On the 22nd, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Gabbard announced on social media that she had submitted her resignation to President Trump that day in order to take care of her husband, who has been diagnosed with cancer.
In her resignation letter, Gabbard said her husband was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare bone cancer, and her resignation would take effect on June 30th. Trump announced on social media the same day that Deputy Director of National Intelligence Lucas would serve as acting Director of National Intelligence.
However, according to U.S. media reports, Gabbard was actually forced out by the White House.
Media reports indicate that Gabbard had already been marginalized within the White House national security decision-making system, and in recent months, Trump had expressed strong dissatisfaction toward her and had been considering replacements.
Gabbard has long opposed foreign military intervention by the U.S. government, and she disagreed with Trump on the Iran nuclear issue. After the large-scale military operations launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran at the end of February this year, she publicly stated during testimony in Congress that Iran did not attempt to rebuild its nuclear program, and she refused to confirm that Iran posed an imminent threat as claimed by the U.S.
Gabbard was formerly a Democratic member of Congress, later left the Democratic Party, and turned to support Trump in the 2024 presidential election. After Trump's victory, he nominated her as Director of National Intelligence, responsible for overseeing the United States' 18 intelligence agencies.
Since the beginning of this year, several members of Trump's cabinet, including the Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney General, and Secretary of Labor, have resigned in succession.