Tulsi Gabbard resigns as Trump’s intelligence chief

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd May, 2026) Tulsi Gabbard , a practicing Hindu, is resigning as President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, she announced Friday.

Gabbard, in a resignation letter addressed to Trump, said she has to step down in order to support her husband, Abraham Williams, who has “recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

“I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position,” she wrote in the letter dated May 22.

Her resignation is effective June 30, she wrote.

Trump confirmed later Friday that Gabbard was “unfortunately” leaving his cabinet, writing in a Truth Social post that she has “done an incredible job, and we will miss her.

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Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will take over from Gabbard in an acting capacity, Trump wrote in the post.

Gabbard has deep, longstanding ties to the Hindu faith. When she was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, she made history as the first Hindu member of Congress and was sworn into office using the Bhagavad Gita.

Throughout her career, she has been an outspoken advocate for the global Hindu community and has maintained strong political relationships with leaders in India, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.