Tulsi Gabbard resigns as Trump’s national intelligence director

Melbourne, May 23: Tulsi Gabbard has announced her resignation as the United States director of national intelligence in President Donald Trump’s administration, saying she wants to support her husband after his recent cancer diagnosis.

In a letter shared on social media, Ms Gabbard said her husband, Abraham Williams, had been diagnosed with bone cancer and she could no longer continue in the demanding role while supporting him through treatment.

“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming post,” she wrote.

Her resignation will take effect on June 30.

President Donald Trump praised Tulsi Gabbard for doing “a great job” in the role.

President Donald Trump praised Ms Gabbard for her service, saying on social media that she had done “a great job” in the role. He also announced that Principal Deputy Director Aaron Lukas would serve as acting director following her departure.

Ms Gabbard is the fourth cabinet member to leave during Mr Trump’s second term in office.

However, her resignation has also fuelled speculation about growing tensions between Ms Gabbard and the White House. According to Reuters, several sources claimed the administration had been unhappy with her for some time and that she had effectively been pushed out of the role.

Differences reportedly emerged over policy towards Iran. Earlier this year, Mr Trump suggested Ms Gabbard had taken a “softer” approach than him regarding efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Reports also indicated she had been excluded from several major national security discussions involving the US military operation against former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the Iran conflict and Cuba-related issues.

Gabbard says she is stepping down to support her husband Abraham Williams following his bone cancer diagnosis.

Another point of contention was the work of Ms Gabbard’s task force, known as the Director’s Initiatives Group. The group had been involved in declassifying documents related to the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy, examining election machine security and investigating the origins of COVID-19.

Sources also said tensions increased after Ms Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former US officials last August over the exposure of an undercover intelligence officer’s identity.

During her tenure, Ms Gabbard also led initiatives aimed at removing political influence from the intelligence community and approved the removal of security clearances from several former intelligence officials, including former CIA director John Brennan.

Senator Mark Warner, the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the position of national intelligence director had become overly politicised and called for an independent and experienced intelligence professional to lead the office in the future.

In April, Reuters had already reported that Ms Gabbard could lose her role as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, with sources claiming President Trump had privately discussed possible replacements for the intelligence chief.