US Intelligence Chief Resigns, Here is Trump's Response

The head of American intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, announced her resignation from the post of Director of National Intelligence, ending a tenure marked by alleged disputes with President Donald Trump over the Iran war. According to AFP, on Saturday (23 May 2026), Gabbard, 45, said she was stepping down as DNI to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, who has recently been diagnosed with a ‘very rare form of bone cancer.’ ‘He faces significant challenges in the weeks and months ahead,’ Gabbard wrote in a letter to Trump that she posted on X. ‘At this time, I must step back from public service to stand by him and fully support him through this struggle,’ she added. Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress, is married to her husband, a Hawaii-based cinematographer, in a Hindu ceremony. They met while filming a campaign advertisement, and he proposed while surfing at sunset. Trump praised Gabbard, whose job involves coordinating information from a wide network of 18 US intelligence agencies for daily presidential briefings. ‘Tulsi has done an outstanding job, and we will miss her,’ Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that he would ‘properly’ help her husband in his fight against cancer.

His deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, Trump added.

Gabbard is the fourth woman in a row to leave Trump’s cabinet in recent months. Trump fired Homeland Security head Kristi Noem in March and Attorney General Pam Bondi in April. Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April amid a string of scandals.

However, the White House rejected reports that Gabbard was forced out. ‘This is false. Her husband, who is a truly extraordinary man, has been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer,’ said Chief of Staff Alexa Henning on X. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle stated that ‘any suggestion that the White House forced her to resign over her husband’s health is libellous.’