Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, told President Donald Trump on Friday that she will resign to support her husband after he was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. Her resignation is scheduled to take effect June 30, 2026, pulling a high-profile cabinet official out of a second Trump term that is already running hot. In her letter to the president, Gabbard said she must step away from public service so she can be at her husband's side during treatment.
Resignation letter released to press
Fox News Digital published a copy of Gabbard's formal resignation letter, where she wrote that she was "deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me" and revealed that her husband had "recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer." The note, formal yet clearly personal, laid out her decision to walk away from the job. Tampa Free Press reported that Gabbard delivered the news directly to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Friday.
Her stated reason
Gabbard later posted the resignation letter on X, publicly tying her decision to her husband's diagnosis, the Associated Press reports. In the message she thanked Trump for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and acknowledged that she knows "there is still important work to be done," according to AP. Even as she nodded to unfinished business, she made clear that family is taking precedence.
Tenure and recent turbulence at ODNI
Gabbard was sworn in as the eighth director of national intelligence in February 2025, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and she quickly moved to reshape the office's priorities and structure. Her tenure has featured a push to declassify records, staffing reductions and several senior departures inside ODNI, moves that have drawn a mix of praise and criticism, The Washington Post reported. It has been a stretch of churn at the top of the intelligence world, and her exit adds one more tremor.
What comes next
The resignation marks another high-profile departure from a cabinet that has already seen several exits this term, and it leaves the White House under pressure to settle on a successor before Gabbard's June 30 departure. News outlets such as Axios have published the resignation letter and are updating coverage as officials and political allies react to the sudden vacancy at the top of the intelligence community.
