Trump Aide Resigns Again: US Intelligence Chief Steps Down

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has resigned. Gabbard’s resignation letter to President Donald Trump was accepted on Friday (22 May 2026). In the letter, she said she must step down to support her husband, Abraham Williams, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this struggle alone while I remain in this demanding and time-consuming position,” she wrote, cited by CNBC International, Saturday (23 May 2026). The resignation takes effect on 30 June 2026. Trump then confirmed on Friday that Gabbard had resigned and wrote in a Truth Social post that she had, “done an outstanding job, and we will miss her.” Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas will assume the role of acting head, Trump wrote in the post. Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who clashed with her party and later joined the Republican Party, appointed as DNI less than a month after Trump’s second term began. As DNI, she led the U.S. intelligence community, a broad coalition of 18 agencies and organisations. Gabbard is a veteran who served in the Middle East, had supported Trump in 2024 on anti-intervention grounds, praising him as a peacemaker while criticising former Democratic President Joe Biden over conflicts that began during his tenure. When Trump sought to strike Iran to disable its nuclear capabilities last summer, Gabbard released a video warning about, “the warmongers who recklessly trigger fear and tensions between nuclear powers.” The video angered Trump, as Politico reported at the time. When later asked that month about Gabbard’s Senate testimony that Iran was not seeking to build a nuclear bomb, Trump replied, “I don’t care what she says,” and then said, “She’s wrong.” Gabbard also drew attention for appearing at an FBI raid at a Georgia election office in late January that led to the seizure of 2020 election records. For years, Trump had falsely stated that the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, had been rigged against him. The announcement of Gabbard’s resignation adds to the growing list of senior Trump administration officials who have left or been dismissed this year. More than a month earlier, Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned as Secretary of Labour to take a private-sector role. In early April, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, who faced pressure over his handling of issues related to the Jeffrey Epstein sexual offender. She was temporarily replaced by her deputy Todd Blanche, and former Trump defence attorney. In March, Trump fired Kristi Noem, who led the Department of Homeland Security, following national controversy surrounding her handling of aggressive immigration enforcement policy in American cities.