Tulsi Gabbard steps down as Director of National Intelligence

President Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is resigning from her position following her husband's cancer diagnosis. The President informed on Truth Social that she will be leaving the administration on June 30. "Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together," Trump wrote. "I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her."

In her resignation letter, posted on social media, Gabbard wrote that she must "step away from public service" to be by her husband's side and "fully support him through this battle." "His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge. I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position," she wrote, adding that she is "fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks." "It has been a profound honor to serve the American people as DNI," Gabbard said. 

However, despite Gabbard highlighting her husband's health as her reason for resignation, one Reuters report claimed that the DNI director had been pressured by the White House to hand in her papers. According to reports, President Trump had grown deeply frustrated with her non-interventionist approach to national security, particularly regarding the administration's military posture toward Iran. Reuters, in its report, recalled a March incident in which Trump openly criticized Gabbard for being "softer" than him on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions. Reports also claim that she was largely frozen out of critical national security operations in both Venezuela and Iran.

Gabbard is the fourth Cabinet member to resign under Trump's second term, after Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Tulsi Gabbard. But unlike the others, her resignation letter explicitly stated a deeply personal reason for her decision.  Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence following Gabbard’s departure.

While some Democrats celebrated Gabbard's exit, many Republican lawmakers took to social media to share their well-wishes for the national intelligence director. "I’m sorry 2see Tulsi Gabbard leave Pres Trump’s cabinet but she’s putting family 1st She did a lot of good work IMPORTANTLY Gabbard was most helpful 2me in document production/declassification for impt oversight+ TRANSPARENCY for the American ppl & pushing back on the DEEP STATE," Senator Chuck Grassley wrote in a post on X.

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, too, expressed his sympathies for Gabbard. However, he criticized her, saying that her "only positive contribution to our nation's national security is her resignation."