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Tulsi Gabbard resigns as US director of national intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard resigns as US director of national intelligence.
Tulsi Gabbard is stepping down from her role as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, she said while posting her resignation letter on social media platform X.
According to a Fox News Digital report, Gabbard informed Trump of her decision during an Oval Office meeting earlier in the day. Her resignation will take effect on June 30.
In her resignation letter addressed to the President, Gabbard told Trump she was “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”
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Gabbard cited her husband’s recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer as the reason for stepping down.
"Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026," she wrote. "My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer."
However, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the White House had forced Gabbard to resign.
What did Gabbard say in her resignation letter?
Citing her husband's health as the reason, Gabbard said he “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months”, adding that she needed to step away from “public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle” during this time.
“Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage-standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role,” Gabbard said, highlighting her husband's support throughout her career.
“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 added.
Regarding her department, she said there had been “significant progress” at the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), adding that they had advanced “unprecedented transparency” and helped in “restoring integrity to the intelligence community”. However, Gabbard said there was “still important work to be done.”
She further said she was “fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks” so that the Trump administration “experience no disruption in leadership or momentum.” She concluded the letter by thanking Trump for his “understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time”, and said she would be “forever…grateful” to have served as the Director of National Intelligence.
