Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence

WASHINGTON (CN) — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday she would resign from her position next month, ending a yearlong term as the Trump administration’s spy chief and citing what she said were her husband’s health troubles.

Gabbard, a former Democratic lawmaker and longtime anti-interventionist, is leaving President Donald Trump’s Cabinet amid reports she had become increasingly sidelined in discussions about the administration’s war in Iran and the White House’s growing interest in U.S. military involvement abroad.

In a letter submitted to Trump on Friday and later posted on social media, Gabbard said she was “deeply grateful” for the president’s support but announced that her husband, Abraham, had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.

“He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months,” she wrote. “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Gabbard argued that as head of the U.S. government’s spy agencies, she had made significant progress in “advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity” to the intelligence community. “I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum,” she told Trump.

In a statement posted to his social media platform Truth Social, the president said Gabbard had done a “great job” and wished her and her husband well. Aaron Lukas, currently principal deputy director of national intelligence, will serve as DNI in an acting capacity, he added.

Gabbard’s last day as head of national intelligence will be June 30, she said.

Before joining the Trump administration, the former Hawaii congresswoman left the Democratic Party and endorsed then-candidate Trump in 2024. She had previously run against former President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Gabbard, a combat veteran, has long criticized U.S. foreign policy and faced scrutiny for pro-Russian statements about the war in Ukraine and a 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Her anti-interventionist views at times contrasted with the Trump administration’s foreign policy approach, particularly during the conflict in Iran, where reports said she was increasingly excluded from internal discussions.

Reports said Gabbard was left out of deliberations over the Iran conflict, and Trump publicly said she was “a little bit different in her thought process” on issues including Tehran’s nuclear program.

During her nomination process, Gabbard vowed to address what she called a “cycle of failure” in the intelligence community and the politicization at U.S. spy agencies. But she faced pushback from senators over past comments on Syria and Ukraine, as well as her views on Edward Snowden, the infamous National Security Administration whistleblower.

Gabbard declined to say definitively whether Snowden, who published details about government surveillance capabilities, was a “traitor to the United States of America.” However, she acknowledged he had broken U.S. law.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department this week announced charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, accusing him of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes carrying Cuban exiles living in Miami. The move was widely seen as an escalation toward Cuba amid an ongoing energy blockade and suggestions from the Trump administration that it would like to see regime change in Havana.

The White House has announced that Trump, who was scheduled to be in New York over the weekend, will instead return to Washington on Friday night.

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss