Tulsi Gabbard has resigned from her post as the Director of National Intelligence on Friday, citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer as the reason for stepping away from the role.
Gabbard informed Trump of her decision during a meeting at the Oval Office, with the resignation set to take effect on June 30.
In her resignation letter, posted on X, she 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”.
“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming post,” she wrote.
A source familiar with the matter, however, told reporters that Gabbard had been forced out by the White House, a version of events that differs from the one presented in her letter.
Trump, posting on Truth Social, named Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas as acting director. He said Gabbard had done “a great job” but with her husband’s diagnosis, “she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together”.
Trump had previously hinted at friction with Gabbard over the administration’s Iran policy, saying in March that she was “softer” than him on reining in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
