WASHINGTON - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigned Friday, saying she is stepping down to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, recently diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.
In a letter posted to X, Gabbard 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."
President Trump praised her work on Truth Social, saying she "did an incredible job" and that her resignation was to support her husband. Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting DNI.
Gabbard’s resignation is the fourth departure of a high-profile woman from Trump’s cabinet in recent months. Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem was fired in March, Attorney General Pam Bondi in April, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April.
Despite reports of being forced out, the White House called those claims "slanderous."
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, was a controversial pick due to her opposition to foreign military interventions. She had been increasingly sidelined under President Trump. She was not in the room for key Iran war planning and publicly contradicted the administration’s justification that Iran posed an imminent threat.
Gabbard also challenged claims about Iran's nuclear enrichment, stating intelligence concluded Iran was not rebuilding capacities destroyed by US-Israeli strikes.