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 “extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
“He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months,” Gabbard said in a letter to Trump that she posted on X. “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
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’s daily briefing.
“Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that she “rightfully” 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.