Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Friday she will step down from her position effective June 30, 2026. Gabbard cited a deeply personal reason for her decision in a letter to President Donald Trump: Her husband, Abraham Williams, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. She said she needed to step away from public service so she could give him her full support in the medical battle he is about to face.
President Trump praised Gabbard on his Truth Social platform. “Gabbard did a ‘great job’ and I wish her family well,” he wrote. He also said Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, will serve as acting DNI. Gabbard, in a positive tone, thanked the president for his understanding and said that her office had made significant progress in bringing transparency to the intelligence community.
The departure comes despite supportive public statements and follows a tumultuous 15-month tenure. Reports from outlets such as Reuters said Gabbard was under tremendous pressure from White House officials to resign, and some sources said her departure was forced. During her tenure as the nation’s top spy chief, Gabbard’s hard-line anti-interventionist foreign policy views often clashed with the administration’s national security strategies. She was apparently kept out of major inner-circle discussions on military moves in Iran and Venezuela. Frustrations were also building in the White House over public controversies and organizational tensions between her office and the CIA. But a spokesperson for Gabbard’s office vehemently denied the rumors of a forced ouster, calling the claims “100% false.”
