Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stands after President Donald Trump spoke about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard privately told President Donald Trump in February that she had reservations about renewing a sweeping federal surveillance law without adding privacy protections for Americans — and he ignored her, Politico reported Thursday.
Gabbard raised her concerns directly with Trump during a White House meeting, as the president was still weighing his position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, according to two people with knowledge of the exchange. The law, which allows intelligence agencies to surveil foreign targets without a warrant but can also sweep up Americans' communications in the process, expires April 20 unless Congress acts.
Trump has since reversed course entirely, aggressively lobbying Republican lawmakers this week to pass a clean 18-month extension with no reforms attached — precisely the outcome Gabbard warned against.
The White House responded to the report by insisting Trump's "entire exceptional national security team is in lockstep with the president in advancing his efforts to achieve a clean reauthorization of FISA 702." The claim appeared to be directly contradicted by the story it was responding to.
Gabbard has been conspicuously absent from the administration's last-minute pressure campaign on Capitol Hill, sitting out closed-door congressional briefings where other top officials have been pitching the extension.
She was also sidelined when Trump launched airstrikes against Iran in February, monitoring events from Washington while Trump huddled with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago.