Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announces resignation

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday said she was resigning from her post in order to support her husband, Abraham, as he battled a rare form of bone cancer. In a resignation letter that Gabbard published on social media, she reminisced on how her husband supported her during her various overseas deployments and different political campaigns. Throughout those years of public service, Abraham had been her rock, she said.

“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position,” she said. Her last day at her post is scheduled to be June 30, according to her letter of resignation.

Who will be taking over for Gabbard? Gabbard did not say in her letter who would replace her. She said that she was committed to ensuring a smooth transition between herself and her successor. President Donald Trump on Truth Social said Gabbard’s principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, would temporarily take her place as acting deputy director. Trump spoke approvingly of Gabbard’s decision to stand by her husband and said he had no doubt Abraham would soon be better than ever.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift about Gabbard’s latest report to Congress about the security threats facing the United States.