Washington, May 22 (EFE). – The United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard submitted her resignation to President Donald Trump on Friday.
The news first leaked to the media and was later confirmed by Trump, who announced that the new Director of National Intelligence will be Aaron Lukas, who served under Gabbard.
“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” Gabbard wrote in a letter addressed to Trump.
Gabbard cited her husband, Abraham Williams, as the reason for her resignation, explaining that he was recently diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer” and that she needs to “be by his side.”
»Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th,» Trump stated on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” he added.
As Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard has been responsible for coordinating the 18 agencies of the US intelligence community, including the CIA.
With a long history of opposing US military interventions abroad, Gabbard was on thin ice due to her skepticism regarding the war against Iran, which caused her to lose the White House’s confidence.
In March, she testified before Congress that Iran was nowhere near obtaining a nuclear weapon, a claim that contradicts Trump’s rhetoric justifying the launch of the offensive against the Islamic Republic.
Gabbard’s departure marked the fourth change in Trump’s cabinet this year, following the dismissal of Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and the resignation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary in April.
Gabbard served as a Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, where she became known for her criticism of US military interventions abroad, such as the wars in Iraq and Syria.
In 2020, she ran in the Democratic presidential primaries, but in 2022, she left the party and in 2024 joined the Republican Party, aligning herself with Trump.
For years, Gabbard criticized sanctions against Russia and expressed skepticism about US military support for Ukraine, leading critics to label her “pro-Russian.”
She was also heavily criticized for her 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with then-President Bashar al-Assad. EFE
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