Tulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as director of national intelligence, citing her husband's diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. The former Democratic congresswoman and Trump administration official announced her resignation Friday, with her departure set to take effect June 30.
In her resignation letter, Gabbard wrote that she needed to step away to support her husband Abraham through his illness. "At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle," she said, referencing their eleven years of marriage and his steadfast support during her military deployment, political campaigns, and government service.
Gabbard's exit comes after months of turbulence within the intelligence community. Her office had been feuding with the CIA over access to classified materials, a conflict that spilled into public view during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last week. A CIA insider who worked with Gabbard's special Directors Initiative Group testified that the agency had obstructed efforts to investigate the JFK files, COVID's origins, and cases of Havana Syndrome. The CIA denied the allegations.
The resignation also marks the end of what sources close to the administration describe as an uneasy tenure for Gabbard within Trump's team. As a former Democrat and vocal opponent of military intervention, she struggled to align with the administration's more hawkish posture, particularly regarding Iran. When Trump decided to strike Iran earlier this year, Gabbard's long-standing skepticism about the threat posed by Tehran put her at odds with the president's approach.
Trump publicly contradicted Gabbard's intelligence assessments about Iran's nuclear program. After she stated Iran was not actively pursuing nuclear weapons, Trump dismissed her analysis, saying "my intelligence community was wrong." When informed it was Gabbard herself who had made that claim, he bluntly responded, "She's wrong."
Internal friction had threatened her position months earlier. Last month, Trump came close to firing her, but was persuaded to reconsider by longtime adviser Roger Stone. Laura Loomer, another Trump confidante, had been a frequent critic of Gabbard and was first to report her resignation Friday.
Her departure follows that of Joe Kent, a former National Counterterrorism Center director and GOP House candidate who left the administration roughly two months ago. Kent's exit came with a fiery resignation letter accusing Trump of launching the Iran conflict under Israeli pressure despite Tehran posing no imminent threat. Gabbard, when asked about Kent's departure, avoided direct comment, instead echoing the administration's position that the president had determined Iran was a threat.
Gabbard's trajectory from Democratic politician to Republican appointee to now departing the administration reflects the unpredictable nature of Trump's staffing decisions and the ideological tensions that continue to simmer within his inner circle.
Author James Rodriguez: "Gabbard's exit removes one of Trump's more unconventional voices on foreign policy, but her husband's health crisis is the human story that matters here."
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