Published Jun 2, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT
Trump named Aaron Lukas as acting DNI after Gabbard’s resignation last week.
Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has opened a major vacancy inside the Trump administration’s national security team. Gabbard resigned last week, saying in a resignation letter that she was stepping down to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, after he was diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer” and that he would face “major challenges in the coming weeks and months.” Privately, however, multiple reports indicated that her departure followed months of internal tension, political isolation, and growing frustration within the Trump administration over her role in national security policy. Gabbard, when in office as a Democrat and when she ran for president as a party member, was staunchly anti-war yet has remained mostly quiet publicly since the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, speaks during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing to examine worldwide threats, Thursday, March 19, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
