February 16, 2019 |website=NDTV |at=16:00 |quote=The jury is still out on this report. [...] Clearly we would not like to see any human, any person around the world being treated inhumanely. On the other side, I can understand that any of us, if we were in a situation where our family, our community, our state, or our country is in a place where, let's say, in an hour, a nuclear bomb or an attack will go off unless this information was found, I believe that if I were the president of the United States that I would do everything in my power to keep the American people safe.}}{{Cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=2019-01-16 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, 2020 Democratic candidate, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/16/18182114/tulsi-gabbard-2020-president-campaign-explained |access-date=2019-02-20 |website=Vox}}

In a February 2019 interview with the Status Coup, Gabbard said, "Through my time on the armed services committee in congress over the last five years I've supported amendments to the defense bill that ban torture, ban these enhanced interrogation techniques, and as president will continue to strongly oppose torture and the use of those techniques".{{cite web |last=Status Coup |date=February 24, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Interview: Assad Meeting, Torture, Venezuela Coup, Corporate Media Blackout |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0q3mqsBeDA |via=YouTube}}

In 2011 and the following years, Gabbard repeatedly requested an end to the Afghanistan war.{{cite web |last=Letman |first=Jon |date=November 12, 2012 |title=The Cost of War: An Interview With Hawaii Congressional Candidate and Veteran Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://truthout.org/articles/the-cost-of-war-an-interview-with-hawaii-congressional-candidate-and-veteran-tulsi-gabbard/ |publisher=Truthout}}{{cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=May 19, 2012 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Calls For End to War in Afghanistan (2012) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIaSqdaT1Ig |website=Tulsi Gabbard on YouTube}}

At the Democratic debate on July 31, 2019, Gabbard accused Trump of continuing to betray Americans by repeatedly walking back his plans to withdraw from Afghanistan, adding that withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan was about leadership" and that "the leadership" she would bring would be "to do the right thing" and "bring our troops home within the first year in office and end the wasteful regime change wars …."{{cite news |date=July 31, 2019 |title=Gabbard accuses Trump of deceiving country on Afghanistan |newspaper=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/455679-gabbard-accuses-trump-of-deceiving-country-on-afghanistan/}}

After The Washington Post reported on long lasting and systematic misleading of the American public by the US government about the situation and progress of the Afghanistan war,{{cite news |last=Whitlock |first=Craig |date=December 9, 2019 |title=At war with the truth |newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/}} Gabbard said she would introduce legislation for a congressional inquiry into "the lying and wasting of taxpayer dollars" and lives of US service members. She accused the military-industrial complex, contractors and consultancy companies of profiting from "a scam that ripped the US taxpayers off over a trillion dollars since 9/11 in Afghanistan alone." Gabbard reiterated her request to bring US troops home from Afghanistan.{{cite news |last1=Enjeti |first1=Saagar |last2=Ball |first2=Krystal |date=December 10, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard reacts to Afghanistan report, calls out Pete's McKinsey work |newspaper=The Hill |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848_pap-X9I&t=54s |via=YouTube}}{{cite news |last=Bonn |first=Tess |date=December 10, 2019 |title=Gabbard calls for congressional inquiry over Afghanistan war report |newspaper=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/473902-gabbard-calls-for-congressional-inquiry-over-afghanistan-war-report/}}

Gabbard expressed her support for Armenia and the Armenian Christians{{cite news |title=Tulsi Gabbard: Turkey, which denies genocide, has no fear of committing it again |url=https://en.armradio.am/2019/11/01/tulsi-gabbard-turkey-which-denies-genocide-has-no-fear-of-committing-it-again/ |work=Public Radio of Armenia |date=November 1, 2019}} in the conflict with Azerbaijan. In 2017, Gabbard was part of a team of US lawmakers that visited Armenia, including the disputed, breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia.{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan Blacklists Three U.S. Lawmakers For Visiting Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-blacklists-three-us-lawmakers-visiting-nagorno-karabakh/28752231.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=September 23, 2017}} She has accused Turkey of encouraging and inciting 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and co-signed a letter expressing concern over Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and possible conflict with Armenia.{{cite news |title=Senate and House Leaders to Secretary of State Pompeo: Cut Military Aid to Azerbaijan; Sanction Turkey for Ongoing Attacks Against Armenia and Artsakh |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/02/senate-and-house-leaders-to-secretary-of-state-pompeo-cut-military-aid-to-azerbaijan-sanction-turkey-for-ongoing-attacks-against-armenia-and-artsakh/ |work=The Armenian Weekly |date=October 2, 2020}}

In 2019, Gabbard was also a co-sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution legislation, along with several other US Senators and US Representatives, to push for an official US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.{{cite news |title=US presidential candidates line up behind Armenian Genocide resolution |url=https://www.tert.am/en/news/2019/06/05/us-armenia/3016994 |work=Tert.am |date=May 6, 2019 }} Regarding the 1915 mass killings, Gabbard said that "the Ottoman Empire was attempting to cleanse itself of the Armenian and Christian populations, and the US became home to many survivors". In 2021, United States finally recognized the Ottoman-era mass killings of Armenians as a genocide, in spite of opposition by Turkey.{{cite news |title=Breaking With Predecessors, Biden Declares Mass Killings of Armenians a Genocide |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/us/politics/armenia-genocide-joe-biden.html |work=NY Times |date=April 24, 2021 }}

During her 2020 presidential campaign, Gabbard criticized President Donald Trump's confrontational attitude towards China, instead proposing a cooperative relationship to confront global challenges such as climate change. She opposed Trump's trade war with China, calling his approach "extremely volatile" and having "ravaging and devastating effects" on both manufacturers and farmers, while expressing concern the trade war could eventually lead to a "hot war" with China. She also stated her belief that the trade war has made it more difficult to secure Chinese support over a nuclear deal with North Korea; she said America should work with China on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-24 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Foreign Policy |url=https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/tulsi-gabbard |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}

File:The Member of House of Representatives of the United States, Ms. Tulsi Gabbard calls on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New York on September 28, 2014.jpg in New York on September 28, 2014]]

Gabbard supports a strong US-India relationship "of mutual respect … for many reasons—not the least of which is the war against terrorists."{{Cite news |last=Balachandran |first=Manu |title=Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu in US Congress, on Modi, Hinduism, and linking Islam to terror |newspaper=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/628124/tulsi-gabbard-the-first-hindu-in-the-us-congress-on-modi-hinduism-and-linking-islam-to-terror/ |access-date=February 12, 2017}} In 2014, she visited India and met with officials from both the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party and the major opposition party, Indian National Congress.{{Cite web |last=Gowda |first=Rajeev |author-link=Rajeev Gowda |date=2018-09-09 |title=Terrific meeting Rep @TulsiGabbard (D-HI) again at the Indiaspora event at San Jose & speaking at the same US-India MPs session along with her and @Congressman Raja. |url=https://twitter.com/rajeevgowda/status/1038697480232288258?lang=en |access-date=2019-12-21 |website=@rajeevgowda |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Tharoor |first=Shashi |author-link=Shashi Tharoor |date=2014-12-17 |title=Hosted dinner yesterday for @TulsiGabbard, Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaïi, soldier, surfer & practising Hindu |url=https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/545457763883560960/photo/1 |access-date=2019-12-21 |website=@ShashiTharoor |language=en}} Around 2015, some critics charged that she was close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist party.{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2015 |title=Sangh finds a mascot in American Tulsi |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/sangh-finds-a-mascot-in-american-tulsi/cid/1579985 |access-date=2019-12-15 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |publisher=Telegraph India |language=en}} Gabbard disputed the claims that she was partial to any political party in India.{{Cite web |date=December 17, 2014 |title=US Should Not Be Policing the World: US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/the-buck-stops-here/us-should-not-be-policing-the-world-us-congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-348891 |access-date=February 16, 2019 |website=NDTV}}

Gabbard was critical of the U.S. decision to deny Modi a visa over allegations of his involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots, calling it a "great blunder" that could have undermined the U.S.-India relationship. In 2013 she joined some of her colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in opposing a House resolution that called for continuing the ban on Modi and for "religious freedom and related human rights to be included in the United States-India Strategic Dialogue and for such issues to be raised directly with federal and state Indian government officials". The bill admonished India to protect "the rights and freedoms of religious minorities" and specifically mentioned incidents of mass violence against India's Muslim minority that took place during Modi's tenure. Gabbard justified her opposition by saying the resolution would weaken the friendship between India and the US and citing its timing as potential interference in the Indian elections, while emphasizing the need for the U.S. to stand for religious freedom.{{Citation |last=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |title=Statement of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard at the 4/4 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing |date=April 9, 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kWm2ai9yjE |access-date=February 25, 2017}}

In January 2019, an article in The Intercept targeted Gabbard's association with some US-based Hindu diaspora organizations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America and the Hindu American Foundation. Gabbard clarified that meeting with an elected leader was not evidence of any collusion with that leader's organization. An earlier version of The Intercept{{'}}s article searched Gabbard's donor list for "names ... of Hindu origin" to "show Gabbard's broad base of support in the Hindu-American community". Gabbard criticized this as religious bigotry, saying that Christians would not be subject to such scrutiny based on their names.{{cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=January 26, 2019 |title=Religious Bigotry is Un-American And Must Be Condemned |url=https://medium.com/@TulsiGabbard/religious-bigotry-is-un-american-and-must-be-condemned-9f1897a768c4 |access-date=January 29, 2017 |website=medium.com}} The Intercept removed the sentence with an apology, saying that it was not intended "to question the motives of those political donors" and apologizing "for any such implication".

In March 2025, Gabbard visited India in her role as Director of National Intelligence, and noted that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi were good friends.{{Cite web |title=MSNBC forced to make embarrassing on-air correction for misreport on Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/msnbc-forced-to-make-embarrassing-on-air-correction-for-misreport-on-tulsi-gabbard/ar-AA1Bh2Vg |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.msn.com}} The MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle was forced to correct her erroneous reporting on the India trip, in which she falsely claimed that Gabbard said President Trump and Russian President Putin were "very good friends."{{Cite web |last=Panreck |first=Hanna |date=2025-03-19 |title=MSNBC hosts forced to make on-air corrections to erroneous reports about Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-hosts-forced-make-on-air-corrections-erroneous-reports-about-tulsi-gabbard |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} Ruhle accepted her mistake on air and offered a clarification that, after reviewing Gabbard's full interview, it was clear that Gabbard was not referring to Putin, but was instead mentioning Trump and the Indian Prime Minister Modi being good friends.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-18 |title=Gabbard says Trump is 'looking forward to success' ahead of talk with Putin |url=https://apnews.com/article/gabbard-russia-trump-putin-d4f20f73d1c16dd7e365eae782ff9c5f |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=AP News |language=en}}

In 2013, Gabbard co-sponsored and voted for the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act, which imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.{{Cite web |date=August 2013 |title=H.R.850 - Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/850/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded&KWICView=false |access-date=April 17, 2020 |work=Congress.gov}}

In 2014, Gabbard described Iran as the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism".{{cite web |date=March 4, 2014 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Renews Calls for Critical Funding for Missile Defense in FY2015 Budget |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-renews-calls-critical-funding-missile-defense-fy2015-budget |work=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320010755/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-renews-calls-critical-funding-missile-defense-fy2015-budget |url-status=dead }}

Despite her initial criticism of it,{{Cite web |date=July 14, 2015 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Remains Cautious on Iran Nuclear Deal |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-remains-cautious-iran-nuclear-deal |work=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319190031/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-remains-cautious-iran-nuclear-deal |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |date=January 17, 2019 |title=Yes, Tulsi Gabbard Opposed the Iran Deal |work=Jacobin |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2019/01/yes-tulsi-gabbard-iran-deal-war-hawk}} Gabbard voted in favor of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement with Iran that imposed restraints on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.{{cite news |last=Reichman |first=Deb |date=September 11, 2015 |title=Hawaii House members vote for Iran nuclear deal |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/2015/09/11/breaking-news/hawaii-house-members-vote-for-iran-nuclear-deal-2/ |access-date=November 21, 2016}} She opposes the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the JCPOA and has said that as president she would reenter the agreement, but also negotiate on remaining issues in order to find a diplomatic solution and deescalate tensions.{{cite news |date=17 May 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard on why she wants to prioritize foreign policy |work=PBS NewsHour |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/tulsi-gabbard-on-why-she-wants-to-prioritize-foreign-policy |access-date=19 May 2019}}

In May 2019 Gabbard warned about the danger, costs, and consequences of a potential war with Iran and criticized the Trump administration for elevating tensions.{{cite news |date=16 May 2019 |title=Gabbard: US must not go to war with Iran |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/444197-gabbard-us-must-not-go-to-war-with-iran/ |access-date=19 May 2019}}{{cite news |date=May 18, 2019 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard warns war with Iran would make Iraq War 'look like a cakewalk' |work=FOX News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tulsi-gabbard-warning-war-with-iran |access-date=May 19, 2019}}{{cite news |date=19 May 2019 |title=2020 candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard presses that US must not go to war with Iran |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2020-candidate-rep-tulsi-gabbard-presses-us-war/story?id=63123990 |access-date=19 May 2019}} She said it would be illegal for the Trump administration to take action against Iran relying on a 2001 law that authorized the use of U.S. Armed Forces against those responsible for the September 11 attacks and any "associated forces".{{cite news |date=June 14, 2019 |title=Mike Pompeo Said Congress Doesn't Need to Approve War With Iran. 2020 Democrats Aren't Having It. |work=The Intercept |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/06/14/mike-pompeo-iran-war-authorization/}}

In January 2020 Gabbard denounced President Trump's assassination of Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as an act of war against Iran without congressional declaration of war and thereby violation of the U.S. Constitution.{{Cite web |last=Stockler |first=Asher |date=2020-01-03 |title=Tulsi Gabbard called the Soleimani strike an "act of war," saying that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-trump-soleimani-iran-1480311 |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Newsweek|language=en}} She questioned what the actual goal of the U.S. administration in Iraq is and warned of an Iranian retaliation that could lead to a devastating war.{{Cite web |last=Duster |first=Chandelis |date= 8 January 2020|title=Tulsi Gabbard says 'no justification whatsoever' by Trump administration for killing Soleimani |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/tulsi-gabbard-no-justification-for-killing-soleimani-cnntv/index.html |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=CNN}}

Gabbard said the U.S. regime change wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria caused Iraq and Syria to seek support from Iran and thereby created the growing influence of Iran in Iraq and Syria which the U.S. now attempts to counter militarily.{{cite news |last=Musto |first=Julia |date=January 3, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard rips Soleimani strike: Trump isn't acting like he wants to end 'forever wars' |work=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/qassem-soleimani-tulsi-gabbard-trump-iran}}{{cite news |date=January 3, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard slams Soleimani airstrike |work=Fox News on YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1cOUisJKoE}} After U.S. troops announced they suspended their anti-terror operations in Iraq to concentrate on handling the fallout from Soleimani's assassination,{{cite news |last=Sabbagh |first=Dan |date=January 5, 2020 |title=Anti-Isis coalition suspends operations as Iraqi MPs vote to expel US troops |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/05/anti-isis-coalition-suspends-operations-as-iraqi-mps-vote-to-expel-us-troops}} Gabbard said the act of war against Iran broke the fragile alliance between Iran, Iraq and the U.S. in combating ISIS, potentially causing a resurgence of terrorist groups. Iran's withdrawal from the JCPOA{{cite news |last=Lister |first=Tim |date=January 6, 2020 |title=Iran drives another stake into the heart of the nuclear deal |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/04/middleeast/iran-soleimani-nuclear-deal-intl/index.html}} means Iran gets closer to acquiring nuclear weapon capability according to Gabbard, who requested an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Syria to prevent the U.S. getting into the "quagmire" of a prolonged militarily "tit-for-tat".{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Victor |date=January 8, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard calls Hillary Clinton a 'warmonger,' says US troops should leave Iraq and Syria |work=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/rep-gabbard-calls-hillary-clinton-a-warmonger-calls-for-troops-to-leave-iraq-and-syria}}{{cite news |last=Carlson |first=Tucker |date=January 8, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard: 'Everybody knows' Hillary Clinton is a 'war-monger' |work=Fox News on YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29-LniyAJnE}}{{cite news |last=Fearnow |first=Benjamin |date=January 5, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Demands 'No War With Iran,' Says There Is 'No American Victory' in Middle East |publisher=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-demands-us-troops-withdraw-iraq-syria-1480462}}

She would deescalate tensions with Iran by ending the "crippling" economic sanctions and reentering JCPOA to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapon capability.{{cite news |last=Tur |first=Katy |date=January 9, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard discusses how she would handle an escalating crisis with Iran |publisher=MSNBC |url=https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/tulsi-gabbard-discusses-how-she-would-handle-an-escalating-crisis-with-iran-76367941813}}{{cite news |last=Tur |first=Katy |date=January 9, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard On Conflict With Iran: 'We've Got To Choose Diplomacy' Katy Tur MSNBC |publisher=MSNBC on YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WWfkxOt14w}} This was in stark contrast to her previous support for Iranian sanctions.

The intelligence briefing by the Trump administration did not convince Gabbard about the alleged "imminent threat" by Soleimani and gave "no justification whatsoever for this illegal and unconstitutional act of war". In her view, President Trump's actions showed a lack of basic understanding and foresight in national security.{{cite news |last=Duster |first=Chandelis |date=January 8, 2020 |title=Tulsi Gabbard says 'no justification whatsoever' by Trump administration for killing Soleimani |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/tulsi-gabbard-no-justification-for-killing-soleimani-cnntv/index.html}}{{cite news |last=Tapper |first=Jake |date=January 8, 2020 |title=President Trump No justification Whatsoever By CNN |publisher=CNN via YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgZ7ab-ddk}} Gabbard held a floor speech in the House to advocate for passing H.Con.Res.83{{cite web |last=Slotkin |first=Elissa |date=January 8, 2020 |title=H.Con.Res.83 - Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/83 |website=116th Congress (2019-2020)}} which reasserts the Constitutional authority of Congress to declare war and specifically directs the President to terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran. H.Con.Res.83 passed the House with a 224–194 vote.{{cite web |date=January 9, 2020 |title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 7 |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2020/roll007.xml |publisher=House of Representatives}}

Since 2018, Gabbard had repeatedly attempted to insert amendments into the National Defense Authorization Act to prevent the President from starting a war with Iran without congressional approval, and she introduced the No More Presidential Wars Act to define starting or joining a war without congressional approval an impeachable "high crime and misdemeanor".{{cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=May 30, 2020 |title=H.Res.411 - Defining Presidential wars not declared by Congress under article I, section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) as impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors" within the meaning of article II, section 4 of the Constitution and defining the meanings of war and cobelligerency for purposes of the Declare War Clause and Impeachment provisions. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/411 |website=116th Congress (2019-2020)}} However, these previous legislative efforts did not find majorities in Congress.{{cite news |date=January 9, 2020 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Votes to Pass War Powers Resolution |publisher=Maui Now |url=https://mauinow.com/2020/01/09/rep-tulsi-gabbard-votes-to-pass-war-powers-resolution/}} Her campaign streamed a panel discussion with Stephen Kinzer and Dennis Kucinich on the Iran–United States relations in a collaboration with Kim Iversen.Tulsi Gabbard (January 15, 2020). {{YouTube|s-W9b-_K_Xo|Tulsi talks IRAN with Guests Stephen Kinzer & Dennis Kucinich - Intro by Kim Iversen}}.

File:US congressional delegation at HISF 2014.jpg 2014]]

Gabbard supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. In March 2015, unlike 58 other Democrats, she did not boycott Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the U.S. Congress, saying at the time that relations "must rise above the political fray, as America continues to stand with Israel as her strongest ally".{{cite news |date=January 13, 2019 |title=Presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard loves Israel, just not the Gaza border |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Democratic-presidential-contender-Gabbard-supports-and-criticizes-Israel-577149}} On July 14, 2015, Gabbard attended the Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a conservative-leaning organization.{{cite journal |last=Hill |first=Evan |date=January 17, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Deceptive Foreign Policy |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-president-foreign-islam/ |journal=The Nation |via=www.thenation.com |access-date=August 26, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820145253/https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-president-foreign-islam/ |url-status=dead }}

In January 2017, Gabbard voted against a House resolution condemning the U.N. Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements built in the West Bank. She said: "While I remain concerned about aspects of the U.N. resolution, I share the Obama administration's reservation about the harmful impact Israeli settlement activity has on the prospects for peace." She criticized Israel's use of live ammunition along the Gaza fence in May 2018.

In March 2019, Gabbard responded to controversies arising from tweets by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) suggesting US support for Israel is motivated by money, which were characterized by both Democrats and Republicans as anti-Semitic. Gabbard told CNN, "There are people who have expressed their offense at these statements. I think that what Congresswoman Omar was trying to get at was a deeper issue related to our foreign policy, and I think there's an important discussion that we have to be able to have openly, even though we may end up disagreeing at the end of it, but we've got to have that openness to have the conversation."{{cite web |author1=Rocha, Veronica |author2=Ries, Brian |date=March 10, 2019 |title=Gabbard says she doesn't think Rep. Ilhan Omar was trying to offend anyone with her tweets |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/sxsw-town-hall-delaney-gabbard-buttigieg/h_d06bbf6e1f7b1e4ff2a75876114047ed/ |publisher=CNN}}

On July 23, 2019, Gabbard voted in favor of House Resolution 246, which expressed House opposition to the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) movement as delegitimizing the State of Israel, re-affirmed support for a two-state solution, and affirmed U.S. citizens rights to protest or criticize the policies of the U.S. or foreign governments.{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Bradley Scott |date=2019-07-23 |title=Text - H.Res.246 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/246/text |access-date=2019-12-23 |website=www.congress.gov}} Gabbard explained her vote by saying that she supported "a two-state solution that provides for the rights of both Israel and Palestine to exist, and for their people to live in peace, with security, in their homes. I don't believe the BDS movement is the only or best way to accomplish that. However, I will continue to defend those who choose to exercise their right to free speech without threat of legal action."{{Cite web |title=Why I voted for HRes 246 {{!}} TULSI 2020 |url=https://www.tulsi2020.com/a/why-i-voted-hres-246 |access-date=2019-12-23 |website=TULSI2020.com |language=en |archive-date=2019-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223053320/https://www.tulsi2020.com/a/why-i-voted-hres-246 |url-status=dead}}

On July 30, 2019, Gabbard co-sponsored House Resolution 496, introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar on July 17, which "affirms that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution".{{Cite web |last=Omar |first=Ilhan |date=2019-07-30 |title=Text - H.Res.496 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/496/text |access-date=2019-12-23 |website=www.congress.gov}} Omar, shortly before introducing the bill, declared it "an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a non-violent movement, which is the BDS movement".{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} Gabbard explained that she co-sponsored the resolution "to affirm our freedom of speech and rights to protest or boycott for any cause", and stated that she "will continue to oppose unconstitutional legislation ... that seeks to restrict freedom of speech by imposing legal penalties against those who participate in the BDS movement".

On November 14, 2023, Gabbard criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not joining the March for Israel to show solidarity with Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/tulsi-gabbard-calls-out-biden-harris-not-attending-israel-rally|work=Washington Examiner|date=November 14, 2023|title=Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard calls out Biden and Harris for not attending March for Israel rally in DC}}

In December 2023, Gabbard said that "As we remember Japan's aggression in the Pacific, we need to ask ourselves this question: is the remilitarization of Japan, which is presently underway, truly a good idea? We need to be careful that shortsighted, self-serving leaders do not end up bringing us again face-to-face with a remilitarized Japan".{{cite web |author=Maya Mehrara |date=November 14, 2024 |title=What Tulsi Gabbard Has Said About Russia, Ukraine, China |url=https://www.newsweek.com/what-tulsi-gabbard-has-said-about-russia-ukraine-china-1985839 |access-date=November 21, 2024 |website=Newsweek}}{{cite web |date=November 15, 2024 |title=U.S. intelligence head nominee made possibly hostile remarks on Japan |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/15/japan/gabbard-japan-hostile-remark/ |access-date=November 21, 2024 |website=The Japan Times}}

In 2015, Gabbard claimed it was "understandable, given that Iran is right on their doorstep and this threat from Iran remains a concern" for Saudi Arabia to pursue its own nuclear program.{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2015 |title=CNN: Rep. Gabbard Comments on Iran, ISIS, & Saudi King Salman's Declination to President Obama's Gulf Summit Meeting |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/in-the-news/cnn-rep-gabbard-comments-iran-isis-saudi-king-salman-s-declination-president-obama |work=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319175538/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/in-the-news/cnn-rep-gabbard-comments-iran-isis-saudi-king-salman-s-declination-president-obama |url-status=dead }}

Gabbard opposed a $1.15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. She declared, "The U.S. must stop arming Saudi Arabia, stop fueling this fire and hold Saudi Arabia accountable for their actions."{{cite news |last=Rebecca |first=Kheel |date=September 24, 2016 |title=Saudi skeptics gain strength in Congress |newspaper=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/297562-saudi-skeptics-gain-strength-in-congress/ |quote=Saudi Arabia continues to spend billions of dollars funding the spread of the Wahhabi Salafist ideology that fuels groups like ISIS, al Qaeda and other jihadist groups around the world. The U.S. must stop arming Saudi Arabia, stop fueling this fire and hold Saudi Arabia accountable for their actions.}}{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2017 |title=Gabbard condemns arms sale to Saudi Arabia {{!}} Asian American Press |url=http://aapress.com/government/gabbard-condemns-arms-sale-to-saudi-arabia/ |website=aapress.com}}

Gabbard has called for ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, saying the U.S. is complicit in a humanitarian disaster.{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=September 21, 2018 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: It is outrageous that the US is supporting a genocidal war in Yemen |url=https://therealnews.com/rep-tulsi-gabbard-it-is-outrageous-that-the-us-is-supporting-a-genocidal-war-in-yemen |url-status=live |access-date=March 26, 2025 |website=The Real News Network}} In September 2018 she supported legislation invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to stop U.S. involvement in the war.{{cite news |date=September 26, 2018 |title=House lawmakers pursue end to US military role in Yemen |work=Stars and Stripes |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/house-lawmakers-pursue-end-to-us-military-role-in-yemen-1.549262}}

In November 2018, after Trump indicated the U.S. would not sanction Saudi Arabia over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Gabbard tweeted at Trump, "being Saudi Arabia's bitch is not 'America First’."{{cite web |last1=Bowden |first1=John |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Gabbard says being Saudi Arabia's 'bitch' is not 'America First' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/417850-gabbard-says-being-saudi-arabias-bitch-is-not-america-first/ |access-date=November 23, 2018 |website=The Hill}}

In October 2019, Gabbard requested the Trump administration to end all aid to Saudi Arabia until the findings of its investigation into possible Saudi involvement in the September 11 attacks are made public.{{cite web |last=Fearnow |first=Benjamin |date=October 29, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Demands US End Saudi Aid, Ties Government to 9/11 Terrorist Hijackers |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-demands-answers-911-terrorist-attacks-saudi-arabia-government-ties-hijackers-khashoggi-1468511 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=Newsweek}}{{cite web |last=Creitz |first=Charles |date=November 1, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard wants findings of probe into possible Saudi 9/11 involvement declassified |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/tulsi-gabbard-saudi-arabia-report-september-11-government |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=Fox News}}

In 2013, Gabbard opposed the Obama administration's proposed military strikes in Syria{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=November 19, 2015 |title=Military Strike in Syria a Mistake |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tulsi-gabbard/military-strike-syria_b_3899803.html |access-date=March 2, 2016 |website=HuffPost}} and in November 2015 introduced legislation to block CIA activities in Syria and U.S. military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.{{Cite web |last=Tsuji |first=Erika |date=2015-11-19 |title=Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Austin Scott Introduce Legislation to End Illegal U.S. War to Overthrow Syrian Government of Assad |url=http://gabbard.house.gov/index.php/press-releases/520-reps-tulsi-gabbard-austin-scott-introduce-legislation-to-end-illegal-u-s-war-to-overthrow-syrian-government-of-assad |access-date=March 2, 2016 |publisher=gabbard.house.gov |archive-date=2016-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309051851/http://gabbard.house.gov/index.php/press-releases/520-reps-tulsi-gabbard-austin-scott-introduce-legislation-to-end-illegal-u-s-war-to-overthrow-syrian-government-of-assad |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last=Lin |first=Christina |date=December 9, 2016 |title=How US ends up training ISIS/Al Qaeda collaborators |newspaper=Times of Israel |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-us-ends-up-training-isisal-qaeda-collaborators/}} This legislation was referred to House committees{{cite web |date=November 19, 2015 |title=H.R.4108 - To prohibit the use of funds for the provision of assistance to Syrian opposition groups and individuals. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4108/all-actions-without-amendments |website=congress.gov}} and subsequently blocked.

In October, 2015, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Gabbard: "Does it not concern you that Bashar al-Assad's regime has been brutal, killing at least 200,000, maybe 300,000 of its own people?". Gabbard responded by commenting "the same things that are being said about Assad right now were said about Gadhafi" and Saddam Hussein "by those who were advocating for the U.S. to go in and intervene, to overthrow those regimes" and dictators. If the response is in the same way as in those wars, she continued, "we will end up with a situation far worse than we're seeing today ... with far greater human suffering, with far greater persecution of religious minorities and Christians in Syria, and our enemy will be far stronger." Hezbollah, and the Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria, were "working towards defeating our common enemy", meaning groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda, who she said made up "the vast majority" of the "so-called Syrian rebels."{{Cite web |last=Blitzer |first=Wolf |date=October 20, 2015 |title=Situation Room |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1510/20/sitroom.01.html |access-date=2019-12-31 |website=transcripts.cnn.com}}

In March 2016, Gabbard was one of three members of Congress to vote against House Resolution 121, which condemned the government of Syria and "other parties to the conflict" for war crimes and crimes against humanity,"{{Cite web |date=2016-03-15 |title=H.Con.Res.121 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/121/text |website=congress.gov}} saying that though Assad was a "brutal dictator," the resolution was "a War Bill—a thinly veiled attempt to use the rationale of 'humanitarianism' as a justification for overthrowing the Syrian government".{{Cite news |title=Gabbard criticizes Syrian resolution as 'war bill' |work=Washington Examiner |url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gabbard-criticizes-syrian-resolution-as-war-bill/article/2586059 |access-date=March 1, 2017}}{{cite web |date=2016-03-14 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Speaks Out Against Syria War Bill- H.Con.Res.121 |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-statement-vote-against-hconres121 |access-date=March 1, 2017 |website=house.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress |archive-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302193805/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-statement-vote-against-hconres121 |url-status=dead }} In November 2016, she met with Trump in an effort to convince him of her point of view.{{cite news |date=November 21, 2016 |title=Democrat meets with Trump and warns against Syria safe zone |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrat-meets-with-trump-and-warns-against-syria-safe-zone/2016/11/21/0b95c8aa-b035-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=November 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122194800/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrat-meets-with-trump-and-warns-against-syria-safe-zone/2016/11/21/0b95c8aa-b035-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html |archive-date=November 22, 2016}} In 2017, Gabbard cited US "regime-change" involvement in Syria as a source of the Syrian refugee crisis.{{Cite web |date=4 February 2017 |title=APA Members of Congress Critical of Executive Orders on Immigration |url=http://www.rafu.com/2017/02/apa-members-of-congress-critical-of-executive-orders-on-immigration/ |access-date=February 12, 2017 |website=rafu.com}}

In January 2017, Gabbard had two unplanned meetings with Assad during a trip to Syria and Lebanon.{{Cite web |last=Manchester |first=Julia |date=January 25, 2017 |title=Gabbard says she met with Assad on Syria trip |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/tulsi-gabbard-lead-syria/index.html |access-date=January 26, 2017 |website=CNN}}{{Cite news |last=Sherman |first=Jake |title=Rep. Gabbard says she met with Bashar al-Assad during Syria trip |website=Politico |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/tulsi-gabbard-met-bashar-al-assad-syria-234182 |access-date=January 26, 2017}}{{Cite web |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Gabbard met with Syrian president twice on recent trip |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/34462021/on-syria-trip-gabbard-met-with-syrian-president-twice |access-date=January 20, 2020 |website=Hawaii News Now}} Gabbard said that the Syrian people's message was "powerful and consistent: there is no difference between 'moderate' rebels and al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) or ISIS—they are all the same". She described the Syrian conflict as "a war between terrorists under the command of groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Syrian government".{{cite web |date=January 30, 2018 |title=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Urges U.S. to End Support of 'Terrorists' in Syria After Meeting Assad |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/congresswoman-urges-u-s-to-end-support-of-terrorists-in-syria-1.5490950 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |website=Haaretz}}{{cite web |title=CNN Exclusive: Rep. Gabbard on meeting with Assad |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=ID223ToMVxM?t=34 |access-date=20 July 2019 |website=YouTube | date=25 January 2017 |publisher=CNN}}

Following her meeting with Syrian religious leaders, Gabbard said in a blog post "Each [Syrian religious leader] called for peace, and an end to foreign support of terrorists who are trying to rid Syria of its secular, pluralistic, free society."{{Cite web |date= |title=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Returns From Syria with Renewed Calls: End Regime Change War in Syria Now {{!}} Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-returns-syria-renewed-calls-end-regime-change-war |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126103441/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-tulsi-gabbard-returns-syria-renewed-calls-end-regime-change-war |archive-date=2017-01-26 |access-date=2024-12-23 }} Asia Times, reporting on Gabbard's comments, said that Freedom House ranked Assad's Syria close to the bottom on its freedom rankings, below North Korea, China and Iran, calling it “one of the world’s most oppressive regimes.”{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Republican Adam Kinzinger said on the House floor "To say I’m disgusted would be an understatement,” “By meeting with the mass murderer of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Tulsi Gabbard has legitimized his dictatorship and, in turn, legitimized his genocide against the Syrian people - the murdering of 50,000+ innocent children among the nearly half million total slaughtered by his regime.”{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Hawaii News Now reported that Gabbard's visit to Assad was "roundly criticized" by both sides of the political spectrum for giving Assad international credibility despite the civilian deaths under his regime.{{Cite web |author=H. N. N. Staff |date=2017-04-07 |title=Gabbard: Syria's Assad should be 'executed' if he ordered chemical attack |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/35092270/gabbard-syrias-assad-should-be-executed-if-hes-behind-deadly-chemical-attack/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=www.hawaiinewsnow.com |language=en}} Hakim Ouansafi from the Muslim Association of Hawaii labeled the visit a "black mark" on Gabbard's record, citing international evidence of Assad's war crimes from the UN and Amnesty International.{{Cite web |last=Mendoza |first=Jim |date=2017-02-16 |title=Hawaii Muslim leader: Gabbard's Assad meeting a 'black mark' on record |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/34517300/hawaii-muslim-leader-critical-of-gabbards-meeting-with-assad/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=www.hawaiinewsnow.com |language=en}} However, some in the Hawaii Muslim community viewed her visit as independent and courageous, with University of Hawaii professor Ibrahim Aoude expressing admiration for her bravery.

Following her 2017 visit to Syria, Gabbard wrote on her blog "There is no difference between “moderate” rebels and al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) or ISIS — they are all the same. This is a war between terrorists under the command of groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Syrian government. They [the Syrian people] cry out for the U.S. and other countries to stop supporting those who are destroying Syria and her people."{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2017-01-24 |title=The Syrian People Desperately Want Peace |url=https://medium.com/@TulsiGabbard/the-syrian-people-desperately-want-peace-e308f1777a34#.x6vu12jo6 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Medium}}

In 2018 Gabbard characterized the US as waging a regime change war in Syria since 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-on-the-administrations-push-for-war-in-syria/|title=Tulsi Gabbard on the Administration's Push for War in Syria|last=Carden|first=James|date=September 20, 2018|work=The Nation|access-date=February 3, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111085938/https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-on-the-administrations-push-for-war-in-syria/|url-status=dead}}

In a February 2019 interview with MSNBC a month after the start of her presidential campaign, she said, "Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States"{{Cite web |title=Who is Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's new national intelligence director? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vnx8zn440o |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=www.bbc.com |date=14 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Watkins |first=Eli |date=2019-02-06 |title=Gabbard: 'Assad is not the enemy of the United States' {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/06/politics/tulsi-gabbard-syria-assad/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |work=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Haltiwanger |first=John |title=Tulsi Gabbard doubles-down on opposition to US intervention in Syria, says Syrian president and accused war criminal Assad is not America's 'enemy' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tulsi-gabbard-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad-not-americas-enemy-2019-2 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} In a subsequent interview on CNN, she said "There are brutal dictators in the world. Assad of Syria is one of them. That does not mean the United States should be waging regime-change wars around the world."{{Cite news |last=Hunt |first=Kasie |date=February 15, 2019 |title=CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt |url=https://x.com/CNNThisMorning/status/1096403730352635904 |access-date=December 7, 2024 |work=CNN}}

In August 2019, she said that Assad is "a brutal dictator. Just like Saddam Hussein. Just like Gadhafi in Libya. The reason that I'm so outspoken on this issue of ending these wasteful regime-change wars is because I have seen firsthand this high human cost of war and the impact that it has on my fellow brothers and sisters in uniform."{{cite news |title=Tulsi Gabbard: Bashar Assad is 'a brutal dictator' |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/01/politics/tulsi-gabbard-assad-dictator-cnntv/index.html |work=CNN |date=August 1, 2019}}

In April 2017, following the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Tulsi Gabbard was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. She emphasized that "What matters is the evidence and facts," stating she would denounce Assad as a war criminal if found responsible by an independent investigation. Gabbard expressed skepticism, noting, "So whether the President says that they have the evidence, the fact remains that they have not brought that evidence before Congress," and that Trump's military strike "flew directly in the face" of the UN's action "to launch an independent investigation, to find out exactly what the facts are, who was involved and who was responsible, so the appropriate consequences could be levied." She drew parallels to the Iraq War, warning against repeating "a counterproductive regime war" without clear evidence and congressional consent.{{Citation |title=Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer : CNNW : April 7, 2017 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT |date=2017-04-07 |url=https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20170407_220000_Situation_Room_With_Wolf_Blitzer/start/1620/end/1680 |access-date=2024-12-21 |others=CNNW}}{{Cite news |title=Democrats Shouldn't Be Trying to Banish Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-shouldnt-be-trying-to-banish-tulsi-gabbard/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229225236/https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-shouldnt-be-trying-to-banish-tulsi-gabbard/ |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |access-date=December 1, 2019 |work=The Nation |issn=0027-8378 |quote=A successful prosecution of Assad (at the International Criminal Court) will require collection of evidence from the scene of the incident, and I support the United Nation's efforts in this regard. Without such evidence, a successful prosecution is impossible.}}

CNN headlined their report on the interview: "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ‘skeptical’ that Assad regime behind gas attack"{{Cite web |last=Manduley |first=Christina |date=2017-04-08 |title=Congresswoman 'skeptical' Assad regime behind gas attack {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/07/politics/tulsi-gabbard-assad-chemical-weapons-blitzer-cnntv/index.html |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=CNN |language=en}} and tweeted "Rep. Gabbard: 'Yes, I’m skeptical' of claim Assad regime is behind chemical weapons attack."{{Cite web |date=2017-04-07 |title=The Situation Room |url=https://x.com/CNNSitRoom/status/850472946367815681 |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=X.com |publisher=CNN}}{{cite news |date=March 27, 2024 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Fast Facts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/us/tulsi-gabbard-fast-facts/index.html |access-date=October 31, 2024 |work=CNN |quote="Hawaii Army National Guard, 2003-2020, Major; US Army Reserve, 2020-present, Lieutenant Colonel"}} The Washington Post included the CNN tweet four days later in their "What is Tulsi Gabbard thinking on Syria?".{{Cite news |last=Viebeck |first=Elise |date=April 11, 2017 |title=What is Tulsi Gabbard thinking on Syria? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/04/11/what-is-tulsi-gabbard-thinking-on-syria |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112035800/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2fnews%2fpowerpost%2fwp%2f2017%2f04%2f11%2fwhat-is-tulsi-gabbard-thinking-on-syria%2f |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=January 10, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Other stories similarly reported Gabbard's 'skepticism' without mentioning her call for evidence to be presented to Congress and a UN investigation to determine appropriate consequences, with some linking to the CNN article or tweet.{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Eoin |date=2018-10-18 |title=What Is Tulsi Gabbard Fighting For? |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/tulsi-gabbards-foreign-policy-and-the-progressive-left.html |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}} Similar reporting reappeared in the run-up to and during her presidential campaign{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Alex |date=2018-10-19 |title=Tulsi Gabbard weighing 2020 presidential bid |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/19/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-bid-917418 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Rozsa |first=Matthew |date=2019-01-14 |title=Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard apologizes for anti-LGBT past to kick-off White House run |url=https://www.salon.com/2019/01/14/democratic-rep-tulsi-gabbard-apologizes-for-anti-lgbt-past-to-kick-off-white-house-run/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Salon |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |last=Nguyen |first=Tina |date=2019-01-14 |title=Is Tulsi Gabbard the Jill Stein of 2020? |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/01/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-run |access-date=2024-12-22 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Oliphant |first=James |title=Congresswoman Gabbard officially declares 2020 candidacy |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-gabbard/congresswoman-gabbard-officially-declares-2020-candidacy-idUSKCN1PR09L/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210630081804/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-gabbard/congresswoman-gabbard-officially-declares-2020-candidacy-idUSKCN1PR09L |archive-date=2021-06-30 |access-date=2024-12-22 |work=U.S. |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=2020-03-19 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign is officially over |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/19/20751585/tulsi-gabbard-drops-presidential-campaign-2020 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last1=Keith |first1=Tamara |last2=Rogers |first2=Josh |date=2019-07-09 |title=Which U.S. Wars Were Justifiable? Tulsi Gabbard Names Only World War II |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/08/739603781/which-u-s-wars-were-justifiable-tulsi-gabbard-names-only-world-war-ii |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=NPR}} and, again, after her being nominated for DNI{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=Trump's pick for top intel job has been accused of 'traitorous' parroting of Russian propaganda |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trumps-pick-top-intel-job-accused-traitorous-parroting-russian-propaga-rcna180073 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Epler |first=Patti |date=2024-12-02 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Through The Years: What A Long Strange Trip It's Been |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/12/tulsi-gabbard-through-the-years-what-a-long-strange-trip-its-been/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Wang |first1=Selina |last2=Lippiello |first2=Emily |last3=Abramoff |first3=Malka |date=2024-12-04 |title=Who is Tulsi Gabbard? Meet Trump's pick for director of national intelligence |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tulsi-gabbard-meet-trumps-pick-director-national-intelligence/story?id=116426049 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=ABC News |language=en}} Two articles that did mention Gabbard's focus on evidence were Politico in February 2019{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} and the BBC in November 2024.{{Cite web |title=Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's top spy pick, faces fresh scrutiny over Syria and Russia positions |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14l6jpykmjo |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=www.bbc.com |date=29 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}

On March 10, 2019, in a CNN Townhall, in response to Dana Bash asking "Do you remain skeptical as you were in 2017 that Bashir al Assad used chemical warfare against Syrian civilians?", Gabbard said: "I want to correct that... Chemical weapons have been used in Syria, both by the Syrian government as well as different terrorist groups... The skepticism and the questions that I raised were very specific around incidents that the Trump administration was trying to use as an excuse to launch a U.S. military attack in Syria...."{{Citation |title=Tulsi Gabbard: CNN Town Hall : CNNW : March 10, 2019 5:00pm-6:01pm PDT |date=2019-03-11 |url=https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20190311_000000_Tulsi_Gabbard_CNN_Town_Hall/start/47/end/107?q=(Assad)+AND+(Gabbard)+AND+(misunderstood)+AND+date%253A%5B2019-03-01+TO+2019-03-11%5D |access-date=2024-12-21 |others=CNNW}}

On March 29, 2019, Tom McCarthy of The Guardian wrote that Gabbard had "repeatedly cast doubt on the wealth of evidence that the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, used chemical weapons on his own people."{{cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Tom |date=May 13, 2019 |title=Who is Tulsi Gabbard? The progressive 2020 hopeful praised by Bannon and the right |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/18/tulsi-gabbard-2020-progressive-steve-bannon-right |access-date=August 26, 2019 |website=The Guardian}}

In August 2019, the Tulsi 2020 presidential campaign published “Reports on Chemical Attacks in Syria” on her campaign website.{{citation |url=https://www.tulsi2020.com/record/reports-chemical-attacks-syria |title=Reports on Chemical Attacks in Syria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803185359/https://www.tulsi2020.com/record/reports-chemical-attacks-syria|archive-date=2019-08-03 |access-date=2024-12-23 |url-status=dead}} The document said that there "is evidence" that both sides have used chemical weapons in Syria, but that Gabbard "remained skeptical" of the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, and the Douma chemical attack. According to Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group specializing in fact-checking and open-source intelligence, Gabbard's document presented a number of factual errors and misleading statements.{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Eliot |date=2019-08-04 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Reports on Chemical Attacks in Syria - A Self-Contradictory Error Filled Mess |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/08/04/tulsi-gabbards-reports-on-chemical-attacks-in-syria-a-self-contradictory-error-filled-mess/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=bellingcat |language=en-GB}} However, Bellingcat's critique did not indicate Gabbard's document was a compilation and juxtaposition of various analyses and reports as a skeptical check on official narratives rather than definitive conclusions.

Gabbard expressed skepticism regarding claims that Assad used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, saying that "there is evidence to suggest that the attacks may have been staged by opposition forces for the purpose of drawing the United States and the West deeper into the war."{{Cite web |last=Choi |first=Matthew |title=Gabbard refuses to say if Assad is a U.S. adversary |url=https://politi.co/2SxplVj |access-date=2019-02-10 |website=Politico|date=6 February 2019 |language=en}} Following the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Gabbard called for a U.N. investigation into the attack and prosecution of Assad by the International Criminal Court should he be found responsible.{{Cite news |last=Greenwood |first=Max |date=April 6, 2017 |title=Gabbard: US attack on Syrian airfield 'short-sighted,' reckless |work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/327743-dem-rep-us-attack-on-syrian-airfield-short-sighted-reckless/ |access-date=April 21, 2017}}{{Cite news |title=Democrats Shouldn't Be Trying to Banish Tulsi Gabbard |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-shouldnt-be-trying-to-banish-tulsi-gabbard/ |access-date=April 21, 2017 |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229225236/https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-shouldnt-be-trying-to-banish-tulsi-gabbard/ |url-status=dead}} After Trump ordered the 2017 Shayrat missile strike targeting the Syrian airfield believed to be the source of the attack, Gabbard called the strike reckless "without care or consideration of the dire consequences of the United States attack on Syria without waiting for the collection of evidence from the scene of the chemical poisoning."{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Max |date=2017-04-06 |title=Gabbard: US attack on Syrian airfield 'short-sighted,' reckless |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/327743-dem-rep-us-attack-on-syrian-airfield-short-sighted-reckless/ |access-date=2020-01-11 |website=The Hill|language=en}} Her statements were sharply criticized both by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden.{{cite news |date=April 9, 2017 |title=Liberal leaders call for challenge to Gabbard over Syria skepticism |publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/09/politics/democratic-leaders-gabbard-syria/ |access-date=April 11, 2017}}

In a 2018 interview with The Nation, Gabbard said the United States had "been waging a regime change war in Syria since 2011. Central to that war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad, the U.S., along with its allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, has been providing direct and indirect support to terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda".{{cite news |last=Carden |first=James |date=September 20, 2018 |title=Tulsi Gabbard on the Administration's Push for War in Syria |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-on-the-administrations-push-for-war-in-syria/ |access-date=February 3, 2019 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111085938/https://www.thenation.com/article/tulsi-gabbard-on-the-administrations-push-for-war-in-syria/ |url-status=dead }} In an August 2019 interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo,{{cite news |last=Hains |first=Tim |date=August 2, 2019 |title=CNN's Cuomo Grills Tulsi Gabbard: You Need To Acknowledge Bashar al-Assad Is A Muderous Despot |work=RealClear Politics |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/08/02/cnns_cuomo_grills_tulsi_gabbard_you_need_to_acknowledge_bashar_al-assad_is_a_muderous_despot.html |access-date=August 17, 2019}} Gabbard said of Assad: "He's a brutal dictator. Just like Saddam Hussein. Just like Gadhafi in Libya. The reason that I'm so outspoken on this issue of ending these wasteful regime-change wars is because I have seen firsthand this high human cost of war and the impact that it has on my fellow brothers and sisters in uniform".{{cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Paul |date=August 2, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard: Bashar Assad is 'a brutal dictator' |publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/01/politics/tulsi-gabbard-assad-dictator-cnntv/ |access-date=August 16, 2019}}

In August 2019, Eliot Higgins described Gabbard's views on chemical weapons usage in the Syrian Civil War, as expressed on her campaign website, as a "contradictory error-filled mess".{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Eliot |date=2019-08-04 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Reports on Chemical Attacks in Syria - A Self-Contradictory Error Filled Mess |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/08/04/tulsi-gabbards-reports-on-chemical-attacks-in-syria-a-self-contradictory-error-filled-mess/ |access-date=2019-11-30 |website=bellingcat |language=en-GB}}

Gabbard told The Washington Post in September 2019: "It is in our national security interests to end our regime change war in Syria. That war is prolonging the suffering of the Syrians, preventing Syrian refugees from returning home, strengthening al-Qaeda and Iran’s influence. Diplomatic relations are not a stamp of approval — they’re necessary to prevent war and resolve conflict. I would reestablish relations with Syria, whoever their president is, and work to bring peace to its long-suffering people."{{Cite news |date=September 12, 2019 |title=Where 2020 Democrats stand on foreign policy: Would you reopen diplomatic relations with the Syrian government if Bashar al-Assad remains in power? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/foreign-policy/syria-assad-negotiations/ |access-date=September 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912024736/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/foreign-policy/syria-assad-negotiations/ |archive-date=September 12, 2019}}

In October 2019, Gabbard introduced legislation{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=October 31, 2019 |title=H.Con.Res.70 - Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Syrian Arab Republic that have not been authorized by Congress |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/70/text/ih |access-date=November 4, 2019 |work=116th Congress (2019-2020)}} invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to remove all troops from Syria which have no congressional authorization for deployment.{{Cite news |last=DeCamp |first=Dave |date=November 3, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to Withdraw Troops from Syria |publisher=AntiWar.com |url=https://news.antiwar.com/2019/11/03/tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-to-withdraw-troops-from-syria/ |access-date=November 4, 2019}} The legislation specifically opposes US President Trump's announcement to militarily "secure the oil" in Syria with the prospect of perhaps having to "fight for it",{{Cite news |date=October 28, 2019 |title='We're Leaving Soldiers To Secure The Oil' In Syria |magazine=Newsweek |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/c/were-leaving-soldiers-to-secure-the-oil-in-syria/vp-AAJtpc9 |access-date=November 4, 2019}}{{Cite news |last=Finnegan |first=Conor |date=October 28, 2019 |title='We're keeping the oil' in Syria, Trump says, but it's considered a war crime |publisher=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/keeping-oil-syria-trump-considered-war-crime/story?id=66589757 |access-date=November 4, 2019}} as well as Secretary of Defense Esper's announcement to deny Syrian forces access to the oil.{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Phil |date=October 28, 2019 |title=U.S. military envisions broad defense of Syrian oilfields |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-usa-oil/u-s-military-envisions-broad-defense-of-syrian-oilfields-idUSKBN1X72BH |access-date=November 4, 2019}} Gabbard called the US government's action in Syria "the next step of the modern day siege that has been happening in Syria since 2011. It deprives the Syrian people of the resources they need to survive and to rebuild their lives."{{Cite news |last=Blitzer |first=Ronn |date=November 3, 2019 |title=Gabbard disputes claim she interviewed for Trump admin role, takes shots at Clinton |publisher=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gabbard-disputes-claim-she-interviewed-for-trump-admin-takes-shots-at-clinton |access-date=November 4, 2019}} Gabbard also called for an end to arming terrorist groups and an end to the "draconian" sanctions against Syria that prevent "the most vulnerable people" in Syria from getting "power, food and medicine".{{Cite news |last=Velshi |first=Ali |date=October 31, 2019 |title=Rep. Gabbard on Syria: 'I've been there. I've seen the loss of life.' |publisher=MSNBC |url=https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/rep-gabbard-on-syria-i-ve-been-there-i-ve-seen-the-loss-of-life-72520261639 |access-date=November 4, 2019}}

In October 2019, Gabbard described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "radical Islamist megalomaniac" and accused his government of supporting the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State terror organizations.{{Cite news |date=October 31, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Blasts Turkey's Erdogan as 'Radical Islamist Megalomaniac' Who Helps ISIS |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/gabbard-blasts-turkey-s-erdogan-as-radical-islamist-megalomaniac-who-helps-isis-1.8058316}} This earned her support from prominent Erdogan critic and NBA player Enes Kanter.{{Cite web |last=Feldman |first=Dan |date=2019-10-30 |title=Enes Kanter rips Rep. Ilhan Omar for opposing sanctions on Turkey |url=https://nba.nbcsports.com/2019/10/30/enes-kanter-rips-rep-ilhan-omar-for-opposing-sanctions-on-turkey/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=ProBasketballTalk {{!}} NBC Sports |language=en-US}} She has described the method by which Trump partially withdrew troops from northeastern Syria as "laying out a red-carpet, a green light for Erdoğan and Turkey to launch an ethnic cleansing and offensive against the Kurds."{{cite news |date=October 11, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard rips Trump's Syria decision: 'Kurds are now paying the price' |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/465431-gabbard-rips-trumps-syria-decision-kurds-are-now-paying-the-price/}}

Gabbard opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and led protests against it.{{Cite web |title=One Million Anti-TPP Petitions Delivered to Congress |url=http://nhlabornews.com/2016/02/51126/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111202137/http://nhlabornews.com/2016/02/51126/ |archive-date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2016 |website=NH Labor News}} A member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, she criticized both the deal itself and the secrecy surrounding the negotiations:{{cite web |date=October 5, 2015 |title=Gabbard Comments Following TPP Finalized Agreement |url=http://bigislandnow.com/2015/10/05/gabbard-comments-following-tpp-finalized-agreement/ |access-date=March 2, 2016 |website=Big Island Now}} "Because of a woeful lack of transparency, the American people know very little about his this agreement will benefit multi-national corporations at the expense of the American worker. … Despite the lack of transparency, one can predict the impact of TPP and whose interests this deal will serve, based on who favors the agreement."{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=August 2, 2015 |title=Like other trade agreements, TPP likely will cause a massive loss of U.S. jobs—and at an unprecedented rate |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/266353520/?terms=transparency+tulsi+gabbard+government |access-date=2019-08-30 |website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |language=en}}

In the wake of the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Gabbard said the United States needed to stay out of Venezuela and not get involved in overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. She said Venezuela, not the United States, should choose its government.{{Cite news |title=US needs to stay out of Venezuela, says Tulsi Gabbard - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-needs-to-stay-out-of-venezuela-says-tulsi-gabbard/articleshow/67694370.cms |access-date=2019-08-26 |website=The Times of India|date=25 January 2019 }}

Aside from the "one main issue that is central to the rest, … war and peace", Gabbard highlights the following as the most important issues to her: national health insurance, big pharmaceutical and insurance companies; criminal justice reform, drug laws and the private prison industry; financial reform, including holding big banks and their executives accountable; and climate change and pollution.{{cite news |last1=Haynes |first1=Danielle |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spotlights veterans, healthcare in presidential bid |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/02/05/Rep-Tulsi-Gabbard-spotlights-veterans-healthcare-in-presidential-bid/6651548192714/ |access-date=28 August 2019 |date=February 5, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2019/04/08/2020-democratic-presidential-candidates-running/|title=The 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates You (Probably) Never Heard Of|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2019-08-29}}{{Cite web|url=https://bigislandnow.com/2019/07/24/watching-wall-street-gabbard-introduces-accountability-act/|title=Watching Wall Street, Gabbard Introduces Accountability Act|website=Big Island Now {{!}} Watching Wall Street, Gabbard Introduces Accountability Act|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-02}}

Gabbard has generally supported legal abortion through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy,{{cite news|url=https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a25868421/who-is-tulsi-gabbard/|title=Who Is Tulsi Gabbard? Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Presidential Candidate|first=Kayleigh|last=Roberts|date=12 January 2019|work=MarieClaire|access-date=26 February 2019|quote=She's known as an environmentalist and a proponent of women's reproductive rights.}} though her views on abortion have changed over time.

When young, Gabbard opposed abortion. She changed her views on abortion (along with her views on LGBTQ issues) during her military experience in Iraq, seeing "the destructive effect of having governments ... act as moral arbiters for their people".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe|title=What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?|last=Sanneh|first=Kelefa|date=November 6, 2017|newspaper=New Yorker|access-date=2019-01-13}}

During her early years in Congress, Gabbard had a 100% voting record with both Planned Parenthood and NARAL,{{Cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/|title=The Voter's Self Defense System|website=Vote Smart|language=en|access-date=2019-08-29}} though she supported regulating abortions during the third trimester of pregnancy, stating on The Rubin Report: "I think [in] the third trimester, unless a woman's life or severe health consequences is at risk, then there shouldn't be an abortion in the third trimester."{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/there-should-be-some-restrictions-2020-democratic-candidate-denounces-3rd-trimester-abortions|title="There should be some restrictions": Tulsi Gabbard denounces third-trimester abortions|date=2019-09-09|website=Washington Examiner|access-date=2019-09-10}}

On December 9, 2020, Gabbard introduced a legislative bill which sought to ensure that a health-care practitioner exercises the proper degree of care in the event that a child survives an abortion, as an amendment to Title 18 of the United States Code.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-dem-introduces-born-alive-amendment-to-protect-infants-who-survive-abortions|title=House Dem introduces born-alive amendment to protect infants who survive abortions|first=Sam|last=Dorman|date=December 10, 2020|work=Fox News}} The next day, Gabbard introduced a bill that would have prohibited all abortions after 20 weeks gestational age.{{Cite web |date=December 10, 2020 |title=H.R.8939 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8939/text?r=28&s=1 |access-date=October 12, 2022 |website=United States Congress}} Neither bill was brought to the House floor for a vote.

In her full statement regarding her decision to leave the Democratic Party, Gabbard criticized the Biden administration's October 2022 arrest and indictment of several pro-life activists who had allegedly blocked access to an abortion clinic. Gabbard also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator Elizabeth Warren's statements on the "illegitimacy of the Supreme Court" in light of their disappointment with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.{{Cite web |url=https://www.tulsigabbard.com/podcast/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=www.tulsigabbard.com|title=Listen Now: The Tulsi Gabbard Show}}{{Citation |title=Leaving the Democratic Party - The Tulsi Gabbard Show | date=11 October 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Z1x8Ou8VU |language=en |access-date=2022-10-12}}

Gabbard has been outspoken against a "broken criminal justice system" and abuse of private prisons that together put "people in prison for smoking marijuana while allowing corporations" such as Purdue Pharma, "who are responsible for the opioid-related deaths of thousands …, to walk away scot-free with their coffers full. This so-called criminal justice system, which favors the rich and powerful and punishes the poor, cannot stand."{{cite web |url= http://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades |title= Tulsi Gabbard Emerges As Most Outspoken Anti-War Candidate in Decades Warfare State Politicians and Media Continue Relentless Attacks |last= Woodhouse |first= Jon |date= February 20, 2019 |access-date= August 10, 2019 |archive-date= September 24, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190924161320/http://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades/ |url-status= dead }} In December 2018, she co-sponsored the First Step Act as a "first in a long line of steps toward comprehensive criminal justice reform, … greater sentencing reform, and [to] eradicate the private prison industry."{{cite web |url=https://mauinow.com/2018/12/26/gabbard-backed-justice-reform-bill-becomes-law/ |title=Gabbard-Backed Justice Reform Bill Becomes Law |publisher=Maui Now |date= December 26, 2018 |access-date=7 August 2019}}

Gabbard has stated that resources need to be dedicated "at every level of education as well as beyond" to help people with disabilities get the jobs they need to succeed. In addition to cosponsoring several bills of importance to the disability community, she has opposed bills such as the ADA Education and Reform Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/620|title=H.R.620 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017|last=Poe|first=Ted|date=2018-02-26|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-04}} on the grounds it would impose undue requirements on individuals with disabilities before they could sue businesses for violating accessibility laws. She believed strongly that the bill would dismantle the ADA and voiced "strong opposition to this harmful legislation."{{Cite web|url=http://therespectabilityreport.org/2019/05/15/2020-presidential-election-tulsi-gabbard/|title=Gabbard Says Aloha to All Americans, Including Those with Disabilities|date=2019-05-15|website=The RespectAbility Report|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-04 |last1=Barker |first1=Ariella }}

File:DonYoungTulsiGabbardMarch2019.jpg speak in support of the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act in 2019]]

Gabbard supports the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes.{{cite news|url=https://www.marijuanamoment.net/where-presidential-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-stands-on-marijuana/|title=Where Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Stands On Marijuana|last1=Jaeger|first1=Kyle|date=January 18, 2019|work=Marijuana Moment|access-date=December 28, 2019}} She has stated that she has never consumed marijuana, but "believe(s) firmly in every person's freedom to make their own choices", and calls the drug "far less harmful and dangerous than alcohol". Gabbard is also an advocate for the medical use of cannabis (particularly as an alternative to opioid painkillers),{{cite press release|date=June 27, 2018|title=Congresswomen Hanabusa and Gabbard Oppose Governor Ige's Intent to Veto Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana to Treat Opioid Abuse|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswomen-hanabusa-and-gabbard-oppose-governor-ige-s-intent-veto-bill|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=house.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022230024/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswomen-hanabusa-and-gabbard-oppose-governor-ige-s-intent-veto-bill|archive-date=October 22, 2020|url-status=dead}} stating: "The fact that marijuana's still a Schedule I drug is unacceptable in the harm that it is causing to the people of our country."{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2019/03/07/for-tulsi-gabbard-marijuana-sits-at-nexus-of-good-policy-and-smart-politics/|title=For Tulsi Gabbard, Marijuana Sits At Nexus Of Good Policy And Smart Politics|last1=Angell|first1=Tom|date=March 7, 2019|work=Forbes|access-date=December 28, 2019}}

Gabbard has introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act to legalize cannabis at the federal level.{{cite press release|date=March 7, 2019|title=PHOTOS & VIDEO: Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Don Young Introduce Landmark Bipartisan Marijuana Reform|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/photos-video-reps-tulsi-gabbard-and-don-young-introduce-landmark-bipartisan|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=house.gov|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218080408/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/photos-video-reps-tulsi-gabbard-and-don-young-introduce-landmark-bipartisan|url-status=dead}}{{cite press release|date=July 24, 2019|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to End Marijuana Prohibition, Expunge Prior Convictions, Invest in Underserved Communities|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-end-marijuana-prohibition-expunge-prior|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=house.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026080424/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-end-marijuana-prohibition-expunge-prior|archive-date=October 26, 2020|url-status=dead}} She has also cosponsored numerous other cannabis-related measures including the Marijuana Justice Act. In June 2020, Gabbard introduced an amendment to the House version of the 2021 NDAA to allow members of Armed Services to use products containing CBD and other hemp derivatives.{{Cite web|last=Whalen|first=Andrew|date=2020-07-21|title=NDAA amendment would let soldiers use cannabis derivatives like CBD|url=https://www.newsweek.com/cbd-products-ndaa-2021-amendments-cannabis-sativa-tulsi-gabbard-1519490|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Newsweek|language=en}} It passed 336 to 71 as a package, although House leaders did not fight for its inclusion in the final bill.{{Cite web|last=Jaeger|first=Kyle|date=2020-12-08|title=Congress Cautions Military Leaders About Marijuana Punishments For Recruits In Defense Bill Report|url=https://www.marijuanamoment.net/congress-cautions-military-leaders-about-marijuana-punishments-for-recruits-in-defense-bill-report/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Marijuana Moment|language=en-US}}

On January 17, 2020, in response to a voter's question regarding "whether her plan to end the war on drugs centered on more harm reduction and treatment or if it involved moving to legalize and regulate narcotics so that you're no longer seeing tainted drugs on the street ... and involvement in the black market", Gabbard answered “all of the above”. Gabbard expressed support for the Portugal model of decriminalizing and regulating all drugs, saying that "the fears and the myths and the stigma about taking that step should be set aside."{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2020/01/19/tulsi-gabbard-endorses-legalizing-drugs/|title=Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Legalizing Drugs|last=Angell|first=Tom|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22}} Gabbard allegedly planned on introducing legislation to decriminalize drug possession at the federal level, until the COVID-19 pandemic came.{{Cite web|last=Wooldridge|first=Howard|date=2021-02-25|title=A cop looks at Oregon decrim ... and likes what he sees|url=http://theleafonline.com/c/social-justice/2021/02/cop-looks-at-decrim-2021/|access-date=2021-02-27|website=The Leaf Online|language=en}}

Gabbard has advocated for financial reform since first running for Congress, including such measures as restoring the Glass-Steagall Act, breaking up too-big-to-fail banks, strengthening protections against predatory lending practices, increasing capital requirements for the nation's largest banks, and [https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2010/06/08/why-wall-street-won-t-be-reformed banning naked credit default swaps].{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/time-for-fairness-to-repl_b_1576467|title=Time for Fairness to Replace Recklessness on Wall Street|work=HuffPost|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date= August 8, 2012|access-date= August 20, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://bigislandnow.com/2018/01/19/rep-gabbard-votes-against-predatory-lending-legislation|title=Rep. Gabbard Votes Against Predatory Lending Legislation|work=Big Island Now|date=January 19, 2018|access-date=August 19, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=http://jacobinmag.com/2017/05/tulsi-gabbard-president-sanders-democratic-party|title=Tulsi Gabbard Is Not Your Friend|website=Jacobin Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-22|first=Branko|last=Marcetic|date=May 2017}}

In 2012, during her first campaign for Congress, Gabbard critiqued JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon "and an army of Wall Street lobbyists" for having "anchored down" the process of implementing Dodd-Frank legislation "to the point that half of the modest regulations included in it aren’t even in place today, including the Volcker Rule, which limits risky trading behavior." She also called for breaking up big banks (noting that the five largest control 56 percent of the U.S. economy) and for preventing banks "from becoming too big and too precarious to ever again endanger our livelihoods as they did in 2008, and as they continue to do today."

In 2014, she voted for Audit the Federal Reserve legislation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2014/09/gabbard-hanabusa-split-on-auditing-federal-reserve/|title=Gabbard, Hanabusa Split on Auditing Federal Reserve|date=2014-09-18|website=Honolulu Civil Beat|language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}}

In 2015, in a written statement to President Obama regarding his State of the Union message, wrote "America also needs true Wall Street reform, which begins with reinstating Glass-Steagall. The financial stability of our nation depends on serious efforts to prevent Wall Street from making risky investments at taxpayer expense. The focus must always be on the needs of Main Street; we must prevent big banks from gambling with the well-being of our nation."{{Cite web|url=https://www.khon2.com/news/local-news/hawaiis-congressional-delegation-responds-to-state-of-the-union/|title=Hawaii's Congressional delegation responds to State of the Union|last=Inefuku|first=Terri|date=2015-01-21|website=KHON2|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-02}}

In 2017, Gabbard co-sponsored a bill to reinstate provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act in order to separate investment banking from commercial banking and prevent the largest banks from engaging in speculative trading.{{cite news |last1=Richter |first1=Wolf |last2=Street |first2=Wolf |title=4 senators have introduced a bill that could dramatically change the way Wall Street works |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/senators-warren-mccain-cantwell-king-introduce-21st-century-glass-steagall-act-2017-4 |access-date=29 August 2019 |date=April 8, 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://bigislandnow.com/2018/02/14/rep-gabbard-votes-against-predatory-lending-bill-targeting-minority-low-income-communities/|date=February 14, 2018|access-date=February 24, 2018|title=Rep. Gabbard Votes Against Predatory Lending Bill|author=Big Island Now|work=Big Island Now}} She urged her colleagues to oppose the Financial CHOICE Act, a bill rolling back financial regulations put into effect after the 2008 financial crisis.{{cite web|url=https://bigislandnow.com/2017/06/07/rep-gabbard-vote-against-bill-rolling-back-financial-regulations|title=Rep. Gabbard: Vote Against Bill Rolling Back Financial Regulations|website=Big Island Now|date=June 7, 2017|access-date=August 19, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-delivers-speech-urging-congress-reject-legislation-rolls|title=VIDEO: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Delivers Speech Urging Congress to Reject Legislation that Rolls Back Wall Street Regulations|date=2017-06-07|website=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard|access-date=2019-08-19|archive-date=2019-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820180849/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-delivers-speech-urging-congress-reject-legislation-rolls|url-status=dead}} She also supported a bill to increase the hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kitv.com/story/35530592/rep-tulsi-gabbard-wants-to-raise-the-federal-minimum-wage|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard wants to raise the federal minimum wage|website=www.kitv.com|language=en|date=2017-05-26|access-date=2019-02-21|archive-date=2019-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222041929/https://www.kitv.com/story/35530592/rep-tulsi-gabbard-wants-to-raise-the-federal-minimum-wage|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Gabbard voted with the minority against a bill she said worked to undo state-level legislation seeking to curb maximum interest rates on loans, noting that, in Hawaii, which has no such state-level legislation, interest rates could reach an annual percentage rate (APR) of 459 percent.

On July 23, 2019, Gabbard introduced the Wall Street Banker Accountability for Misconduct Act,{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3885/text|title=Text - H.R.3885 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Wall Street Banker Accountability for Misconduct Act of 2019|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=2019-07-23|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-02}} which would require Wall Street's biggest banks to establish a deferment fund funded annually by senior executives who receive compensation more than 10 times the compensation of the median paid employee of the covered bank, receive total compensation of over $1 million, and receive one of the 100 largest compensation packages, and who have authority to expose more than 0.5% of covered bank's capital. The deferred compensation would be held for 10 years to be used to pay penalties for violations occurring on their watch.

During the 2019-2020 coronavirus outbreak, Gabbard supported a temporary universal basic income of $1000 per month.{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/487471-tulsi-gabbard-proposes-ubi-amid-coronavirus-crisis/|title=Tulsi Gabbard calls for giving Americans $1K a month during coronavirus outbreak|last=Moreno|first=J. Edward|date=2020-03-13|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2020-03-17}} Another former candidate in the 2020 presidential election campaign, Andrew Yang, had supported the universal basic income.

Gabbard supports making community college tuition free for all Americans while making all four-year colleges tuition free for students with an annual family income of $125,000 or less. The tuition would be funded by a new tax on trading stocks and bonds.{{Cite web|first=Lisa|last=Desjardines|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-does-rep-tulsi-gabbard-believe-where-the-candidate-stands-on-7-issues|title=What does Tulsi Gabbard believe? Where the candidate stands on 7 issues|date=January 14, 2019|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|access-date=January 22, 2019}}

File:Rep. Gabbard, Secretary Jewell, First Lady Ige, and Chief Tidwell at IUCN 2016 Kupu Young Leaders event. (28779901473).jpg World Conservation Congress in Hawaii in September 2016]]

Gabbard received the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter's endorsement in the 2012 Democratic primary election for Congress{{cite news|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17654588/sierra-club-endorses-hirono-hanabusa-gabbard-in-federal-races|title=Sierra Club endorses Hirono, Hanabusa, Gabbard in federal races|website=Hawaii News Now|last=Gutierrez|first=Ben|date=April 22, 2012|access-date=November 11, 2012}} and in her 2014 reelection campaign.{{Cite web|url=http://mauisierraclub.org/sierra-club-endorses-tulsi-gabbard/|title=SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES TULSI GABBARD|website=Maui Sierra Club|access-date=April 7, 2016|date=January 23, 2014}}

In December 2016, Gabbard, along with approximately 2,000 U.S. military veterans dubbed "The Veterans Stand for Standing Rock," traveled to North Dakota to join the protests against the construction of the final leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Indian Reservations.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/hawaiis-tulsi-gabbard-joi_b_13405756.html|title=Hawaii's Tulsi Gabbard Joins Water Protectors at Standing Rock|last1=Nienaber|first1=Georgianne|date=December 4, 2016|work=HuffPost|access-date=December 11, 2016}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/standing-rock-tulsi-gabbard-on-what-pipeline-decision-means-w453806|title=Standing Rock: Tulsi Gabbard on What the Dakota Pipeline Decision Means|last1=Stuart|first1=Tessa|date=December 6, 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=December 11, 2016}}

In September 2017, Gabbard introduced the Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act ("OFF Act"){{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3671/text|title=Text - H.R.3671 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=2018-05-22|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-01-22}} as legislation seeking to transition the United States to clean renewable energy. The bill would require electric utilities to transition to 80% renewable energy resources by 2027 and 100% renewable by 2035, while setting similar vehicle emission standards goals and banning hydraulic fracturing.

In November 2018, Gabbard spoke in favor of a Green New Deal, which was at the time a draft resolution to task a special House committee with coming up with legislation to eliminate fossil fuel use from the economy within a decade. In February 2019, she expressed concerns about the vagueness of the version of the Green New Deal proposed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey, saying "I do not support 'leaving the door open' to nuclear power unless and until there is a permanent solution to the problem of nuclear waste,"{{Cite web|url=https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22082019/tulsi-gabbard-climate-change-global-warming-election-2020-candidate-profile|title=Tulsi Gabbard on Climate Change: Where the Candidate Stands|last=Pullano|first=Nina|date=2019-08-22|website=InsideClimate News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-24}} and did not co-sponsor the legislation as a result.{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/430780-gabbard-cites-concerns-about-vagueness-of-green-new-deal/|title=Gabbard cites 'concerns' about 'vagueness' of Green New Deal|last=Cama|first=Timothy|date=2019-02-20|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2019-02-20}}

Gabbard successfully passed an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Department of Energy to reexamine the safety of the Runit Dome, a leaking Cold War era nuclear waste site in the Marshall Islands.{{Cite web|last=Rust|first=Susanne|date=2020-11-27|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard rebuts U.S. claim that Marshall Islands nuclear waste site is safe|url=https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-07-27/tulsi-gabbard-rebuts-claim-marshall-islands-nuclear-site-proven-safe|access-date=|website=Los Angeles Times}} In July 2020, she called for "fresh eyes" to ensure a more independent assessment of the waste site's safety.

Gabbard co-sponsored the Family Act legislation which would entitle employees to take up to 60 days of paid, job-protected leave to care for a newborn child or to care for any family member for medical reasons. She advocates for universal basic income which would allow one parent to either provide childcare themselves at home or to afford to pay for childcare. She also advocates for expanding pre-kindergarten education to all Americans.{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/candidates-working-women-times-up/2020/tulsi-gabbard/|title=Tulsi Gabbard|date=2020-01-28|website=Fortune|access-date=2020-01-28}}{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/video/rep-tulsi-gabbard-issues-matter-091758735.html|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on issues that matter to working women|date=2020-01-28|website=Meredith via Yahoo!|access-date=2020-01-28}}

In her full announcement regarding her departure from the Democratic Party, Gabbard stated, "Today's Democratic Party does not believe in our constitutionally protected right of free speech. Fostering freedom of thought and diversity of expression is the very foundation of any flourishing democracy." She also criticized the Biden administration's creation of a Disinformation Governance Board, referring to it as a "Ministry of Truth."

File:House Democrats demand commonsense gun safety measures 22220814.jpg measures]]

Gabbard's views on gun control and gun owners' rights have varied through the course of her political career.

During her time in Congress and throughout her presidential campaign, Gabbard supported a common rifle weapons ban and universal background checks.{{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=German |date=August 23, 2019 |title=Here's where every 2020 candidate stands on guns |work=Vox |url=https://www.vox.com/2019/8/7/20756698/democratic-presidential-candidates-gun-violence-mass-shootings |access-date=29 August 2019}} She received an F-rating from the NRA, a 0% rating by the Hawaii Rifle Association and a 100% rating by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for her time in Congress.{{Cite web |title=The Voter's Self Defense System |url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/129306/tulsi-gabbard#.XWbBx5NKgWo |access-date=2019-08-28 |website=Vote Smart |language=en}}

Following her retirement from Congress, Gabbard's positions on gun control and gun owners' rights have shifted to the right.

Gabbard has stated that she is a supporter of the Second Amendment. Gabbard says she believes the Second Amendment is necessary so citizens can "defend themselves and our loved ones, and to serve as a check on a tyrannical government seeking to take away our God-given freedoms."

Gabbard expressed approval with the Supreme Court's ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which held that an individual's right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home is protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

In October 2024, she stated her opposition to an assault weapon ban.{{cite web |title=Tulsi Gabbard has shed her old Democratic policy stances. Is it a push to serve with Donald Trump?|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/19/tulsi-gabbard-trump-vp-secretary-policy/73968445007/}}

Gabbard supports a universal health care plan called "Single Payer Plus".{{cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/health|title=Affordable and Accessible Healthcare for All|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=August 1, 2019|website=Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman, Hawaii's 2nd District|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001202713/https://gabbard.house.gov/health|archive-date=October 1, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=August 23, 2019}}{{cite tweet |first= Tulsi |last= Gabbard |user=TulsiGabbard |number= 765279647860789248 |title=Universal healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. |date=August 15, 2016 |access-date=August 23, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dfaPeWe8DY&t=7m7s|title=TULSI 2020: Tulsi Gabbard Presidential Campaign, The ALOHA Launch - FULL SPEECH|last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=February 3, 2019|via=YouTube|at=At 7:07}}{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/359986-tulsi-gabbard-is-no-snowflake/|title=Tulsi Gabbard is no snowflake|last=Tan|first=Anjelica|date=2017-11-12|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2019-01-22}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/gabbard-pitches-pro-peace-bipartisan-agenda-to-sentinel-editorial-board/article_7ad42636-8503-50c0-8e62-5a779a051d72.html|title=Gabbard pitches pro-peace, bipartisan agenda to Sentinel editorial board|last=Staff|first=JAKE LAHUT Sentinel|publisher=The Keene Sentinel|language=en|date=2020-01-22|access-date=2020-01-28}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJvBkqPMRo&t=10m28s|title=Interview with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard|date=2020-01-22|publisher=The Keene Sentinel on YouTube|at=at 10:28|language=en|access-date=2020-01-28}} Her plan is loosely modeled after Australia's healthcare system.{{Cite web|last=Urquhart|first=Adam|date=2020-02-05|title=Tulsi targets Big Pharma at local event|url=https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2020/02/05/tulsi-targets-big-pharma-at-local-event/|access-date=2021-02-09|website=The Telegraph|language=en-US}} In 2017, she co-sponsored the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/676/cosponsors|title=Cosponsors - H.R.676 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act|last=Conyers|first=John|date=2018-03-07|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/national-progressive-organizations-announce-new-congressional-scorecard|title=National Progressive Organizations Announce New Congressional Scorecard on Public Health, Environmental Issues|date=2018-08-07|website=National Nurses United|language=en|access-date=2019-10-17}} to create a national health insurance program that covers uninsured as well as underinsured people;{{cite tweet |first= Tulsi |last= Gabbard |user=TulsiGabbard |number=971800451552284672 |title=It's time for the United States to guarantee #MedicareForAll |date=March 8, 2018 |access-date=August 23, 2019}} allows for private insurance supplemental to, but not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program; and paid for in part by raising taxes on the wealthy and taxing financial transactions. Gabbard called the Republican-sponsored American Health Care Act of 2017 "really a handout to insurance and pharmaceutical companies that will further exacerbate the burden on American families."{{cite web| url=https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2017/05/04/house-votes-to-kill-obamacare-trump-celebrates |title= House Votes To Kill Obamacare, Trump Celebrates |work= Big Island Video News |date=May 4, 2017 |access-date= August 23, 2019}}

In Gabbard's view, "If you look at other countries in the world who have universal health care, every one of them has some form of a role for private insurance."{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5615358/2020-first-democratic-debate-transcript/|title=Here's Everything the Candidates Said at Wednesday's 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate|last=Time Staff|date=June 27, 2019|magazine=Time|access-date=June 27, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/medicare-for-all-emerges-as-early-divide-in-first-democratic-debate|title='Medicare for All' emerges as early divide in first Democratic debate|author1=Shefali Luthra (Kaiser Health News) |author2= Jon Greenberg (PolitiFact)|date=June 27, 2019|website=PBS NewsHour|access-date=August 23, 2019}} In 2019, she cosponsored House Resolution 1384, Medicare for All Act of 2019, a bill that would allow private insurance.{{Cite web |last=Jayapal |first=Pramila |date=2019-03-13 |title=H.R.1384 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Medicare for All Act of 2019 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1384 |access-date=2019-08-29 |website=www.congress.gov}}{{Cite web |last=Ayesh |first=Marisa Fernandez,Rashaan |date=2019-10-02 |title=Medicare for All: Where the Democratic candidates stand |url=https://www.axios.com/2020-presidential-candidates-medicare-for-all-7d958bab-de34-4d8c-921d-b561f201c4c2.html |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Axios|language=en}}

Gabbard has pushed to reinstate Medicaid eligibility for people from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau who are working and living in the United States.

In 2017, Gabbard cosponsored and worked toward passing the Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3124|title=H.R.3124 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2017|last=DeGette|first=Diana|date=2017-07-17|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}} to extend Medicare medical nutrition therapy services to those with pre-diabetes or risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes so as to "help identify and treat diabetes earlier and more effectively."{{Cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-facebook-preventing-diabetes-medicare-act|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Facebook: Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=November 22, 2017|website=Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman, Hawaii's 2nd District|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=August 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823182801/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-facebook-preventing-diabetes-medicare-act|url-status=dead}}

In 2019, Gabbard cosponsored the [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/447 Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act] to allow wholesale distributors, pharmacies, and individuals to import affordable and safe drugs; the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/448|title=H.R.448 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act|last=Cummings|first=Elijah E.|date=2019-01-25|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}} to allow the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies under Medicare Part D; and the Prescription Drug Price Relief Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/465|title=H.R.465 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019|last=Khanna|first=Ro|date=2019-01-25|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}} to end government-granted monopolies for manufacturers that charge drug prices higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.

Gabbard proposes addressing the housing crisis by bipartisan efforts to use zoning and public–private partnerships between local governments and private developers to quickly increase the amount and reduce the price of available housing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wmwv.com/tulsi-gabbard-in-studio/|title=Tulsi Gabbard in Studio|last=Zore|first=Tony|at=at 5:51|date=January 28, 2020|publisher=Mount Washington Radio|access-date=January 29, 2020}}

Gabbard differs from other Democrats on some aspects of immigration. She sees the "root cause of mass immigration on our southern border" as being the "history of US military intervention in Latin America that left countries destroyed." She continues: "Before we talk about a wall, we need to end our ongoing threats of intervention – this time in Venezuela."{{Cite web|url=http://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades|title=Tulsi Gabbard Emerges As Most Outspoken Anti-War Candidate in Decades|last=Woodhouse|first=Jon|date=2019-02-20|website=The Maui Independent|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-29|archive-date=2019-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924161320/http://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades/|url-status=dead}} Gabbard voted with congressional Republicans in favor of "extreme vetting" of Iraqi and Syrian refugees.{{Cite web|url=https://www.axios.com/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-election-candidate-hawaii-factsheet-1550177191-82f1ca71-efec-48d9-8e73-f221c5891552.html|title = Tulsi Gabbard on the issues, in under 500 words| date=11 September 2019 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/20/house-democrats-refugee-bill-social-media-backlash|title = House Democrats who backed refugee bill face social media backlash| newspaper=The Guardian |date = 20 November 2015| last1=McCarthy | first1=Tom | last2=Gajanan | first2=Mahita }} Gabbard has also stated "I don’t support open borders. Without secure borders, we don’t really have a country” and that it is a "fair" criticism that other Democratic politicians had misguidedly embraced the idea of open borders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/tulsi-gabbard-the-rest-of-democratic-primary-field-has-embraced-open-borders/|title = Tulsi Gabbard: The Rest of Democratic Primary Field Has Embraced 'Open Borders'| website=National Review |date = 10 September 2019}} In 2015, Gabbard called on the US government to give priority to persecuted minority refugees in the Middle East, such as Christians and Yazidis.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/2020/Tulsi_Gabbard_Immigration.htm|title = Tulsi Gabbard on Immigration}} In response to Trump's proposals to build a border wall with Mexico, Gabbard stated that she prefers "using high-tech surveillance at the border rather than physical wall" but that "in some places, it may make sense to have a wall or some sort of physical barrier" but would rely on experts to clarify whether extensions of physical barriers are needed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.isidewith.com/candidates/tulsi-gabbard/policies/immigration/border-wall|title=Border Wall}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.isidewith.com/candidates/tulsi-gabbard/policies/immigration/border-wall|title = Tulsi Gabbard's policy on Border Wall}} Gabbard has also called for a temporary suspension of the Visa Waiver Program for European passport holders, citing concerns about security and terrorism following the influx of Syrian refugees into Germany, until the threat of a potential terrorist attack is removed.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-rising-democratic-star-from-hawaii-makes-mark-on-party-by-defying-it.html|title=Tulsi Gabbard, Rising Democratic Star From Hawaii, Makes Mark on Party by Defying It|last=Huetteman|first=Emmarie|date=2015-11-28|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-31|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1511/16/sitroom.01.html|title=Situation Room|last=Blitzer|first=Wolf|date=November 16, 2015|website=transcripts.cnn.com|access-date=2019-02-19}} However, Gabbard has also spoken in favor of easing restrictions on granting temporary work visas to immigrants, increasing skilled immigration, creating a simplified path to citizenship for illegal and undocumented immigrants who have not committed serious crimes, granting citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and reinstating DACA. Gabbard also believes that immigrants should be assessed as individuals and for what they can contribute rather than by their nationality and background.{{Cite web|url=https://www.isidewith.com/candidates/tulsi-gabbard/policies/immigration|title = Tulsi Gabbard's Policies on Immigration Issues}} During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Gabbard stated "we can and should have both secure borders as well as humane immigration policies."{{cite news |title=Where 2020 Democrats stand on the border and immigration |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501172005/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/immigration/ |archive-date=2023-05-01 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/immigration/}} She has also called for immigration reform, describing the system as "broken."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-2020-campaign.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=3F5C4F9959792D2B1A7D96F2AD6A6569&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL|title = 18 Questions with Tulsi Gabbard|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 19 June 2019}}

In 2013, Gabbard sponsored legislation to require GMO labeling.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/36068071/gabbard-usda-should-require-clear-gmo-labeling-on-all-foods|title=Gabbard: USDA should require clear GMO labeling on all foods|author=H. N. N. Staff|date=2013|website=www.hawaiinewsnow.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://mauinow.com/2013/04/25/gabbard-cosponsors-genetically-engineered-labeling-bill/|title=Maui Now: Gabbard Cosponsors Genetically Engineered Labeling Bill|website=Maui Now |language=en-US|date=April 25, 2013|access-date=2019-02-21}} In 2015, she criticized the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, saying it "makes a mockery of transparency and leaves U.S. consumers in the dark;"{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/266592484/?terms=transparency+tulsi+gabbard+government|title=Gabbard calls for GMO labels|last=Kazmirzack|first=Ryan|date=July 24, 2015|website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|language=en|access-date=2019-08-30}} and that it merely creates "an illusion of transparency, making things more difficult for consumers, not easier."{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/266552156/|title=GMO labeling law clears Congress|last=Cocke|first=Sophie|date=July 15, 2016|website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|language=en|access-date=2019-08-30}} In 2016, she voted against a GMO-labeling bill, saying it was too weak.{{Cite web|url=https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2016/07/16/hawaii-news/gmo-labeling-bill-headed-to-presidents-desk/|title=GMO labeling bill headed to president's desk|author=Ivy Ashe / Hawaii Tribune-Herald|date=2016-07-16|website=West Hawaii Today|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-21}} In early February 2019, she "courageously criticized Monsanto for falsifying pesticide safety studies"{{Cite web|url=http://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades/|title=Tulsi Gabbard Emerges As Most Outspoken Anti-War Candidate in Decades|last=Woodhouse|first=Jon|date=2019-02-20|website=The Maui Independent|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-29|archive-date=11 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811002047/https://mauiindependent.org/tulsi-gabbard-emerges-as-most-outspoken-anti-war-candidate-in-decades/|url-status=dead}} when she tweeted that Monsanto manufactured "'scientific studies' to influence the EPA while destroying small farmers," and unleashed "the scourge of Roundup."{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1097490200043945985?lang=en|title=Monsanto proves they'll do anything|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=2019-02-18|website=@tulsigabbard|language=en|access-date=2019-08-29}}

Gabbard was a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, and during the 116th Congress had an 84% record in Congress for pro-LGBT legislation from the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for LGBT rights.{{Cite web|url=https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/116th-Congressional-Scorecard-060921.pdf|title=Congressional Scorecard - Measuring Support for Equality in the 116th Congress|last=|first=|date=October 8, 2020|website=Human Rights Campaign|access-date=February 23, 2022}} During the 115th Congress, she had a 100% record.{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/1/17/tulsi-gabbard-apologizes-past-views-lgbtq-issues-were-wrong|title=Tulsi Gabbard Apologizes: Past Views on LGBTQ Issues 'Were Wrong'|last=Ring|first=Trudy|date=January 17, 2019|website=Advocate|access-date=August 26, 2019}} Gabbard's position on LGBT issues has changed over the course of her lifetime.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Gabbard supported her father's campaign to amend the Constitution of Hawaii to give lawmakers the power to limit marriage to same-sex couples.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-tulsi-gabbards-past-anti-lgbt-efforts-plague/story?id=60361736|title=Congresswoman's past anti-LGBT efforts plague 2020 presidential campaign roll out|first=John|last=Verhovek|website=ABC News|language=en|date=January 14, 2019|access-date=August 26, 2019}} The amendment was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a referendum.{{Cite news|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/11/04/news/story3.html|title=Same-sex marriage strongly rejected|publisher=Honolulu Star Bulletin|language=en|date=November 4, 1998|access-date=January 15, 2020}} As a Hawaii state legislator in 2004, Gabbard opposed and protested against Hawaii House Bill 1024, which would have established legal parity between same-sex couples in civil unions and married straight couples. The bill was defeated in the House.{{cite web|url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2012/01/tulsi-gabbards-leftward-journey/|title=Tulsi Gabbard's Leftward Journey|last=LaFrance|first=Adrienne|date=January 17, 2012|website=Honolulu Civil Beat|publisher=Civilbeat.com}}{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10946849/honolulu_starbulletin/ | title=Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | date=September 8, 2002 | access-date=January 15, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Feb/20/ln/ln09a.html|title=Bill to allow civil unions may be stalled in House|website=the.honoluluadvertiser.com|access-date=November 26, 2016}} Also in 2004, Gabbard opposed a House resolution to study the demographics and needs of LGBT students saying that a study asking students questions about their sexuality would be a violation of their privacy.{{Cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Apr/18/ln/ln12a.html|date=April 18, 2004|title=Few gays report harassment at school|website=the.honoluluadvertiser.com|access-date=November 10, 2016}}

On April 4, 2022, Gabbard endorsed Florida House Bill 1557, popularly dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which forbids discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms for kindergarten through third grade. Gabbard stated the bill "bans government and government schools from indoctrinating woke sexual values in or schools to a captive audience". She also suggested the bill should apply to all grades.{{cite news|url=https://www.mediaite.com/politics/tulsi-gabbard-says-floridas-bill-targeting-woke-sexual-teaching-in-schools-doesnt-go-far-enough/|title=Tulsi Gabbard Says Florida's Bill Targeting 'Woke Sexual' Teaching in Schools Doesn't Go Far Enough|first=Zachary|last=Leeman|work=Mediaite|date=April 4, 2022|access-date=April 5, 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/04/04/tulsi-gabbard-says-florida-dont-say-gay-law-should-have-gone-further/|title=Tulsi Gabbard says Florida 'Don't Say Gay' law should have gone further|first=Chris|last=Johnson|work=The Washington Blade|date=April 4, 2022|access-date=April 5, 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/tulsi-gabbard-supports-florida-apos-141201801.html|title=Tulsi Gabbard supports Florida's parental rights bill for banning 'woke sexual' indoctrination in schools|first=Ronn|last=Blitzer|work=Yahoo News|date=April 4, 2022|access-date=April 5, 2022}}

After two deployments with the Hawaii Army National Guard to Iraq in 2004 and Kuwait in 2008, Gabbard said in 2011 that her stance on LGBT issues was changed by her experience in the military "with LGBTQ service members both here at home and while deployed"{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Tulsi-Gabbard-says-military-combat-service-shapes-14340612.php|title=Tulsi Gabbard says military combat service shapes her life, drives her political, policy views|date=August 17, 2019|website=The Telegraph}} as well as seeing "the destructive effect of having governments … act as moral arbiters for their people."{{cite news|last=Kaczynski|first=Andrew|title=Tulsi Gabbard once touted working for anti-gay group that backed conversion therapy|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/13/politics/kfile-tulsi-gabbard-lgbt/index.html|work=CNN|date=January 17, 2019|access-date=December 2, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/7843da30acdb4b15a33e3e570c42b1af|title=Hawaii's Gabbard apologizes for past LGBTQ statements|last=McAvoy|first=Audrey|date=January 18, 2019|website=AP News|access-date=October 11, 2019}} In 2012, Gabbard apologized for what David Knowles called "anti-gay advocacy".{{Cite web|url=https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/01/17/rep-gabbard-apologizes-again-for-past-anti-gay-views/23645741/|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard apologizes, again, for past anti-gay views|last=Knowles|first=David|website=Yahoo! News|language=en|date=January 17, 2019|access-date=October 11, 2019|archive-date=January 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118011853/https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/01/17/rep-gabbard-apologizes-again-for-past-anti-gay-views/23645741/|url-status=dead}}

Since 2013, Gabbard has been a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus during her first,{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/24/lgbt-caucus-membership-halved-114th-congress/|title=LGBT caucus membership halved in 114th Congress|date=February 24, 2015|first=Chris|last=Johnson|publisher=Washington Blade}} third,{{Cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/about/committees-and-caucuses|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101210938/https://gabbard.house.gov/about/committees-and-caucuses|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-11-01|title=Committees and Caucuses|first=Tulsi|last=Gabbard|website=115th US Congress}} and fourth{{Cite web|url=https://lgbt-cicilline.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-lgbt-caucus-announces-largest-membership-in-caucus-history-with|title=House LGBT Caucus Announces Largest Membership in Caucus History with 165 Members in the 116th Congress|website=LGBT Equality Caucus|date=11 March 2019}} terms in Congress. As Congresswoman, Gabbard co-sponsored pro-LGBT legislation, signed an amicus brief supporting Edith Windsor's challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, and supported the Equality Act to protect LGBT individuals, and other efforts to promote LGBT equality, including supporting the Restore Honor to Service Members Act,{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Kamala|title=Harris, Feinstein, Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Restore Honor to Service Members Discharged Due to Sexual Orientation|url=https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-feinstein-colleagues-reintroduce-legislation-to-restore-honor-to-service-members-discharged-due-to-sexual-orientation|work=Senator Kamala Harris]|date=June 26, 2019|access-date=January 26, 2020|archive-date=January 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121171829/https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-feinstein-colleagues-reintroduce-legislation-to-restore-honor-to-service-members-discharged-due-to-sexual-orientation|url-status=dead}} the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the [https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1957 Safe Schools Improvement Act] and the [https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/208 Equality for All Resolution]. During a 2016 interview, while saying that her opinions on gay rights as a policy have changed, her personal views on gay people had not.{{cite web|title=Surfing With Tulsi Gabbard ... Long Before Her Presidential Bid|url=https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/surfing-with-tulsi-gabbard-long-before-her-presidential-bid/62604/|access-date=2022-10-21|archive-date=2022-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021201434/https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/surfing-with-tulsi-gabbard-long-before-her-presidential-bid/62604/|url-status=dead}} In 2019, after launching her presidential campaign, she apologized again for her past anti-gay policy positions.{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Matthew |title=Tulsi Gabbard apologizes for past anti-LGBT rhetoric |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/tulsi-gabbard-apology-lgbt-comments-1109541 |access-date=January 17, 2019 |work=Politico |language=en}}

In 2020, Gabbard introduced the Protect Women in Sports Act of 2020 to the U.S. House of Representatives, which would amend Title IX to prevent students assigned male at birth from participating on girls’ sports teams.{{cite web |title=H.R.8932 - Protect Women's Sports Act of 2020 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8932/text |website=Congress.gov |date=10 December 2020 |publisher=United States Congress |access-date=5 January 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Quilantan |first=Bianca |date=2021-01-28 |title=States challenge Biden on rights for transgender students |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/28/biden-transgender-student-rights-463277 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=POLITICO |language=en}} In a statement, Gabbard claimed that the legislation is meant to protect "Title IX’s original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men and women athletes based on sex.”{{cite news |last1=Carlisle |first1=Madeline |title=Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill That Would Ban Trans Women and Girls from Female Sports |url=https://time.com/5920758/tulsi-gabbard-bill-transgender-women-sports/ |access-date=5 January 2021 |publisher=Time USA, LLC}}

In May 2016, Gabbard, citing a Los Angeles Times investigation into the manufacturer of OxyContin, called drug company marketing of painkillers "the root cause of the problems", as they were selling Oxycontin as a 12-hour drug while it wore off early in many patients, increasing the risk of addiction.{{cite news |last1= Ryan |first1= Harriet |last2= Levy |first2= Noam N. |date= 2016-05-12 |title= Citrus Canker Lawsuit Headed Back to Trial |url= https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-oxycontin-react-20160513-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-08-07}}

In May 2018 Gabbard, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representatives Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal introduced The Opioid Crisis Accountability Act of 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5782/all-info|title=All Info - H.R.5782 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Opioid Crisis Accountability Act of 2018|last=Gabbard|first=Tulsi|date=2018-05-31|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}} "to penalize drug companies found to be profiting from the opioid epidemic [targeting] companies that engage in false marketing or distribution of opioids."{{cite news |date= 2018-05-16 |title= Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Hold Drugmakers Accountable for Opioid Epidemic |url= https://www.fdanews.com/articles/186820-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-hold-drugmakers-accountable-for-opioid-epidemic |work=FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin |access-date=2019-08-07}}

Gabbard has criticized the "defund the police" movement for "demonizing law enforcement." She has argued that many prosecutors and defense attorneys are too lenient on criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens.

On March 7, 2019, Gabbard told BuzzFeed News, "If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right, and it should not be a crime." She continued, "All people should have autonomy over their bodies and their labor." A spokesperson for her presidential campaign cited that comment later that month and added, "She believes it should be decriminalized, and that is the action we would take on the federal level."{{Cite web|title=A Democratic Presidential Candidate Says Sex Work Should Be Legal|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/tulsi-gabbard-decriminalize-sex-work-2020|access-date=2019-12-07|website=BuzzFeed News|date=7 March 2019 |language=en}}

In February 2020, she echoed the same words in a statement to Reason.{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Elizabeth Nolan|date=2020-02-10|title=Only Tulsi Gabbard Wants to Decriminalize Sex Work, but Other Dems Show Signs of Progress on the Issue|url=https://reason.com/2020/02/10/only-tulsi-gabbard-wants-to-decriminalize-sex-work-but-other-dems-show-signs-of-progress-on-the-issue/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Reason.com|language=en-US}} The sex worker advocacy group Decriminalize Sex Work gave her a grade of A− on sex work decriminalization, making her only presidential candidate to get a score above a B−.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-02-14|title=Democratic Candidates on Prostitution Policy|url=https://decriminalizesex.work/issues-advocacy/2020-presidential-campaign/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214160029/https://decriminalizesex.work/issues-advocacy/2020-presidential-campaign/|archive-date=2020-02-14|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Decriminalize Sex Work}}

According to Politico, Gabbard supports eliminating cuts in corporate income taxes for "offshoring", but has taken no positions on capital gains taxes, tax credits, Wall Street taxes, and wealth taxes.[https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/tulsi-gabbard/ "Tulsi Gabbard Views on 2020 Issues: A Voter's Guide"], Politico, retrieved October 17, 2020.

Gabbard has called for breaking up "big tech companies" who, together with "overreaching intel agencies", she says "take away our civil liberties and freedoms in the name of national security and corporate greed".{{Cite journal|last=Showstack|first=Randy|date=2015-07-28|title=Leading Companies Take White House Climate Pledge|journal=Eos|volume=96|doi=10.1029/2015eo033475|issn=2324-9250|doi-access=free}} She supports net neutrality, and has criticized Facebook for banning users.{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2ZaQOfN|title=Tulsi Gabbard sues Google over post-debate ad suspension|last1=Marinucci|first1=Carla|last2=Strauss|first2=Daniel|website=Politico|date=25 July 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-07-25}} In Gabbard's lawsuit against Google for temporarily suspending her campaign's advertisement account,{{cite news|title=Tulsi Gabbard, Democratic Presidential Candidate, Sues Google for $50 Million|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/technology/tulsi-gabbard-sues-google.html|date=July 25, 2019|access-date=July 29, 2019|author=Daisuke Wakabayashi|newspaper=The New York Times}} her lawyers contended that Google should be considered a "state actor" and that Google's program to verify election ads amounts to a regulation of political speech, thereby violating the First Amendment.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/346339/tulsi-gabbard-presses-first-amendment-claim-agains.html|title=Tulsi Gabbard Presses First Amendment Claim Against Google|first=Wendy|last=Davis|publisher=Media Post Communications|language=en|date=2020-01-28|access-date=2020-01-29}}

In 2014, Gabbard introduced the Access to Care and Treatment Now for Veterans Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr5131|title=Access to Care and Treatment Now for Veterans Act (2014 - H.R. 5131)|website=GovTrack.us|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}} to allow veterans not getting timely healthcare from the VA to get care from non-VA medical providers. This bill was incorporated into the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act passed later that year.{{Cite web|url=https://tarbell.org/health-care-2020/tulsi-gabbard/|title=Tulsi Gabbard|last=Keeton-Olsen|first=Danielle|website=Tarbell|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-27}}

On March 19, 2015, Gabbard and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) launched a new congressional caucus dedicated to helping post-9/11 veterans in transition to civilian life and improve services for veterans such as reducing the backlog in Veteran Affairs disability claims, and promoting education, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/policy-strategy/236234-lawmakers-announce-post-9-11-veterans-caucus/|title=Lawmakers launch post-9/11 veterans caucus|last=Wong|first=Kristina|date=2015-03-19|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}}

Also in 2015, Gabbard introduced legislation with Chris Stewart (UT-02) to expand veterans’ healthcare options by allowing them to pause their TRICARE benefits to participate in an employer's Health Savings Account (HSA) program.{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2016/11/29/house-section/article/h6317-1|title=Veterans Tricare Choice Act of 2016|date=November 29, 2016|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-12-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/gabbard-stewart-bill-expand-veterans-healthcare-passes-house|title=Gabbard-Stewart Bill to Expand Veterans' Healthcare Passes House|date=2016-11-29|website=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27|archive-date=2019-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227030608/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/gabbard-stewart-bill-expand-veterans-healthcare-passes-house|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://stewart.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-stewart-s-veterans-tricare-choice-act-passes-the-house|title=Rep. Stewart's Veterans Tricare Choice Act Passes the House|date=2016-11-29|website=Congressman Chris Stewart|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}}

In 2016, Gabbard worked successfully with John Kline (R-MN) to amend the National Defense Authorization Act to allow military retirees living more than 100 miles from a military treatment facility to re-enroll in Tricare Prime, reversing a 2013 policy that eliminated such access.{{Cite web|url=http://hawai113.rssing.com/chan-13789445/all_p37.html|title=The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island|website=hawai113.rssing.com|access-date=2019-12-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-passes-bipartisan-amendment-defense-funding-bill-ensure|title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Passes Bipartisan Amendment in Defense Funding Bill to Ensure Veterans in Rural Communities Have Access to Health Care|date=2015-05-15|website=Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27|archive-date=2019-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227030609/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-passes-bipartisan-amendment-defense-funding-bill-ensure|url-status=dead}}

In 2017, Gabbard, as co-chair of the Post 9/11 Veterans Caucus{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/policy-strategy/236234-lawmakers-announce-post-9-11-veterans-caucus/|title=Lawmakers launch post-9/11 veterans caucus|last=Wong|first=Kristina|date=2015-03-19|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2019-08-29}} helped introduce the Forever GI Bill to extend and improve the GI Bill benefits granted to veterans, surviving spouses, and dependents.{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/forevergibill.asp|title=Forever GI Bill - Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov|access-date=2019-08-29}} The bill passed with bipartisan support.

In January 2019, together with Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), she introduced the Retired Pay Restoration Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/303/text|title=Text - H.R.303 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Retired Pay Restoration Act|last=Bilirakis|first=Gus M.|date=2019-02-01|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-04}} to ensure disabled veterans receiving 40 percent or lower rates of service-connected disability would receive both their military pension as well as Veterans Affairs’ disability compensation or combat-related special pay. As founder and co-chair of the Post-9/11 Veterans Caucus, she said: "Retirement benefits and disability benefits are two different things, and one should not be counted against the other" and that this bipartisan legislation will "ensure that our veterans receive the benefits they’ve earned and deserve."{{Cite web|url=https://bigislandnow.com/2019/01/10/bill-to-ensure-retirement-disability-pay-for-veterans-introduced/|title=Bill to Ensure Retirement & Disability Pay for Veterans Introduced|website=Big Island Now {{!}} Bill to Ensure Retirement & Disability Pay for Veterans Introduced|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-04}}

Gabbard says, addressing sexual harassment at the workplace requires leadership to bring about a culture shift in the private and public sectors. She was an original cosponsor of the Military Justice Improvement Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/2016/cosponsors|title=Cosponsors - H.R.2016 - 113th Congress (2013-2014): Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013|last=Benishek|first=Dan|date=2013-06-20|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-11}} to transfer decision-making in military sexual assault cases from the chain of command to experienced trial counsel to determine the appropriate trial path to pursue.

She has also cosponsored: the Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4494|title=H.R.4494 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act|last=DeSantis|first=Ron|date=2017-11-30|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-11}} to that ensure congressional perpetrators are held personally and financially accountable for sexual harassment abuses of power by ending taxpayer-funded harassment settlements and requiring full reimbursement to the Treasury for past settlements; the Power Act{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1762|title=H.R.1762 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): POWER Act|date=2017-04-12|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-11}} which requires every state's U.S. attorney to promote and expand pro-bono legal services, specifically for domestic violence survivors; and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6545|title=H.R.6545 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018|last=Jackson Lee|first=Sheila|date=2018-09-19|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=2019-09-11}} to revise and reauthorize various programs and activities to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

To close the wage gap between women and men, Gabbard co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act.{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7|title=H.R.7 - Paycheck Fairness Act|date=2019-01-30|website=116th Congress (2019-2020)|access-date=2020-01-28}}

Gabbard calls for a concerted effort to encourage the professional development and opportunities of women in the workplace, government and military. She opposes policies that would dictate the demographics of corporate boards.

Gabbard has supported campaign finance reform,{{Cite news |last=Haltiwanger |first=John |date=2019-08-01 |title=Tulsi Gabbard is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how she stacks up against the competition |language=en-US |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-tulsi-gabbard-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-4?r=US&IR=T |access-date=2019-08-27}} and the Financial Times describes it as one of her signature issues.{{Cite news |last1=Blasina |first1=Niki |last2=Orr |first2=Robert |date=2019-07-31 |title=US Democratic primary debate: who are the candidates? - Tulsi Gabbard |language=en-US |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/61668a98-2596-11e9-8ce6-5db4543da632 |access-date=2019-08-27}} She is opposed to the influence of Super PACs in politics,{{Cite news |title=Tulsi Gabbard - Campaign themes |language=en-US |work=Ballot Pedia |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Tulsi_Gabbard |access-date=2019-08-27}} and stated that, "Politicians must represent and listen to the people who elected them to serve — not whatever lobbyist writes them the biggest check."

In December 2016, Gabbard co-sponsored the We the People Amendment, which proposes an amendment to the Constitution that would abolish corporate personhood and would hold that campaign contributions would not be protected under the First Amendment.{{Cite news |date=2016-10-20 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard trying to stop corporations from buying elections |language=en-US |work=Lahaina News |url=http://www.lahainanews.com/page/content.detail/id/543145/Rep--Tulsi-Gabbard-trying-to-stop-corporations-from-buying-elections.html?nav=9 |access-date=2019-08-25}}{{Cite news |last1=Sopoci-Belknap |first1=Kaitlin |last2=Coleridge |first2=Greg |date=2019-03-08 |title=The 'We the People Amendment' Aims to Fix the Crisis of Corporate Rule |language=en-US |work=Common Dreams |url=https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/08/we-people-amendment-aims-fix-crisis-corporate-rule |access-date=2019-08-26}}

In May 2017 Gabbard pledged to no longer accept money from political action committees (PACs).{{Cite web |date=2018-05-07 |title=How Tulsi Gabbard Is Turning Her National Profile Into Campaign Cash |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/05/how-tulsi-gabbard-is-turning-her-national-profile-into-campaign-cash |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}} In July 2017 Gabbard was one of only seven members of the No PAC Caucus.{{Cite news |last=Bragman |first=Walker |date=2017-07-19 |title=Justice Democrat Ro Khanna Wants to Reform Campaign Finance |language=en-US |work=Paste Magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/justice-democrat-ro-khanna-joins-wants-to-reform-c.html |access-date=2019-08-27 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827144430/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/justice-democrat-ro-khanna-joins-wants-to-reform-c.html |url-status=dead }} In October 2018 The Intercept reported that Gabbard was one of only four members of Congress who had pledged not to accept corporate campaign donations.{{Cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Rachel M. |last2=Grim |first2=Ryan |date=2018-10-14 |title=Nearly Every Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Still Takes Corporate PAC Money |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/10/14/congressional-progressive-caucus-corporate-pac-money/ |access-date=2019-01-22 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}

In February 2018 Gabbard gave closing remarks at the Unrig the System Summit of RepresentUs, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for state and local laws based on model legislation called the American Anti-Corruption Act. Gabbard lamented the influence of big money in politics: "Getting to the heart of how corrosive an effect money has on our politics and really regaining that voice and trust and confidence of the people, that’s how we begin to get back to a government of, by, and for the people."{{Cite web |last=Katinas |first=Paula |date=2018-02-09 |title=Unrig the System movement spreads nationwide |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2018/02/09/unrig-the-system-movement-spreads-nationwide/ |access-date=2019-09-02 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |language=en-US}}

Gabbard is an original member of the bi-partisan 4th Amendment Caucus. As Gabbard notes, "Our laws regarding freedom, privacy, and civil liberties have not kept up with the rapid expansion of technology in today's digital age." The caucus aims to protect against warrantless searches and seizures, close privacy violating surveillance loopholes, and champion reform efforts to protect and restore Fourth Amendment rights.{{Cite web |date=2016-07-13 |title=Bipartisan House Members Announce Fourth Amendment Caucus |url=https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases/bipartisan-house-members-announce-fourth-amendment-caucus |access-date=2019-12-27 |website=Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren |language=en}}

In 2014 remarks on an NSA phone data mining bill, Gabbard said: "We still have yet to hear of a single example of how national security has been strengthened by allowing bulk data collection."{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Susan |date=May 23, 2014 |title=House votes to overhaul NSA phone data mining |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/267057272/?terms=transparency+tulsi+gabbard+government |access-date=2019-08-30 |website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |language=en}}

In 2015, Gabbard spearheaded, together with Ron Wyden (D-OR),{{Cite news |title=Lawmakers want to expand role of government privacy watchdog |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/09/23/lawmakers-want-to-expand-role-of-government-privacy-watchdog |access-date=2022-05-01 |issn=0190-8286}} and co-sponsored by Trey Gowdy (R-SC-4) and Tom Udall (D-NM), the Strengthening Privacy, Oversight, and Transparency (SPOT) Act{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2015-06-26 |title=Related Bills - H.R.2305 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): SPOT Act |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2305/related-bills |access-date=2019-12-27 |website=www.congress.gov}} to as Udall stated, "strengthen the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)" and "significantly improve the oversight and accountability of the nation's intelligence community to protect Americans' constitutional rights."{{Cite web |title=Udall Bill Would Strengthen Ability of Privacy Oversight Board to Protect Americans' Constitutional Rights {{!}} U.S. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico |url=https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/udall-bill-would-strengthen-ability-of-privacy-oversight-board-to-protect-americans-and-039-constitutional-rights |access-date=2019-12-27 |website=www.tomudall.senate.gov |language=en |archive-date=2019-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227150121/https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/udall-bill-would-strengthen-ability-of-privacy-oversight-board-to-protect-americans-and-039-constitutional-rights |url-status=dead }}

On January 29, 2019, Gabbard was awarded an 'A+' rating "as a champion for protecting a free and open internet and civil liberties" from Restore The Fourth and Fight for the Future, "recogniz[ing] the congresswoman’s strong record of opposing mass surveillance and the warrantless collection of Americans’ calls, emails, texts and other communications, support of civil liberties and the USA Rights amendment and more."{{Cite web |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Congressional Record, January 11, 2018 |url=https://www.congress.gov/115/crec/2018/01/11/CREC-2018-01-11-pt1-PgH136-4.pdf |at=The Blank Check of Section 702}} Gabbard said "It is unfortunate that some leaders in Washington claim that the American people must choose between our national security, and our civil liberties. This is a false choice. We must ensure that our laws and policies strike the appropriate balance – protecting our national security, while simultaneously ensuring the constitutional rights of Americans are upheld."{{Cite web |date=January 29, 2019 |title=Rep. Gabbard Earns A+ Rating for Protecting Civil Liberties, Open Internet |url=http://bigislandnow.com/2019/01/29/rep-gabbard-earns-a-rating-for-protecting-civil-liberties-open-internet/ |access-date=2019-12-28 |website=Big Island Now {{!}} Rep. Gabbard Earns A+ Rating for Protecting Civil Liberties, Open Internet |language=en-US}}

In January 2025, Gabbard reversed her opposition to FISA 702, which she had previously voted against the reauthorization of in 2020.{{Cite news|work=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tulsi-gabbard-shifts-stance-key-surveillance-tool-previously/story?id=117587144|title=Tulsi Gabbard shifts stance on key surveillance tool she previously opposed|date=January 11, 2025}}

Gabbard introduced the Securing America's Elections Act of 2018{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2018-03-01 |title=Text - H.R.5147 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Securing America's Elections Act of 2018 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5147/text |access-date=2019-12-07 |website=www.congress.gov}} to require voter-verified paper ballots in federal elections in case of any audit or recount, allow voters to verify and correct any errors before their permanent paper ballot is preserved for official government record; and establish voter-verified paper ballots as the correct record of votes cast if there were any inconsistencies or irregularities between electronic and paper vote tallies.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Duane Paul |date=April 3, 2018 |title=The Election Bill No One Is Talking About: Hawaiian congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is trying to strengthen voting security. |work=College Media Network |url=https://www.collegemedianetwork.com/the-election-bill-no-one-is-talking-about |access-date=December 7, 2019}}

Gabbard says the "Washington bubble is disconnected" from the people in the country.{{Cite news |date=2020-01-19 |title=CloseUp: Gabbard would disband Space Force |language=en-US |at=At 1:23 |publisher=WMUR-TV |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYtTBRh-duk&t=1m23s |access-date=2020-01-29}} During a January 2020 interview with a newspaper's editor board, she criticized her party and the cable news media. Gabbard stated that the Democratic party "unfortunately has become more and more out of touch" with people across the country, and that the party needs to listen to the concerns of ordinary voters. She called for the Democratic party to renounce the influence of lobbyists for the fossil-fuel industry, military contractors and other giant corporations to trigger a shift in foreign and domestic priorities of the United States. She warned, the impeachment of President Trump could prevent this shift in priorities and could lead to Republican wins of House, Senate and presidency in 2020. Gabbard said, voters "feel a sense of great frustration" that their opinions and everyday concerns are "not at all reflected" in the cable news media.{{Cite news |last=Corriveau |first=David |date=2020-01-23 |title=Gabbard seeks shift in national priorities |language=en-US |publisher=Valley News |url=https://www.vnews.com/Gabbard-seeking-primary-traction-in-N-H-32175227 |access-date=2020-01-29}} She introduced legislation to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine,{{Cite web |date=2019-09-19 |title=H.R.4401 - Restore the Fairness Doctrine Act of 2019 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4401 |access-date=2020-01-29 |work=116th Congress (2019-2020) |language=en-US}} a policy that required media outlets to present contrasting views on any political or social issue.{{Cite news |last=Larsen |first=Emily |date=2020-01-21 |title=Tulsi Gabbard criticizes her coverage compared to fellow veteran Buttigieg |language=en-US |publisher=Washington Examiner |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/tulsi-gabbard-criticizes-her-coverage-compared-to-fellow-veteran-buttigieg |access-date=2020-01-29}}{{Cite news |date=2019-10-24 |title=Bill filed in Congress would mandate equal media attention on political or social issues |language=en-US |publisher=WJLA-TV |url=https://wjla.com/news/connect-to-congress/bill-filed-in-congress-would-mandate-equal-media-attention-on-political-or-social-issues |access-date=2020-01-29}}

On October 12, 2022, Gabbard announced her decision to leave the Democratic Party, stating that, "I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, demonize the police and protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war."{{Cite web |title=Tulsi Gabbard, who sought 2020 Democratic nomination, says she's leaving party |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/11/politics/tulsi-gabbard-leaves-democratic-party/index.html |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=CNN|date=11 October 2022 |language=en}}

Gabbard has stated the U.S. government should drop charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: "[H]is arrest and all … that just went down … poses a great threat to our freedom of the press and to our freedom of speech"{{Cite web |last=EDT |first=Jason Murdock On 5/15/19 at 5:22 AM |date=2019-05-15 |title=Tulsi Gabbard says she would drop charges against Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-julian-assange-edward-swowden-pardon-dropped-charges-joe-rogan-1425802 |access-date=2019-05-18 |website=Newsweek|language=en-US}} She has also expressed concerns that "our government … can basically create this climate of fear against … those … publishing things that they don't like …. This … threatens every American — the message … we are getting is 'Be quiet, toe the line, otherwise there will be consequences.'"{{Cite web |title=Tulsi Gabbard calls Assange's arrest a blow to transparency and free press |url=https://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch/tulsi-gabbard-calls-assange-s-arrest-a-blow-to-transparency-and-free-press-1488923203843 |access-date=2019-09-09 |website=MSNBC.com |publisher=MSNBC|language=en}}

She would also pardon NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and take action to "close the loopholes" in the law Snowden exposed. Of Snowden and Chelsea Manning, she said, "there is not an actual channel for whistle-blowers like them to bring forward information that exposes egregious abuses of our constitutional rights and liberties, period. There was not a channel for that to happen in a real way, and that's why they ended up taking the path that they did, and suffering the consequences."

In October 2020, Gabbard introduced two bipartisan resolutions in the House of Representatives to pardon and drop all charges against Edward Snowden and Julian Assange respectively.{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Ryan |date=2020-10-08 |title=Tulsi Gabbard introduces bills to drop charges against Snowden, Assange, reform Espionage Act |url=https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/10/tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bills-to-drop-charges-against-snowden-assange-reform-espionage-act/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=American Military News |language=en-US}} She also introduced a bill to reform the Espionage Act—HR8452 ("Protect Brave Whistleblowers Act")—which was supported by Daniel Ellsberg, best known for leaking the Pentagon Papers.{{Cite web |last=Boccher |first=Mia |date=2020-10-14 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's Bill Wants to Help Whistleblowers |url=http://affinitymagazine.us/2020/10/13/tulsi-gabbards-bill-wants-to-help-whistleblowers/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Affinity Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-11-01 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to Reform the Espionage Act and Strengthen Whistleblower Protections {{!}} Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-reform-espionage-act-and-strengthen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101062733/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-reform-espionage-act-and-strengthen |archive-date=2020-11-01 |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard}}

In November 2020, Gabbard called for President Donald Trump to pardon Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-28 |title=Tulsi Gabbard urges Trump to 'please consider' pardons for Assange and Snowden |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tulsi-gabbard-trump-assange-snowden-pardon-b1763001.html |access-date=2021-01-11 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

On November 21, 2016, Gabbard became the second Democrat (after Michelle Rhee) to meet with President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team at Trump Tower.{{cite news |title=Democratic Rep. Gabbard meets with Trump |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/politics/gabbard-trump-transition/ |access-date=November 21, 2016}} She described the meeting as "frank and positive" and said she accepted the meeting to influence Trump before Republicans grew in influence and escalated the war to overthrow the Syrian government.{{Cite news |title=Democrat Tulsi Gabbard defends 'frank and positive' Trump meeting |publisher=NBC News |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/why-democratic-rep-tulsi-gabbard-met-donald-trump-n686976 |access-date=February 12, 2017}} She later called the Trump administration's 2017 Shayrat missile strike reckless and "short-sighted."

Gabbard did not join the 169 congressional Democrats who signed a letter of opposition to Steve Bannon's appointment as Trump's chief strategist,{{Cite news |date=November 18, 2016 |title=Why didn't Rep. Tulsi Gabbard join 169 of her colleagues in denouncing Trump appointee Stephen Bannon? – Maui Time |newspaper=Maui Time |url=http://mauitime.com/news/politics/why-didnt-rep-tulsi-gabbard-join-169-of-her-colleagues-in-denouncing-trump-appointee-stephen-bannon/ |access-date=February 12, 2017}}{{Cite news |last=Calamur |first=Krishnadev |title=Tulsi Gabbard, the GOP's Favorite Democrat, Goes to Syria |newspaper=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/tulsi-gabbard-syria/508367/ |access-date=February 25, 2017}} but she joined 182 other colleagues to co-sponsor a bill to remove him from the National Security Council.{{Cite web |year=2017 |title=Co-sponsors of H.R.804 - Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/804/cosponsors |website=US Congress}}

Gabbard vehemently criticized the 2017 United States–Saudi Arabia arms deal{{Cite news |last=Beavers |first=Olivia |date=May 20, 2017 |title=Dem senator: Trump's arms deal with Saudis a 'terrible idea' |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/334390-dem-senator-calls-trumps-arms-deal-with-saudis-a-terrible-idea/}} and the administration's decision not to sanction Saudi Arabia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

In an October 29, 2019 press conference with family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Gabbard requested the Trump administration to declassify the findings of its investigation into a possible involvement of Saudi Arabia government officials in the September 11 attacks and to end all aid for Saudi Arabia until this information is made public. Gabbard reintroduced House resolution 663 from 2017{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Walter B. |date=December 13, 2017 |title=H.Res.663 - Urging the release of information regarding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon the United States |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/663 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=US Congress}} as resolution 662{{cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=October 29, 2019 |title=H.Res.662 - Urging the release of information regarding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon the United States |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/662 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=US Congress}} to push for this goal.{{cite web |last=AP |date=October 30, 2019 |title=Release 9/11 docs related to Saudis: Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/release-9/11-docs-related-to-saudis-tulsi-gabbard/videoshow/71823410.cms |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=The Economic Times |archive-date=November 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123003519/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/release-9/11-docs-related-to-saudis-tulsi-gabbard/videoshow/71823410.cms |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last=Matthews |first=Karen |date=October 29, 2019 |title=Tulsi Gabbard: Release documents related to Saudis and 9/11 |url=https://apnews.com/44c4fb1d0fce4edf9a5fc83b0d8b0ef2 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |website=Associated Press}}

Gabbard voted "present" when the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump in December 2019, saying, "I could not in good conscience vote against impeachment because I believe President Trump is guilty of wrongdoing. I could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting president must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country."{{Cite web |last=Marcos |first=Cristina |date=2019-12-18 |title=Gabbard votes 'present' on impeaching Trump |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/475233-gabbard-votes-present-on-impeaching-trump/ |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=The Hill|language=en}}

She explained the motivation for her "present" vote in two video messages{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2019-12-19 |title=A house divided cannot stand. And today we are divided. Fragmentation and polarity are ripping our country apart. Today, I come before you to make a stand for the center, to appeal to all of you to bridge our differences and stand up for the American people. |url=https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1207649784036614144 |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=Tulsi Gabbard on Twitter |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2019-12-19 |title=My 'present' vote was an active protest against the zero-sum game the two opposing political sides have trapped America in. My vote and campaign is about freeing our country from this damaging mindset so we can work side-by-side to usher in a bright future for all |url=https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1207753618935308288 |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=Tulsi Gabbard on Twitter |language=en}} and a press release. Gabbard cited The Federalist Papers essay No. 69{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Jessica |date=2019-11-18 |title=Fractured Into Factions? What The Founders Feared About Impeachment |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/18/779938819/fractured-into-factions-what-the-founders-feared-about-impeachment |access-date=2019-12-23 |website=NPR |language=en}} and described her vote as a protest against a political zero-sum game where both parties "aim to extract maximum hurt from their opponent, but everybody loses and nothing gets done." She said she felt the impeachment process had become a partisan endeavor. Gabbard criticized Republicans for "blindly supporting their party leader and abdicating their responsibility to exercise legitimate oversight" and she criticized Democrats for using "extreme rhetoric that was never conducive to an impartial fact-finding process". She called for "reconciliation of the divided nation".{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Sean |date=2019-12-18 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard explains why she voted "present" on the articles of impeachment |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/18/21029243/tulsi-gabbard-house-vote-present-trump-articles-impeachment-hearing |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=Vox|language=en}} Gabbard introduced House resolution H.Res.766{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2019-12-17 |title=H.Res.766 - Censuring President Donald J. Trump. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/766 |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=116th Congress (2019-2020) |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gabbard |first=Tulsi |date=2019-12-18 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Calls on House to Censure President for Putting Personal Political Gain Over National Interest |url=https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-calls-house-censure-president-putting-personal-political-gain |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=House member Tulsi Gabbard |language=en |archive-date=2020-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319181308/https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-calls-house-censure-president-putting-personal-political-gain |url-status=dead }} that would censure President Trump for several of his foreign policy decisions and "send a strong message to this president and future presidents that their abuses of power will not go unchecked, while leaving the question of removing Trump from office to the voters to decide."{{Cite web |last1=Berman |first1=Matt |last2=McLeod |first2=Paul |date=2019-12-18 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Was The Only Member Of Congress To Vote "Present" For Donald Trump's Impeachment |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mattberman/tulsi-gabbard-impeach-trump-present |access-date=2019-12-19 |website=BuzzFeed News|language=en}}

A week after voting, Gabbard said she thinks the impeachment of President Trump would unfortunately embolden him, increase the likelihood of his reelection and causes her serious concern about her party losing the presidential election and the majority in the House of Representatives.{{Cite web |last1=Peterson |first1=Beatrice |last2=Mitropoulos |first2=Arielle |date=2019-12-29 |title=Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says impeachment will only 'embolden' Trump, increasing his reelection chances |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-tulsi-gabbard-impeachment-embolden-trump-increasing-reelection/story?id=67960828 |access-date=2019-12-29 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

• List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
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• [https://www.tulsi2020.com Tulsi 2020] official presidential campaign website
• [http://gabbard.house.gov/ Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828032413/https://gabbard.house.gov/ |date=2019-08-28 }} official U.S. House website
• [https://www.tulsigabbard.org/ Tulsi Gabbard on the issues - TulsiGabbard.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319170231/https://www.tulsigabbard.org/ |date=2020-03-19 }}
• [http://www.votetulsi.com/ Tulsi Gabbard for Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111033618/https://www.votetulsi.com/ |date=2019-01-11 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121114134209/http://www.healthyhawaiicoalition.com/ Healthy Hawai'i Coalition (HHC)]

{{CongLinks | congbio=G000571 | votesmart=129306 | fec=H2HI02508 | congress=tulsi-gabbard/2122 }}

• [http://www.makers.com/tulsi-gabbard Tulsi Gabbard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111131238/https://www.makers.com/tulsi-gabbard |date=2017-11-11 }} Video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America
• [http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/rep-tulsi-gabbard-gets-married-in-traditional-hindu-wedding/article_9985d058-dfe2-11e4-9f38-b7f07ff89d53.html Tulsi Gabbard Marriage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113063031/https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/rep-tulsi-gabbard-gets-married-in-traditional-hindu-wedding/article_9985d058-dfe2-11e4-9f38-b7f07ff89d53.html |date=2019-01-13 }} Tulsi Gabbard's marriage in Vedic tradition

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Political positions

Category:Political positions of the 2020 United States presidential candidates

Category:Political positions of members of the United States House of Representatives