Tulsi Gabbard just resigned from her position as Trump's Director of National Intelligence. As always with these situations, the question to ask is this: Did she jump or was she pushed? Fox News is claiming an exclusive that puts this very much in the she jumped camp.
Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday. Her last day at ODNI is expected to be June 30.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained her formal resignation letter, in which Gabbard says she is "deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half."
"Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026," she wrote. "My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer."...
"At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle," she said.
It's pretty common for departing officials to say some version of 'I want to spend more time with my family.' But in this case, that may actually be true. Gabbard posted the full resignation letter on X:
I am deeply grateful for the trust President Trump placed in me and for the opportunity to lead @ODNIgov for the last year and a half.
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) May 22, 2026
Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare… pic.twitter.com/PS0Dxp5zpd
Caring for a close relative or loved one with cancer is not something that can be put on the back burner. On a personal level I wish her husband a speedy recovery a return to full health.
Meanwhile, other sources are suggesting this resignation falls into the she was pushed category.
The White House forced U.S. intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard to resign from her post, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.
That's literally all there is to that particular story at this point. One unnamed source. However, Axios reports that the first person to get word this resignation was coming was Trump insider Laura Loomer.
SCOOP:
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 22, 2026
Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation from the Trump administration may be coming sooner than expected.
Source tells me, “it could be any day now… maybe even today.”
Why does that matter? Axios had previously reported that Gabbard nearly got fired last month.
Trump was displeased with Gabbard when she didn't wholeheartedly endorse the Iran war during her recent testimony to Congress about threats to the U.S., according to five advisers and confidants who spoke with the president...
Trump "scolded" Gabbard in a private meeting soon afterward and questioned her loyalty, two of the sources said.
Two others said Trump wasn't that mad, and instead chided Gabbard in a sarcastic but friendly way.
According to that story, Trump polled his top advisers and several stood by Gabbard including Roger Stone. His defense of Gabbard last week apparently started a feud between Stone and Loomer who is not a fan of Gabbard.
Stone's advocacy for Gabbard has led to a bitter feud with another Trump adviser — Laura Loomer, a frequent critic of Gabbard, whom Loomer accuses of disloyalty.
"Tulsi is done," Loomer wrote on X last week. "The White House wants zero drama so they gave her the option to resign, but ... she will do a lot of damage if she is given the choice to resign because she will launch her 2028 presidential campaign."
So the fact that Loomer seems to have had an inside line on all of this may suggest there's some truth to accounts of Trump being unhappy with Gabbard.
The other ongoing issue that may have contributed to this is Gabbard's sparring with the CIA.
A CIA insider who was part of Gabbard's special Directors Initiative Group testified that his agency had obstructed ODNI's efforts to uncover more information about the JFK files, Covid's origins and what are called "Anomalous Health Incidents" commonly referred to as Havana Syndrome.
President Trump, for his part, is praising Gabbard on her way out.
Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th. Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together. I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. President DONALD J. TRUMP
You can parse that a couple ways. One, Trump is genuinely sorry to see her go. Two, Trump is hoping to avoid another Joe Kent spectacle where Gabbard is doing interviews attacking him over the war in Iran.
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