Tulsi Gabbard Is Trump’s 4th Cabinet Exit as Reuters Says She Was Pushed Out

Key Takeaways

• Tulsi Gabbard resigned as Trump’s director of national intelligence effective June 30 as Reuters reported a source said the White House pushed her out
• She is Trump’s 4th Cabinet resignation in 15 months and nearly got fired last month with Trump talked out of it by Roger Stone
• Gabbard leaves Trump without a confirmed intelligence director as Iran nuclear talks collapse with no deal in sight

Tulsi Gabbard has resigned as Trump’s director of national intelligence for the US, with her departure taking effect June 30. Gabbard put out a statement Friday saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Trump Cabinet resignation of his second term.

“I am 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. Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

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Tulsi Gabbard’s accomplishments as Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard has served as the United States Director of National Intelligence since January 2025. However, there has been rumblings for some time on her future as DNI. The launch of the US-Iran war back in February has been met with division throughout the Trump administration. Gabbard herself built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. Hence, the launch of attacks on Iran by the US and Israel put her in an awkward position.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump shared Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation from his cabinet. He thanked her for her service in the administration as the director of national intelligence. “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” he wrote. The president has announced that Gabbard’s deputy, Aaron Lukas, will take over as the acting director. Notably, Lukas was as an intelligence aide to the acting director of national intelligence, Ric Grenel, during Trump’s first term.

Gabbard accomplished several objectives for the Trump administration in her tenure as DNI. Gabbard’s National Counterterrorism Center prevented more than 10,000 individuals with ties to narco-terrorism from entering the country in 2025 and placed more than 85,000 similarly tied individuals on the terror watchlist. Additionally, she created the first-ever “Weaponization Working Group,” aimed at coordinating efforts across the federal government to expose the Biden Admin’s weaponization of government. 

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Why Her Exit During the Iran War Creates a US Intelligence Vacuum

Gabbard is Trump’s 4th Cabinet exit in 15 months, and joins the most recent resignation, Joe Kent. Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the war. Additionally, Earlier this year, she came under fire for her presence at an FBI search at an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, for records related to the 2020 election. Gabbard also testified to Congress in 2025 that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon, an assessment Trump later dismissed. Gabbard even nearly got fired last month, following her non-endorsement of the Trump-backed Iran War. However, Trump was talked out of it by Roger Stone, a close consultant of The President. Reuters sources say that Gabbard may have, in fact, been pushed out from her position.

Furthermore, Gabbard’s exit puts Trump and the US in a difficult position, operating without an intelligence director amid the ongoing Iran war. The US-Iran nuclear talks have collapsed with no deal in sight, and now a new intelligence director must step in to fill Gabbard’s void. The next director may also have to be a supporter of the War, something that Trump has worked to sway most of his administration in favor of for the sake of “national security.”

With Trump calling existing peace talks by Iran “unacceptable,” no deal appears in sight. Missing your department of intelligence director puts the country at a significant disadvantage as well, meaning peace talks may take a step back again.

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