Tulsi Gabbard announced on Friday that she would step down as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. She said she was leaving the role to support him during his treatment.
According to Fox News Digital, Gabbard informed Trump of her decision during a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday. Her resignation will take effect on June 30.
In her resignation letter posted on X, 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.”
She cited her husband Abraham Williams’ recent diagnosis of bone cancer.
“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming post,” she said.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would become acting director. Lukas is a former CIA officer and analyst who served on the National Security Council during Trump’s first term.
Trump said Gabbard had done “a great job” but with her husband’s cancer diagnosis, “she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together.”
Reports Of White House Tensions
A source familiar with the matter said that Gabbard had been forced out by the White House. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said on X that Gabbard was departing in light of her husband’s diagnosis.
Trump has hinted in the past at differences with Gabbard on their approach to Iran, saying in March that she was “softer” than him on curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
In April, several sources told Reuters that Gabbard could lose her role in a broader cabinet shakeup.
A senior White House official said then that Trump had expressed displeasure with Gabbard in recent months. Another source with direct knowledge of the matter said the president had asked allies for their thoughts on potential replacements for his intelligence chief.
Controversial Tenure As DNI
Tulsi Gabbard lacked extensive intelligence experience when President Donald Trump appointed her to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. A former Democratic congresswoman and Hawaii National Guard member, she served in Iraq before later endorsing Trump and joining the Republican Party.
Her tenure drew bipartisan criticism over remarks seen as sympathetic to Russia’s stance on Ukraine and her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Democrats also accused her of politicising the intelligence community and advancing Trump’s political agenda.
Reports of tensions with the White House intensified after disagreements over Iran policy and controversies surrounding her initiatives, including declassifying documents related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination and revoking security clearances of former officials. Senator Mark Warner said the role required “an independent, experienced intelligence professional” focused on foreign intelligence rather than domestic politics.
(With inputs from Reuters)
