Tulsi Gabbard will resign from her position as the US director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, according to the BBC. She cited her husband’s recent bone cancer diagnosis as the reason for her decision.

Personal Reasons for Resignation

In her resignation letter, Gabbard wrote, ‘His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge.’ She continued, ‘I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.’ Her resignation will be effective on 30 June.

Response from President Trump

President Donald Trump expressed appreciation for Gabbard in a social media post, stating she ‘has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.’ He added that Gabbard ‘rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together.’

Trump also said he has ‘no doubt he will soon be better than ever.’ Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy director, will step in as acting director until a new permanent appointment is made.

Background and Career

Gabbard, a loyal supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, was confirmed as one of the most powerful figures in US intelligence-gathering weeks after he returned to the White House in 2025. However, she has been largely out of public view this year, even as the US took military action against Iran, put pressure on Cuba, and notably removed Venezuela’s president.

Gabbard is the fourth Cabinet member to depart the Trump administration, following Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who left her position as labor secretary in April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi also left earlier this year.

In her resignation letter, Gabbard stated that her husband, Abraham, ‘faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.’ Trump emphasized that Gabbard’s decision to leave her post was made out of love and concern for her husband’s health.

Gabbard’s resignation comes two months after her top aide, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, left the administration over the war in Iran. Kent urged the president to ‘reverse course’ on the conflict. Following Kent’s resignation, Gabbard publicly supported Trump’s decision in Iran, saying that as commander-in-chief, the president was responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat.

A military veteran who served with a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has had a few political firsts in her career. She was first elected to the Hawaii Legislature at age 21 in 2002, becoming the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.

Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress as a Democrat from 2013 until 2021, becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House. She ran an unsuccessful bid for president in 2020, positioning herself on an anti-interventionalist foreign policy platform.

In 2022, she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent, accusing her former party of being an ‘elitist cabal of warmongers’ driven by ‘cowardly wokeness.’ As a contributor on Fox News, she was vocal on topics such as gender and freedom of speech, and became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump before joining the Republican party.

She endorsed Trump in 2024, campaigned with him, and served as a member of his transition team after the election. Trump nominated her to be director of national intelligence shortly after he won the election. As head of the intelligence community, Gabbard coordinates among multiple intelligence agencies and advises the president.

Under her leadership, the size of the intelligence community has shrunk. When announcing plans to cut the agency’s staff by almost 50% last year, she said the agency had become ‘bloating and inefficient’ over the last two decades.