Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is the fourth member of Congress to endorse Bernie Sanders. | AP Photo Tulsi Gabbard backs Sanders

CHICAGO — Bernie Sanders received his highest-profile congressional endorsement yet on Sunday morning, as Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation from her post as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee to back the Vermont senator in his presidential bid.

“I have taken my responsibilities as an officer of the DNC seriously, and respected the need to stay neutral in our primaries. However, after much thought and consideration, I’ve decided I cannot remain neutral and sit on the sidelines any longer,” Gabbard wrote in an email to her fellow DNC officers, obtained by POLITICO.


“There is a clear contrast between our two candidates with regard to my strong belief that we must end the interventionist, regime change policies that have cost us so much. This is not just another ‘issue.’ This is THE issue, and it’s deeply personal to me. This is why I’ve decided to resign as Vice Chair of the DNC so that I can support Bernie Sanders in his efforts to earn the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential race.”

The move was first announced on “Meet the Press,” where Gabbard told moderator Chuck Todd, “As a veteran and as a soldier I’ve seen firsthand the true cost of war. I served in a medical unit during my first deployment, where every single day I saw firsthand the very high human cost of that war," said Gabbard, a veteran of the Gulf War.

"I think it’s most important for us, as we look at our choices as to who our next commander in chief will be, is to recognize the necessity to have a commander in chief who has foresight, exercises good judgment, who looks beyond the consequences, looks at the consequences of the actions they’re looking to take, before they take those actions, so 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.”

DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz acknowledged Gabbard's resignation in a statement, saying: "I look forward to continuing to work alongside her when our party unites behind whoever emerges as our nominee."

Gabbard is the fourth member of Congress to endorse Sanders, who is coming off a 48-point drubbing at the hands of Hillary Clinton in South Carolina on Saturday. She joins Reps. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Peter Welch of Vermont.

It’s a high-profile pickup for Sanders, particularly considering that Gabbard is leaving the DNC — with which his campaign has had considerable tension in recent months following December’s data-breach saga.

“Congresswoman Gabbard is one of the important voices of a new generation of leaders,” Sanders said in a statement. “As a veteran of the Iraq War she understands the cost of war and is fighting to create a foreign policy that not only protects America but keeps us out of perpetual wars that we should not be in.”

The congresswoman has seen her national profile rise as she has spoken out more about foreign policy issues, and as she clashed with DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz over the Democratic presidential debate schedule.

Still, Clinton has the backing of over 150 Democratic members of Congress, as well as all but four Democratic senators and all but six Democratic governors.