Topline
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leaving the Trump administration, the latest in a recent string of high-profile exits among Trump Cabinet members after Gabbard was reportedly iced out of operations regarding the Iran war.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stands after President Donald Trump spoke about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
She posted a resignation letter saying she was leaving to care for her husband, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, though Reuters soon reported Gabbard was forced out by the White House.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Gabbard would remain in her post until June 30 and be replaced in the interim by Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas, while also citing her husband’s recent cancer diagnosis and saying that Gabbard was “unfortunately, after having done a great job . . . leaving the administration.”
Gabbard is the fourth woman in Trump’s cabinet to resign or be fired in less than three months, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March, Attorney General Pam Bondi in April and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer later in April.
Trump publicly expressed his disappointment in Gabbard after she told Congress earlier this year Iran had made “no efforts” to rebuild its nuclear program following last year’s strikes in June, contradicting Trump’s primary reason for attacking Iran in February, and she refused to say that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. at the time of the attacks.
Trump told reporters “I don’t care what she said,” and on another occasion, “she’s wrong” in response to her assessment on Iran.
Gabbard was excluded from Iran war discussions at the start and was also left out of planning on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Tangent
Gabbard oddly showed up to a search of the Fulton County, Georgia, election headquarters in February as part of a new investigation by the Trump administration into alleged voter fraud during the 2020 election. The Trump administration gave contradicting reasons for her presence there, with Trump saying Gabbard was “working very hard on trying to keep the election safe.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche then later said she wasn’t at the search and was just in the area when it occurred. Gabbard said Trump requested she be there and the DNI said she “accompanied” FBI officials in executing the search.
Key Background
Gabbard is a former Democrat who became an independent after leaving Congress and announced in October 2024 she was joining the Republican Party and endorsing Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administration, she has been broadly opposed to foreign military intervention and criticized Trump while running for president as a Democrat in 2020 for breaking his campaign promise to “end forever wars,” she told Fox News at the time. She alleged Trump was escalating a “regime change war against Iran” and said “to all who voted for Trump bc of his antiwar rhetoric, it’s time to realize he lied to u,” she tweeted in 2020.
Further Reading
Will Tulsi Gabbard Get Confirmed As Trump’s Intel Director? Some GOP Senators Skeptical Of Her Record On Russia And Syria. (Forbes)
