US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard submitted her resignation to President Donald Trump on Friday, saying she will step down to care for her husband after his diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Gabbard, 45, informed the president during a meeting in the Oval Office; her resignation is due to take effect on June 30.
In a letter she also shared on social media, Gabbard expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her “for the last year and a half” and said she must “step away from public service” to support her husband. Accepting the resignation, Trump praised her work, saying she had “done an incredible job,” and named her deputy, Aaron Lukas, as acting Director of National Intelligence.
A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard made her name politically by opposing US involvement in foreign wars. That stance put her at odds with the administration after the US and Israel engaged Iran on February 28. During a congressional hearing in March she was careful not to endorse the White House’s decision to strike Iran and avoided directly answering whether the White House had been warned about possible consequences, including Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Her comment that “it is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat” drew attention and raised questions about her interpretation of the DNI role.
In her resignation letter she noted progress at the agency, writing that the intelligence community had seen “unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity,” and said she was committed to ensuring “a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks.” Edited by: Sean Sinico.