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Tulsi Gabbard owes her political career to Hawaii, where she served in elective office at the county, state and federal level. But she appears to have largely left its shores behind as her national profile ascended.

A press release announcing Gabbard’s selection by President-elect Donald Trump to be director of his national intelligence community said she is currently a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as battalion commander of the 1/354 Regiment in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Her social media accounts over the past six months include scant mention of Hawaii as she hopped from city to city nationwide in support of the Trump campaign. On Thanksgiving Day, Gabbard posted a photo that appears to be taken in Hawaii of her and husband Abraham Williams, without mentioning where or when it was taken.

My heart is filled with gratitude – for God’s unconditional love, for the love and support of my family, for freedom and our great country. Happy Thanksgiving!!

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard)

Her last public appearance in Hawaii — according to and postings on Gabbard’s — appears to be a visit to Maui not long after the August 2023 wildfires. She advocated for survivors while excoriating the Biden administration for its response to the fires.

While there, she also promoted one tangible tie to the islands: the Hawaii-registered nonprofit, We Must Protect, which she started in 2022. The organization, however, has been a small player in the Maui relief effort, based on tax filings. 

John Hart, a professor of communication at Hawaii Pacific University who closely follows local politics, said he could not remember the last time he saw Gabbard in Hawaii.

“It’s pretty clear she was pulling up stakes and hopping onto the national stage,” he said. “She realized that she needed to be on the mainland.”

Her prospective appointment as National Intelligence Director has put her in an intense spotlight, drawing attention to her for Vladimir Putin of Russia and Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

Just before Thanksgiving, former Gabbard D.C. staffer, Kainoa Penaroza, posted on X about a “creepy” Washington Post reporter who “ came to my door uninvited asking for me.” Gabbard reposted the comment.

Gabbard’s father, state Sen. Mike Gabbard, who lives on Oahu, did not respond to an email from Civil Beat asking about his daughter’s current ties to Hawaii.

Civil Beat also reached out to a Tulsi Gabbard media contact, Erika Tsuji, who emailed a statement from the Trump transition team: “As (Director of National Intelligence), Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard will protect our national security and defend against any effort to use the work of our intelligence agencies as weapons against Americans.” 

Frequent Flyer

When Gabbard announced her run for president in February 2019 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki she said, “This change that we need to see must begin in the White House, because the White House should be a beacon of aloha. 

While Gabbard has little presence in Hawaii lately, her social media posts offer insights into her recent life and travels.

In a June 5 Instagram post Gabbard explained that, “whatever time zone I’m in,” she always wakes up early, works out and mixes a pre-packed protein powder with water. She also avoids eating bad food on planes.

On June 13, in a conversation with Meghan McCain, she shared that she and her husband tried to have a baby through in vitro fertilization— treatments done in Washington, D.C.

“It was a difficult experience, filled with a lot of heartbreak, prayer, and surrender,” she said.

Gabbard also acknowledged to McCain traveling “back and forth between Hawaii” and she explained that the white streak in her dark hair was not a fake but came after her service in Iraq.

A posting on Veterans Day last month showed her giving a speech at Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific, but it was delivered several years ago. On the one-year anniversary of the Maui fires, Gabbard posted of her visit there a year earlier.

According to public records, Gabbard had a P.O. Box in Honolulu that was active from 2012 to earlier this year. She also listed a residence in Kailua from 2015 to July 17, 2024.

We Must Protect

Her strongest tie, outside of her family, may be her nonprofit, We Must Protect. It is a 501(c)3 charitable organization registered with the state of Hawaii in January 2021, with a purpose to “Engage in research and public education for the benefit of those vulnerable populations in our community that deserve to be honored and cared for.”

The nonprofit has a physical address in Ewa Beach on Oahu and a mailing address in Roanoke, Virginia. A visit by Civil Beat to the Ewa Beach address showed a home with no indication of a nonprofit.

The nonprofit’s 2023 tax filing shows total revenue at $127,913, expenses of $83,468 and an end-of-year balance of $60,345. Of those expenses, $25,000 went to of Puunene, Maui, for “disaster aid.” The foundation is, , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established by Kai Lenny in May 2021.

“All donations go to the families affected by the Lahaina and Kula Fires,” a . It includes a link to the foundation’s Maui Fire Fund, which states that Fidelity National Title & Escrow of Hawaii launched a matching funds drive in August 2024.

A year ago today, historic wildfires ripped through Maui, destroying over 2,000 structures and taking 102 lives. One year has gone by, and many families remain displaced. True accountability for the many failures that led to this tragedy, and the failure in the response, has yet…

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard)

Lenny, a professional big wave surfer, is featured prominently in the video of Gabbard’s 2023 visit to Maui after the fires. In addition to paying him $25,000, We Must Protect spent $21,071 on “Maui relief supplies,” travel and filing fees and another $10,879 for “other changes in net assets or fund balances.”

The 2023 tax filing provides little other detail, other than that Gabbard was then listed as We Must Protect’s president and still put in five hours a month. Treasurer Thomas Datwyler put in one hour, as did Tsuji, who was listed as secretary.

Asked about We Must Protect, Tsuji passed along another email statement from the Trump transition team: “Congresswoman and Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard’s volunteer-run nonprofit, We Must Protect, provided essential aid to victims of the Maui fires and continues to support survivors of Hurricane Helene, stepping in where government agencies failed.”

Gabbard authored several postings on Substack and about the Maui fires, but her attention of late has been on Hurricane Helene, which severely damaged North Carolina and neighboring states in October. The currently shows Gabbard touring the destruction there, and the website asks for donations.