Who is Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s new national intelligence director?

Gabbard has also made a string of controversial statements relating to Russia and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Writing on social media on the day Russia invaded, she said the war could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia’s “legitimate security concerns” about Ukraine’s bid to join Nato.

The following month, she said it was an “undeniable fact” that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could “release and spread deadly pathogens” as she called for a ceasefire.

In response, Republican senator Mitt Romney said Gabbard had embraced “actual Russian propaganda”.

On Russian TV her nomination as intelligence director is being framed as likely to complicate Washington’s relations with Ukraine.

Rossiya 1 correspondent Dmitry Melnikov said that her nomination “does not bode well for Kyiv”, noting that in the past she “openly accused the Biden administration of provoking Russia”.

The channel’s presenter also pointed out that Gabbard had “strongly criticised Zelensky and called for dialogue with Russia”.

Additional reporting BBC Monitoring’s Karine Mirumyan