Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation from her role on May 22. Gabbard’s resignation is effective June 30, and she shared the news in a letter that was posted on social media. Her exit comes due to her husband’s recent bone cancer diagnosis.
“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation,” Gabbard wrote. “My husband, Abraham, has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer … At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle. 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.”
President Donald Trump responded to her letter on Truth Social, writing, “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.”
The principal deputy director, Aaron Lukas, will step in as her acting director following her leave.
Gabbard was previously the representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District as part of the Democratic Party from 2013 to 2021. She left the party in 2022, becoming independent until she joined the Republican Party in October 2024.
In the year and a half that Gabbard served as director, she has made multiple statements and changes to the agency. She reduced the agency in size, saving $700 million per year, while also removing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the Intelligence Community. Gabbard also declassified more than 500,000 government records on topics including the John F. Kennedy assassination and the Trump-Russia investigation over alleged Russian interference with the 2016 United States election.
Gabbard’s resignation follows a string of other departures from the Trump administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, left after criticizing the president’s choices in the Iran war. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi are other members who have either resigned or been ousted by Trump.
Noem was fired in early March and replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma. Her dismissal comes after a year of controversies. Noem’s handling of Trump’s increasingly unpopular deportation campaign was part of the decision.
Bondi’s leave came just a month later, after her work was often overshadowed by her department’s handling of the partial release of the Epstein files. Bondi was replaced by Todd Blanche, who denies that her handling of the files had anything to do with her departure.
Although reasons haven’t explicitly been given for why both cabinet members have been asked to leave and moved to another position, the announcements have come after their actions drew negative attention. Though Gabbard’s circumstances for her resignation are vastly different, she is the fourth to join a list of Trump’s exiting cabinet members.