Gabbard resigns as top US intelligence official

Tulsi Gabbard said that US President Donald Trump resigned from his post as director of national intelligence, her husband was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer, and that she moved away from her duty to help him.

Gabbard notified Trump of her intention to resign during an Oval Office meeting on Friday, Fox News Digital previously reported.

It was stated that the resignation will be effective as of June 30.

pic.twitter.com/hG4QvH4XpN — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 22, 2026

In her resignation letter published on

She noted that her husband had recently been diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer.

“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this challenge alone while I continue this difficult and time-consuming task,” he said.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Gabbard was forced out by the White House.

I am deeply grateful for the trust President Trump has placed in me and the opportunity to lead @ODNIgov over the past year and a half. Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation effective June 30, 2026. My husband Abraham was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare condition… pic.twitter.com/PS0Dxp5zpd— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) May 22, 2026

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said that Aaron Lukas, deputy director of national intelligence, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

He said Gabbard has done an “incredible job,” but that since her husband was diagnosed with bone cancer, she “rightfully wants to be with him and nurse him back to health as we fight an uphill battle together right now.”

Trump has cited disagreements with Gabbard in the past over their approach to Iran, saying in March that she was “softer” than Gabbard on reining in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars.

This put him in an awkward position when the United States joined Israel in attacks on Iran on February 28.

His measured comments at a congressional hearing in March were notable for carefully disapproving the decision to attack Iran.

He dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned about possible consequences of the conflict, including Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

He has repeatedly said that the attack was Trump’s decision, not his.

“It’s not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and isn’t an imminent threat,” he said.

Gabbard ran for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing her military experience, she argued that wars in the Middle East had destabilized the region, made the United States less safe and cost thousands of lives.

Gabbard later withdrew from the race and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden.

He left the Democratic party two years later to become an independent, saying his former party was run by “an elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues.

He later supported Trump, who has also been a strong critic of past U.S. wars in the Middle East and campaigned on a promise to avoid unnecessary wars.

Gabbard, 44, was born in the US territory of American Samoa, grew up in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines.

He was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives at age 21 but had to leave after one term when his National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

Gabbard, the first Hindu member of the House, took the oath of office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita.

with AP