Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a rising star in the Democratic Party, announced Sunday she is resigning from her Democratic National Committee post in order to endorse Sen. Bernard Sanders’ bid for the presidential nomination.
“I am resigning from the DNC so that I can support Bernie Sanders,” Ms. Gabbard said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Ms. Gabbard, who has clashed with DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz over the Democratic presidential debate schedule, said her decision was rooted in her military experience.
“As a veteran, as a soldier, I’ve seen firsthand the trust cost of war,” she said, calling it a “necessity” to “have a commander-in-chief who has foresight, who exercises good judgment, who looks at the consequences of the actions that they are looking to take before they take those actions, so that we don’t continue to find ourselves in these failures that have resulted in chaos in the Middle East and so much loss of life.”
Her announcement comes after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beat Mr. Sanders by a whopping 73 to 26 percent in Saturday’s South Carolina primary.
Ms. Wasserman Schultz issued a statement praising Ms. Gabbard for her work on the DNC. Ms. Gabbard had pushed for more Democratic debates, which presumably would have benefited the Vermont senator versus the better-known Mrs. Clinton.
“Congresswoman Gabbard is a role model who embodies the American ideal that anyone can dream big and make a difference,” Ms. Wasserman said. “She is also a colleague in Congress and a friend, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside her when our Party unites behind whoever emerges as our nominee.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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