Tulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as US director of national intelligence following a tumultuous stint in which she was largely sidelined as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran. The White House forced Gabbard to resign, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the issue. Fox News first reported her exit, citing her husband's cancer diagnosis.
In a letter to the president, Gabbard said she would resign and leave her post on 30 June. 'While we have made significant progress … I recognise there is still important work to be done,' she wrote. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Gabbard 'has done an incredible job, and we will miss her', adding that Aaron Lukas would serve as acting director of national intelligence.
Gabbard already seemed marginalised last June, when Trump endorsed Israel's decision to attack Iran before the US joined the war by ordering the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. The decision was a public repudiation of Gabbard's earlier testimony that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. Trump dismissed her assessment as 'wrong'.
This year, Gabbard was excluded from decision-making surrounding the seizure of Venezuela's then president, Nicolás Maduro, in January, and likewise absent from key decisions concerning February's decision to renew military strikes on Iran. Her apparent exclusion from key national security policy decisions vindicated those who doubted her qualifications for the post overseeing 18 intelligence agencies.
Democratic senators criticised her tenure. Mark Warner said he hoped her successor would ensure the office remained 'grounded in facts, independence and the rule of law'. Adam Schiff argued that her only advantageous contribution was her resignation, accusing her of politicising intelligence and dismantling critical agencies.
