Tulsi Gabbard resigns as Trump's intelligence chief

Tulsi Gabbard has resigned as Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump's administration, citing her husband Abraham's diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer.

In Short

• Gabbard cites husband's rare bone cancer as reason for stepping down
• However, White House allegedly forced Gabbard resignation, says report
• Gabbard led major intelligence reforms and cost-cutting measures

Tulsi Gabbard has resigned from her role as Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump’s administration, citing her husband’s diagnosis with an “extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

Gabbard informed President Trump of her decision during a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday. Her final day leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is expected to be June 30.

“My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Gabbard wrote in her resignation letter. “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

However, a person familiar with the matter told news agency Reuters that the White House forced Gabbard to resign.

Donald Trump also confirmed her resignation saying, “Unfortunately, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the administration on June 30th,” Trump said." President Trump further said Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence after Gabbard’s departure.

Gabbard described her husband as “my rock” throughout their 11 years of marriage and said his “strength and love” had sustained her through military deployment, political campaigns and her tenure as DNI. She said she could not “in good conscience” ask him to face the illness alone while she continued in the demanding position.

In her resignation letter, Gabbard thanked Trump for entrusting her with the intelligence post and said she was “deeply grateful” for the opportunity to lead the ODNI for the last year and a half. She also pledged to ensure a “smooth and thorough transition” before leaving office.

The 43-year-old leader made history as the first Hindu to serve in the US Congress and was frequently perceived as being of Indian origin because of her faith. However, Tulsi Gabbard was born in the US territory of American Samoa and grew up in Hawaii and the Philippines. Her mother, Carol Porter Gabbard, was raised in a multicultural family and later developed an interest in Hinduism.

Her resignation brings to an end a consequential and often turbulent tenure during which she pushed major changes across the US intelligence community. According to the report, Gabbard led efforts to reduce the agency’s size, cut costs by more than $700 million annually, dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, and declassify more than half a million pages of government records.

The declassified records included files related to the Trump-Russia investigation, the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, and documents linked to the origins of the “Crossfire Hurricane” probe into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 US election.

Gabbard's departure follows Trump having ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late March, in the midst of mounting criticism over her leadership of the department -- including the handling of the administration's immigration crackdown and disaster response.

The second Cabinet member to leave was Attorney General Pam Bondi, in response to growing frustration over the Justice Department's handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

And Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has also resigned in April, after being the target of various misconduct investigations.

- Ends