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Tulsi Gabbard resigned as director of national intelligence on Friday, leaving President Donald Trump with three Cabinet-level vacancies to fill as his relations with Republican senators fray.
In a letter to Trump reviewed by Semafor, Gabbard cited her husband’s battle with “extremely rare” bone cancer, writing that she “must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him.” Her resignation will be effective at the end of next month.
It is not yet clear who will replace Gabbard on a permanent basis, though her principal deputy Aaron Lukas is set to step in for her in the near term. Her 15 months in the role were marked by friction with Trump sparked by her more libertarian leanings — her past opposition to war with Iran, for one, made for particularly awkward Hill testimony soon after the president entered the current conflict.
Yet even as Trump reportedly considered Gabbard off-message on Iran, he generally remained happy with her job performance, unlike other Cabinet officials he pushed out earlier this year.
“Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” Trump posted on social media.
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Gabbard noted in her resignation letter that the DNI’s office had made “significant progress” but that there’s “still important work to be done.”
Senate confirmation of a permanent replacement may prove difficult. Trump is currently battling with Senate Republicans over his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, White House ballroom security money, and his endorsements against two GOP incumbents.
Acting leaders are now running the Labor Department and Justice Department, where acting attorney general Todd Blanche faces a tough road to confirmation if Trump nominates him to a permanent role.
Any Gabbard replacement would have to get approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose members include moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who has voted against several Trump nominees and priorities, as well as Texas Sen. John Cornyn, recently snubbed by Trump in his primary. Gabbard’s successor would need both of their votes — and confirming her was a challenge to begin with at the peak of Trump’s power.
“I disagreed with her. I respect her service and wish her well going forward,” said the Intelligence panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.
Warner added a recommendation for her replacement: “It’s important that this position now more than ever needs to be an experienced intelligence professional that will know their lanes, that understands the Director of National Intelligence should be focusing on foreign intelligence and not involving himself or herself in domestic election incidents.”
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- Gabbard was at odds with Trump at other times — she pushed back on an effort earlier this year to reauthorize a spy law without adding new safeguards to it, Politico reported.
Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett contributed.