Trump's intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard resigns
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Editor's note: The story has been updated with the latest details.
Tulsi Gabbard is stepping down from her role as the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) due to her husband's illness, she announced on May 22.
Gabbard said she informed U.S. President Donald Trump of the decision the same day. In her resignation letter shared on social media, she said she is resigning to support her husband, who is battling "an extremely rare form of bone cancer."
"It has been a profound honor to serve the American people as DNI," she wrote on X. Her resignation will come into force on June 30.
Trump said Gabbard has done an "incredible job" in her role and announced that her deputy, Aaron Lukas, would serve as acting DNI.
A National Guard veteran and former Democratic congresswoman who left the party in 2022, Gabbard joined Trump's cabinet in February 2025 as Director of National Intelligence, overseeing and coordinating the U.S. intelligence community.
Her appointment has sparked controversy due to Gabbard's foreign policy stances, with critics pointing to her favorable views on Russia and other authoritarian regimes. She has denied sympathizing with Moscow.
Gabbard has been an outspoken critic of U.S. support for Ukraine under the Biden administration, as well as U.S. military interventionism abroad.
Recent reporting suggested that the intelligence chief has been increasingly sidelined from key foreign policy decisions, including operations targeting Venezuela's dictator Nicolas Maduro and strikes on Iran.
