President Donald Trump expressed his “tremendous gratitude” on Wednesday to outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, just days after she announced her resignation.
During a Cabinet meeting, Trump referred to Gabbard as “a terrific person” and praised her for her contributions to the administration.
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“Tulsi has worked tirelessly to restore trust and focus with the intelligence community. They all respected her,” Trump said.
“They listened to her and she gave us leads that were pretty much — people thought were dead and they weren’t dead. They were right there,” he added.
“And she was able to expose a lot of things that we used at the FBI with Kash [Patel] and with Todd [Blanche] and with JD [Vance] and everybody else. It was amazing,” Trump said.
Trump stated that Gabbard “dramatically reformed” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence by reducing the staff by 40% and preventing “countless” terrorists and cartel members from entering the U.S.
He also mentioned that she presented “mountains of evidence” regarding the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which he referred to as “a very dangerous hoax.”
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The president further stated that Gabbard declassified several files, including those related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, as well as files concerning UFOs.
“Tulsi, we’re praying for you and for your husband,” Trump said.
“Her husband’s not feeling great, but he’s going to feel great soon. You’re going to get him better,” Trump added.
When she announced her resignation earlier this month, she noted she was leaving her post to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, who is battling a rare form of bone cancer.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and Iraq War veteran, emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most prominent and unconventional Cabinet officials after joining the administration, The National News Desk reported.
Her tenure as director of national intelligence frequently placed her at the center of national political debates due to her outspoken positions on foreign policy, intelligence reform, military intervention, and government transparency.
Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas will serve as acting director of national intelligence following the departure of Gabbard, Trump announced Friday.
Gabbard said she will remain in her position until June 30.
She is expected to release the results of several high-profile investigations before stepping down from her position, according to a report last weekend.
Gabbard plans to release findings from several major investigations, including probes into Havana Syndrome — formerly referred to as Anomalous Health Incidents — the COVID-19 pandemic, alleged weaponization of the federal government, the 2020 presidential election, and other matters, according to an administration official.
The findings are expected to be released in weekly installments over the next month, the Daily Wire reported.
A second intelligence official told The Daily Wire that Tulsi Gabbard oversaw the declassification of more than 500,000 pages of previously unreleased government records as of May 2026.
Gabbard’s “ODNI 2.0” restructuring initiative also reduced staffing and administrative overhead within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence by more than 40%, a move officials claimed would save taxpayers an estimated $700 million annually.
The declassified material reportedly included records connected to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as files concerning the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Biden administration documents tied to the federal government’s “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism.”
Gabbard has also publicly pushed to spotlight intelligence and law enforcement actions connected to investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, which critics on the Right frequently refer to as the “Russia hoax,” along with claims that officials in the administration of Barack Obama improperly used intelligence agencies to undermine Trump after his 2016 election victory, the outlet reported.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
