Tulsi Gabbard is out as Director of National Intelligence — and while her resignation letter cites her husband's battle with a rare bone cancer, it comes after months of rumors that Trump wanted her gone.
Gabbard notified Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Friday. Her last day is June 30.
"My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer," she wrote in her resignation letter, obtained by Fox News. "I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position."
Behind the scenes, the picture was messier. Reports emerged in April that the White House had urged Gabbard to step down before the midterms. Friction mounted over her differing views on the Iran war and the resignation of her counterterrorism chief, Joe Kent. Pro-Israel Trump allies had also targeted her over hires they considered hostile to Israel.
Gabbard had refused to rule out a 2028 presidential run as recently as this year.
The former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii was confirmed as DNI in early 2025 after switching parties and endorsing Trump. She leaves having declassified more than half a million pages of government records.
No successor has been named.