Tulsi Gabbard resigned as Director of National Intelligence on Friday, announcing her departure in a letter shared on the social media platform X. Gabbard cited her husband's recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer as the reason for her resignation. Her last day in the position will be June 30, according to NBC News.
Gabbard served as chief of U.S. intelligence agencies for 15 months, having been appointed at the start of President Donald Trump's second term, Euronews reported. She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart the Trump administration, according to PBS NewsHour. During her tenure, Gabbard faced scrutiny over her conduct and the handling of U.S. intelligence, PBS NewsHour stated.
In her resignation letter to President Trump, Gabbard wrote that she was stepping down to support her husband, Abraham, who was diagnosed with an "extremely rare form of bone cancer," according to Fox News and The Straits Times. Multiple outlets, including CBS News, NPR, and CNBC, reported that Gabbard is leaving her post to support her husband as he battles cancer. BBC reported that Gabbard had been "largely out of public view during recent U.S. operations."
President Trump announced on Truth Social that Aaron Lukas would serve as acting Director of National Intelligence, The Guardian reported. The Financial Times described Gabbard as "the latest in a series of high-profile defections from the president's cabinet."
The Independent UK noted that Gabbard is a former Democrat. Deutsche Welle reported that Gabbard, whom the outlet described as "an opponent of foreign U.S. interventions," had sought to distance herself from U.S.-Israeli positions. Middle East Eye characterized Gabbard as an "Iran war sceptic" who had been "sidelined" in the administration.
The Times of India reported that Gabbard resigned "under pressure from the White House," citing a report. This claim has not been corroborated by other sources in this cluster. RT reported that Gabbard had been leading an investigation into U.S. biological laboratories before her resignation, though details of this investigation were not specified in the available source material.
Gabbard's resignation marks another departure from Trump's cabinet during his second term. The Director of National Intelligence oversees the U.S. intelligence community and serves as the principal advisor to the president on intelligence matters.
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