'I Must Step Away...': Tulsi Gabbard Announces Shock Resignation From Trump Administration | DNI, US

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]As the Iran war grinds on and pressure mounts abroad, another political shockwave has slammed into Trump's administration at home with the country's top intelligence chief suddenly announcing she will step down.

[00:00:10]Trump's own director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has now resigned raising fresh questions about whether America's sprawling intel apparatus is entering a period of freefall just when the White House needs it most. In a letter, Gabbard told Trump that her husband has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer dropping an emotional bombshell.

[00:00:29]>> [music] >> She informed the president that her last day as DNI will be June 30th, 2026 promising a full transition but making clear she must leave the post to be by her husband's side during treatment.

[00:00:40]Gabbard said, and I quote, "Deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the office of the director of national intelligence for the last year and a half.

[00:00:50]Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation effective June 30th, 2026.

[00:00:56]My husband, Abraham, has recently [music] been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.

[00:01:02]At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.

[00:01:09]Abraham has been my rock throughout our 11 years of marriage standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a joint special operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role.

[00:01:22]His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge.

[00:01:25]I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.

[00:01:32]I'm fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum.

[00:01:40]Thank you for your understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time for our family.

[00:01:45]I will remain forever grateful to you and to the American people for the profound honor of serving our nation as DNI."

[00:01:52]Unquote.

[00:01:55]Trump has publicly confirmed Gabbard's resignation and named Aaron Lucas as acting DNI, trying to project continuity at the top of US intelligence even as one of his most high-profile appointees heads for the exit. Behind the official explanation, some reporting now suggests her husband's health may not be the only factor, with claims she was effectively forced out amid growing tensions within the national security team. A long-time critic of US interventions abroad, Gabbard has been notably quiet in public on Trump's Iran war, fueling speculation that her private views may have been out of step with the hawkish course the White House has chosen. In office, she aggressively shrank the ODNI bureaucracy and claimed to have saved around $700 million a year, making her one of the most disruptive reformers the intelligence community has seen in years. Under her watch, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs were dismantled across multiple intelligence agencies, a move praised by some conservatives and sharply criticized by others inside and outside the system.

[00:02:51]She also oversaw the declassification of more than half a million pages of previously secret records on subjects ranging from JFK and RFK to the Trump-Russia investigations, cementing her image as a lightning rod reformer.

[00:03:03]Now, with the Iran war raging and pressure mounting abroad and at home, Trump is losing his most disruptive and most controversial DNI just when his administration is trying to claim it has the conflict under control.