Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of National Intelligence, marking another major departure from Trump administration | Today’s news
Tulsi Gabbard announced Friday (local time) that she is stepping down from her role as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, Fox News reported, citing her resignation letter.
The report said Gabbard informed Trump of her decision during a meeting in the Oval Office, and her resignation will take effect on June 30.
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Trump reacts to Gabbard’s resignation
Shortly after Gabbard resigned from her position, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post: “Sadly, after doing a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the administration on June 30th. Her wonderful husband, Abraham, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and she, rightfully so, wants to be with him as I currently bring him back to better health than ever. I doubt they will be fighting for a better soon health than ever before. Tulsi has done an incredible job and will be missed. Her highly regarded Senior Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”
Gabbard is stepping down for personal reasons
In her resignation letter, Gabbard told the US president that she was “deeply grateful for the trust you have placed in me and the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the past year and a half.” She added: “Unfortunately, I have to tender my resignation effective June 30, 2026. My husband Abraham was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
She went on to say that her husband “faces great challenges in the coming weeks and months,” adding: “At this time I must step down from public service to be by his side and fully support him in this battle.”
Gabbard noted that her husband: “Abraham has been my rock throughout the eleven years of our marriage – standing steadfast during my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, numerous political campaigns and now my service in this role.”
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“His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge,” she continued. “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”
The former DNI said she had “made significant progress at ODNI, advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring the integrity of the intelligence community,” but said she recognized “there is still important work to be done.”
Gabbard led the intelligence community review as DNI
As DNI, Gabbard initiated a major overhaul of the intelligence community with a focus on shrinking the organization, cutting costs by more than $700 million annually and eliminating DEI programs within the intelligence network.
This month, Gabbard also oversaw the declassification of more than 500,000 pages of government documents, including files related to the Trump-Russia investigation and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, among others.
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Gabbard also released declassified records related to the origins of the Trump-Russia “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, claiming the documents indicated that officials in former President Barack Obama’s administration politicized intelligence related to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and used it against Trump after his first presidential victory.
In addition, it also created the first-ever “Weaponization Working Group” to coordinate efforts across the federal government to expose the weaponization of the government by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Gabbard’s National Counterterrorism Center prevented more than 10,000 narco-terrorism individuals from entering the country in 2025 and placed more than 85,000 similarly connected individuals on a terrorism watch list.
By the way, Gabbard’s departure from the Trump administration is the only one that is not connected to professional disagreements, internal disputes or firing.
