President Donald Trump’s administration has been rocked by the abrupt resignation of Tulsi Gabbard, who is now the fourth woman to leave his Cabinet in two months.
A senior Trump official told the Daily Beast that Gabbard sent the president her resignation letter on Friday, informing him she was giving up her post as director of national intelligence to support her husband through a cancer battle.
Gabbard’s departure comes after a fraught time for the former Democratic Congresswoman and former National Guard member, who clashed with Trump’s inner circle over the war in Iran and appeared increasingly sidelined from the administration’s national security apparatus.
The 45-year-old’s exit marks another major shake-up for Trump following the sacking of Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler are now the remaining women in Trump’s cabinet.
In her resignation letter, Gabbard told the president she was “deeply grateful” for the trust he placed in her to lead the intelligence community for the past 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,” she wrote.
“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... His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge. I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”
A longtime anti-interventionist who built her political brand opposing “forever wars,” Gabbard found herself trapped in an administration moving in the opposite direction. Some insiders say the 45-year-old, whose job was to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies, may have seen the writing on the wall.
Earlier this year, she faced backlash after congressional testimony in which U.S. intelligence agencies assessed Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon—a position Trump publicly distanced himself from.
Gabbard later walked back parts of her remarks and defended the administration’s military action against Iran, but the episode fueled speculation that her standing inside the White House had collapsed.
The cracks became even more visible after top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned over the Iran war, with reports suggesting Trump allies viewed Gabbard as insufficiently loyal to the administration’s hardline posture.
Behind the scenes, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other loyalists increasingly took over key intelligence briefings and war planning discussions.
For instance, when the decision was made to strike Venezuela and capture its autocratic president Nicolas Maduro, Ratcliffe was alongside Trump while Gabbard was posting photos of herself, taken by her husband, doing yoga on a beach in Hawaii.
However, Trump on Friday said Gabbard had done an “incredible job” as he confirmed she would be leaving. Her principal deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director in the interim.
“Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th,” he wrote.
“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together
“I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.”
Gabbard’s exit marks the collapse of one of the administration’s most unusual political alliances.
Once a Democratic presidential candidate embraced by MAGA for her anti-war views and attacks on the political establishment, Gabbard ultimately found herself politically stranded between Trump’s “America First” rhetoric and the increasingly aggressive foreign policy his administration pursued.
During her tenure, she led the first Weaponization Working Group, declassified more than half a million government records and pursued Trump’s agenda against the so-called “Russia Hoax”.
