Tulsi Gabbard has resigned as director of national intelligence, ending a turbulent 15-month tenure that saw the former Democrat take office without an intelligence background and often act in ways seemingly designed to please President Donald Trump.
During her time in the role, Gabbard vowed to root out politicisation across US spy agencies and embraced Trump's agenda, but she was increasingly sidelined from key national security conversations, particularly on Iran and Venezuela, according to people familiar with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). A spokesperson for Gabbard dismissed these claims as “100% false”.
At her January 2025 confirmation hearing, Republican Senator Tom Cotton said her success would depend on returning the ODNI to its “original size, scope and mission”. Gabbard promised to “address efficiencies, redundancies and effectiveness” across the agency, and claimed to have reduced staff by 30%, with at least 100 employees taking early retirement at the CIA and ODNI.
She also introduced the Director’s Initiatives Group to investigate topics including the origins of Covid-19, Russian election interference and anomalous health incidents, but the group was dismantled in December after an interagency controversy.
Gabbard demanded loyalty, and her acting chief of staff, Alexa Henning, was known for an aggressive stance towards media and fellow officials, including deriding Senator Mark Warner on social media. An ODNI spokesperson defended Henning as “a highly talented leader”.
