Tulsi Gabbard Resigns as US Intelligence Chief Citing Husband's Bone Cancer

Tulsi Gabbard is stepping down as the director of national intelligence. Her resignation, submitted Friday, cites her husband's recent bone cancer diagnosis as the reason for leaving one of the most powerful positions in the US intelligence-gathering apparatus.

In her resignation letter, Gabbard wrote that her husband Abraham faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. She added that his strength and love have sustained her through every challenge, and that she cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while she continues in the demanding and time-consuming role. The resignation is effective June 30.

President Donald Trump confirmed the departure in a social media post, stating that Gabbard has done an incredible job and that the administration will miss her. He also announced that Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy director, will step in as acting director. Trump added that Gabbard rightfully wants to be with her husband, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together, and expressed confidence that he will soon be better than ever.

Gabbard was confirmed as director weeks after Trump returned to the White House in 2025. She had been a loyal supporter during his 2024 presidential campaign. However, this year she has largely remained out of public view even as the United States took military action against Iran, applied pressure on Cuba, and notably removed Venezuela's president.

She is the fourth member of Trump's cabinet to leave his second administration. Lori Chavez-DeRemer departed as labor secretary in April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi both left earlier this year.

During her political career, Gabbard positioned herself as anti-interventionist when it came to foreign wars. That stance created tension after Trump decided to attack Iran. Following US-Israel strikes, she avoided endorsing the decision and carefully evaded questions during a congressional hearing in March about whether the administration knew of the conflict's potential fallout. She also faced scrutiny from Democrats over what they perceived as discrepancies between White House and intelligence community claims about Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities.

Last year, Trump appeared to dismiss Gabbard's declaration before Congress that Iran was not seeking to build a nuclear weapon. He told reporters at the time that he did not care what she said, stating that he believed Iran was very close to having a weapon. He has repeatedly cited Iran's nuclear capability as a reason for the US war with Iran.

Gabbard's departure comes two months after her top aide, former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent, left the administration over the war in Iran and urged the president to reverse course.

A military veteran who served in a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has achieved several political firsts. She was first elected to the Hawaii Legislature at age 21 in 2002, becoming the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq. She later represented Hawaii in Congress as a Democrat from 2013 until 2021, becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House. She ran an unsuccessful bid for president in 2020 on an anti-interventionist foreign policy platform.

In 2022, she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent, accusing her former party of being an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness. As a contributor on Fox News, she spoke frequently on gender and freedom of speech, became an outspoken supporter of Trump, and eventually joined the Republican Party. She endorsed Trump in 2024, campaigned with him, and served as a member of his transition team after the election.

Trump nominated her to be director of national intelligence shortly after winning the election. In that role, she coordinated among multiple intelligence agencies and advised the president. Under her leadership, the size of the intelligence community shrank. When announcing plans to cut the agency's staff by almost 50% last year, she said the agency had become bloated and inefficient over the previous two decades.