Bernie Sanders-supporting congresswoman meets with Donald Trump

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 21 November 2016

President-elect Donald Trump had his first meeting with a congressional Democrat on Monday morning when he sat down with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) at Trump Tower. Gabbard, who was an ardent supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic presidential primary and has been an outspoken critic of President Obama's policy in Syria, said they talked about foreign policy. "President-elect Trump asked me to meet with him about our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al Qaeda and ISIS, as well as other foreign policy challenges we face," she said in a statement.

Gabbard said she ignored the "rules of political expediency" to meet with Trump. She said she informed Trump of her concerns about escalating the war in Syria with a no-fly zone and brought up her bill to end the effort to overthrow the Syrian government.

Trump's meeting with Gabbard was his first of many Monday. He also met with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who is reportedly under consideration for secretary of commerce, agriculture, or energy, though no Cabinet position was offered Monday. Similarly, no job offer was made after Trump's meeting with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R). Journalists including CNN's Wolf Blitzer, NBC's Lester Holt, and ABC's Martha Raddatz also reportedly attended an off-the-record meeting at Trump Tower.