WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard resigned as director of national intelligence Monday, submitting a letter that attributed her departure to her husband’s cancer diagnosis. She said the round-the-clock demands of the job made it impossible to care for him.
The resignation came less than two weeks after Gabbard testified before Congress. In that hearing, she told lawmakers her public remarks did not reflect her personal beliefs. Her job, she said, required her to ‘check’ her personal views at the door.
Her deputy, Joe Kent, had already resigned six weeks earlier. He had publicly called the administration’s war in Iran unlawful and catastrophic. His departure was followed by swirling rumors that Gabbard herself would soon be fired.
Don the Con had grown frustrated with the intelligence chief’s apparent reluctance to endorse the war, aides said. The president had made clear that loyalty to his foreign policy was non-negotiable. Gabbard had been a vocal opponent of endless wars before joining the administration.
‘Director Gabbard has our full support and we wish her husband a speedy recovery,’ said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She added the resignation was ‘completely voluntary and not the result of any internal conflict.’
Gabbard’s letter made no mention of the policy rift. It spoke only of her husband’s aggressive bone cancer and the need to be by his side. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Gabbard had been told her job was in jeopardy.
The official described a meeting last week in which the president expressed displeasure with her congressional testimony. Gabbard was then given the option to resign with a family illness as the public explanation, the official said.
Asked whether the president had ever discussed firing Gabbard, Leavitt said the administration does not comment on personnel conversations. She reminded reporters the resignation letter spoke for the director’s motives. A follow-up request for clarification was answered with a link to the original statement.
