WASHINGTON: US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation on Friday, ending the tenure of a controversial pick who appeared to be at odds with President Donald Trump over the Middle East War.&nbsp; Gabbard, 45, said she was quitting as Director of National Intelligence to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, after he was recently diagnosed with an &quot;extremely rare form of bone cancer.&quot; &quot;He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months,&quot; Gabbard said in a letter to Trump that she posted on X. &quot;At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.&quot; Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, married her Hawaii-based cinematographer husband in a Hindu ceremony. They met while shooting campaign advertisements, and he proposed to her while surfing at sunset. Trump hailed Gabbard, whose job involved coordinating information from the sprawling network of 18 US intelligence agencies for the president&#39;s daily briefing. &quot;Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that she &quot;rightfully&quot; wanted to help her husband with his cancer battle. Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, would serve as the acting Director of National Intelligence, the president added. Gabbard is the fourth in a series of high-profile women to have left Trump&#39;s cabinet in recent months. Trump fired Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem in March and Attorney General Pam Bondi in April. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer stepped down in April amid a series of scandals.But the White House pushed back at a report that Gabbard had been forced out. &quot;This is false. Her husband, who is an absolutely incredible human being, has been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer,&quot; her chief of staff, Alexa Henning, said on X. White House spokesman Davis Ingle said that &quot;any suggestion that the White House forced her to resign over her husband&rsquo;s health is slanderous.&quot; Syria trip&nbsp; The former Democrat was a surprising choice as intel chief for Republican Trump, given her previous history of endorsing conspiracy theories and opposition to America&#39;s foreign military interventions. As a congresswoman, Gabbard had in particular expressed opposition to going to war against Iran. She faced questions over her 2017 meeting with now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and her peddling of Russian propaganda &ndash; particularly false conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war. She was also regarded with suspicion by some over her views on US government surveillance and her backing for National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden. Trump pressed on with the appointment, but she appeared to be increasingly frozen out of decision-making in recent months as he headed toward the war with Iran. Gabbard was reportedly not in the room when Trump huddled with his top advisors in the immediate run-up to the launch of the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. After the war began, she repeatedly contradicted or failed to fully back the justifications that the Trump administration gave for launching the war. Gabbard declined to endorse Trump&#39;s claim that Iran posed an imminent threat &ndash; an assessment that the administration used to justify the strikes. She also said US intelligence had concluded that Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment capacities that were destroyed last year by the United States and Israel &ndash; a claim also used as a major justification for the war. The Hawaii native served in Iraq with the Army National Guard. The experience informed her opposition to America&#39;s long foreign wars, as it did for Vice President JD Vance and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. Gabbard&#39;s mother, born on the US mainland, embraced Hinduism and raised her children in the tradition. Her first name, Tulsi, is a sacred plant in Hinduism, and she is a lifelong vegetarian.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard prepares to leave at the conclusion of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats in the Hart Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. (AFP)

Americas

US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard resigns to care for her husband after his cancer diagnosis, ending a controversial tenure marked by disagreements over Middle East policy and scrutiny of her past views.

Trump's intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard resigns

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office has rejected claims by the United States intelligence community that its missile program could evolve into a threat to the US mainland, calling the assertion unfounded and inconsistent with ground realities. In an official statement issued on Thursday, the Foreign Office said Pakistan &ldquo;categorically rejects the recent assertion by a United States official alleging a potential threat from Pakistan&rsquo;s missile capabilities,&rdquo; stressing that its strategic posture remains &ldquo;exclusively defensive in nature.&rdquo; The statement came in response to remarks by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who presented the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment before the Senate Intelligence Committee. In her testimony, Gabbard said countries including Pakistan were developing missile systems that could &ldquo;put our Homeland within range,&rdquo; adding that Islamabad&rsquo;s program &ldquo;potentially could include ICBMs with the range capable of striking the Homeland.&rdquo; Islamabad, however, dismissed the suggestion, emphasising that its missile program &ldquo;remains well below intercontinental range&rdquo; and is &ldquo;firmly rooted in the doctrine of credible minimum deterrence vis-&agrave;-vis India.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/phgIZRs_FbY?si=KOC7ubJOD5TZ8_nO" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div> &ldquo;It is emphasised that Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic capabilities are exclusively defensive in nature, aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia,&rdquo; the statement said. The Foreign Office further underscored that Pakistan&rsquo;s deterrence posture is shaped by regional dynamics, particularly its long-standing rivalry with India, rather than any ambition to project power globally.&nbsp; &ldquo;Its missile programme&hellip; is firmly rooted in the doctrine of credible minimum deterrence vis-&agrave;-vis India,&rdquo; it reiterated. Available data on Pakistan&rsquo;s missile inventory supports this position. The country&rsquo;s systems largely fall within short- to medium-range categories, including the Hatf series, from Hatf-I (around 65 km) to Hatf-VI (up to 2,750 km), alongside platforms such as Ghauri (approximately 1,500 km) and Shaheen variants. These ranges are consistent with regional deterrence requirements rather than intercontinental reach. Former foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani also challenged the US assessment, stating that the claim that Pakistan could target the US homeland is &ldquo;not grounded in strategic reality.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2034379652568076743&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=8d334dc59eb73c935824fa120059f6a38bd11a4a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 321px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>He added that Pakistan&rsquo;s nuclear doctrine is &ldquo;India specific aimed at maintaining credible deterrence in South Asia, not projecting power globally.&rdquo; While the US assessment broadly highlights the expansion of global missile capabilities, including by China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan, Islamabad argues that such grouping overlooks critical differences in doctrine and intent.&nbsp; The report itself notes that these countries are modernizing delivery systems and may extend ranges over time, but does not cite concrete evidence of an operational shift toward intercontinental targeting by Pakistan. The Foreign Office urged Washington to adopt &ldquo;a more measured and considered approach that aligns with South Asia&rsquo;s strategic imperatives,&rdquo; warning that overstating threats risks mischaracterising regional security dynamics. &ldquo;Pakistan remains committed to constructive engagement with the United States, anchored in mutual respect, non-discrimination, and factual accuracy,&rdquo; the statement said. By framing its missile capabilities within a regional deterrence context, Islamabad has sought to counter what it views as an &ldquo;alarmist narrative,&rdquo; maintaining that its strategic posture is designed to preserve stability in South Asia, not to extend its reach beyond it.

Foreign Affairs

The Foreign Office says Pakistan’s missile program remains below intercontinental range, is India-focused under minimum deterrence, and lacks intent or capability to target the US, urging a more measured, fact-based assessment of regional security dynamics.

Articles tagged with "Tulsi Gabbard"

Trump's intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard resigns

Pakistan rejects US missile threat claim, cites defensive doctrine