Gabbard Steps Down As Us Intelligence Chief Amid Iran Policy Tensions

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Bernama-dpa) -- Tulsi Gabbard has announced her resignation as United States (US) director of national intelligence, citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

"At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle," Gabbard wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump that was released by one of her aides on Friday.

She said she would step down from the post on June 30.

As director of national intelligence, Gabbard oversees the US intelligence community and serves as the president’s chief adviser on intelligence matters. She took office at the beginning of Trump’s second term in early 2025.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Gabbard had done an "incredible job, and we will miss her."

Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, will take over the role on an interim basis, he said.

Gabbard was a one-time Democratic presidential candidate from Hawaii who turned independent before endorsing Trump in 2024 and joining the Republican Party.

Trump’s decision to appoint her to the top intelligence post sparked controversy, as Gabbard had previously been criticised for echoing Russian narratives and spreading misinformation about the war in Ukraine.

Her 2017 meeting with then-Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad while serving in Congress also drew scrutiny.

Before joining the Trump administration, Gabbard was known for opposing US military interventions abroad.

In recent weeks, she and Trump had publicly diverged over the US-led war against Iran, with the president saying Gabbard held a more moderate position on uranium enrichment than he did.

Gabbard also came under scrutiny in recent months over her stance on whether Iran’s nuclear programme posed a direct threat to the United States — a claim Trump cited in justifying US involvement in the war.

According to broadcaster PBS, Gabbard told a Senate committee in a written statement that Iran had made no efforts to rebuild its nuclear capabilities since US and Israeli airstrikes carried out in June 2025.

Asked during a congressional hearing in March whether Iran posed an imminent threat, Gabbard avoided giving a direct answer.

"The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president," Gabbard said.

-- BERNAMA-dpa