Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is stepping down from the Trump administration after revealing that her husband, Abraham, was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
Gabbard, 45, tendered her resignation to President Donald Trump on Friday, saying she needed to leave public service to support her husband through his recovery.
The resignation is set to take effect June 30.
Gabbard also shared a personal update on social media, telling supporters that Abraham had undergone a major surgery after being diagnosed with sacral chordoma, a rare cancer that develops in the bones of the spine or skull base.
We are getting ready to head to the hospital for my husband’s surgery and just wanted to say thank you so much to all of who have shared messages, prayers and well wishes for Abraham. We are humbled and so grateful to be surrounded by aloha during this really tough time. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/EpDcRqv8FV
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) June 2, 2026
Gabbard informed Trump of her decision during a meeting in the Oval Office.
In her resignation letter, which she also posted online, Gabbard thanked the president for giving her the chance to lead the intelligence community.
She told Trump she was “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me … for the last year and a half,” but said she had to “step away from public service” to be with her husband.
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Trump accepted her resignation and praised her work in the role.
“Tulsi has done an incredible job and we will miss her,” Trump said.
Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, became one of the most unusual figures in Trump’s second administration after building her political brand around opposition to foreign wars and Washington’s national security establishment.
That posture sometimes put her in a delicate spot, including after the U.S. and Israel went to war against Iran on Feb. 28.
During a congressional hearing in March, Gabbard carefully avoided fully endorsing Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran and dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned about possible fallout, including Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she claimed.
The comment raised eyebrows over how Gabbard viewed her role as the nation’s top intelligence official.
Still, in her resignation letter, Gabbard pointed to what she described as progress inside the intelligence community during her tenure.
“While we have made significant progress, advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community, I recognize that there is still important work to be done,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks.”
Her departure marks a sudden and personal turn for one of Trump’s most closely watched national security officials.
For Gabbard, the next battle will not be in Washington. It will be at home, standing by her husband as he begins the long road to recovery.
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