Tulsi Gabbard resigns as intel chief, fourth member of Trump's Cabinet to depart
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigned on Friday from President Trump's Cabinet. Weijia Jiang has more on this and the latest on the Iran war.
Four of President Donald Trump's cabinet members have left his administration over the last several months — and people noticed a similar pattern on Friday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was the latest to exit, citing her husband's battle with a rare bone cancer. The move comes after months of rumors that Trump wanted her gone.The internet spotted something similar to previous Trump administration officials ousted from their roles, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem."Four major departures from Trump's cabinet are all women," Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark and MS NOW contributor, wrote on X."Four of Trump’s Cabinet officials have departed in the last 3 months and all are women: Noem, Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer and now Gabbard," Grace Panetta, politics reporter for The 19th, wrote on X."As I have said many times, they are all awful! Every one of Trump‘s cabinet members was handpicked for their loyalty, and almost all are not only unqualified, but dangerously so. Yet of the four that have been fired or pushed out so far, all four of four are women," author and activist Amy Siskind wrote on X."Donald Trump only has four women left in his Cabinet to fire..." Amee Vanderpool, lawyer and writer of the Shero Substack, wrote on X."Called it. That’s four women now," Laura Bassett, freelance journalist and former Jezebel editor-in-chief, wrote on Bluesky.
President Donald Trump's move to push out a longtime Republican ally could backfire — because he now needs his help, according to reports on Friday.Burgess Everett, Semafor congressional bureau chief, pointed out that as Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation as director of national intelligence, it has left three openings for the Trump administration to fill all while he navigates a more tense relationship with GOP lawmakers in the economic fallout over the Iran war, the White House ballroom funding and his controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund."Upshot from Gabbard resigning: Trump now has three Cabinet vacancies (Labor, AG) while he's basically at war with Senate Republicans," Everett wrote in a post on X."And confirming a new DNI will require the votes of Sens. Collins and ... Cornyn in Senate Intelligence Committee, whom Trump just snubbed," Everett added.Interim leaders have been tapped to run the Labor Department and Justice Department until Trump names new nominees to the roles."Acting attorney general Todd Blanche faces a tough road to confirmation if Trump nominates him to a permanent role," according to a Semafor report."Any Gabbard replacement would have to get approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose members include moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who has voted against several Trump nominees and priorities, as well as Texas Sen. John Cornyn, recently snubbed by Trump in his primary. Gabbard’s successor would need both of their votes — and confirming her was a challenge to begin with at the peak of Trump’s power," Semafor reported.
Tulsi Gabbard resigned as Director of National Intelligence on Friday after months of pressure from President Donald Trump, with her last day set for June 30. In her resignation letter, published by Fox News, Gabbard cited her husband Abraham's recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer, stating she could not ask him to face the battle alone and maintain the demanding position. However, the departure follows months of reports indicating Trump wanted her gone due to internal friction. The White House previously urged Gabbard to step down before the midterms, with tensions mounting over her differing views on the Iran war and the resignation of her counterterrorism chief, Joe Kent, according to The Mirror. Pro-Israel Trump allies had also targeted her over hiring decisions they considered hostile to Israel. The former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii switched parties and was confirmed as DNI in early 2025. She declassified over half a million pages of government records during her tenure.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
Tulsi Gabbard resigned as the US Director of National Intelligence effective June 30, citing her husband's illness as the cause of resignation. Bloomberg's Jamie Tarabay speaks with Joe Mathieu on Balance of Power to discuss Gabbard's working relationship with the White House and cites a disconnect between the Intelligence Director and President Donald Trump in foreign policy discussions. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Trump announces via Truth Social, “Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence” following the departure of DNI Tulsi Gabbard on June 30, 2026. [SOURCE] Aaron Lukas will do a solid job as ‘acting’ or as fully nominated and confirmed DNI. There will likely be a […]
The post President Trump Responds to DNI Gabbard Departure, “Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence” appeared first on The Last Refuge.
The Trump administration is temporarily moving immigration lawyers to the Justice Department to speed up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof, but they're a priority for Trump officials who are searching for fraud in the legal immigration system. Zoom in: Lawyers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the office for legal immigration services, are being temporarily transferred to U.S. attorney's offices to work on denaturalization cases, four former agency officials tell Axios. One source said staffers were being "volun-told" to move offices. A second source describe the transfers as lawyers "being force volunteered."It's not necessary that they have prior trial or denaturalization experience, just that they have an active law license, a third source said. "We are proud to support this critical effort by providing the Department of Justice with a team of our most skilled immigration law attorneys," said USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler.Between the lines: The Trump administration tried to accelerate the number of denaturalization cases in his first term, creating a dedicated team of 10-15 lawyers. The cases identified by that team are "still kicking around," USCIS chief Joe Edlow said last September."There's a reason why 'denats' have never really taken off," one source said. "It's really hard to prove ... the standard is really high, and you need good evidence. A lot of cases, it's just it's not there."The legal burden requires proving "clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt" in civil cases where someone willfully lied on their application.In cases where someone illegally got citizenship that they weren't eligible for, there can be criminal charges filed.The big picture: Justice Department officials have shortlisted 385 people for denaturalization charges, according to a New York Times report from April. In Trump's first term, USCIS claimed to have identified 2,500 potential cases but referred just a fraction to DOJ.The Trump administration filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 as recently as this month, according to a DOJ spokesperson.A Justice Department memo from June 2025 also listed denaturalizations as a top priority for the Trump administration.Outlining the benefit of bringing these cases, the memo says pursuing denaturalization "supports the overall integrity of the naturalization program."In a statement to Axios, a DOJ spokesperson said it welcomed the assistance from USCIS lawyers "to advance the President's mission to promote public safety and root out fraud."The bottom line: Increasing the number of denaturalization cases has long been a goal in Edlow's crusade against suspect fraudulent immigration applications."I think it's just as useful to have a decentralized denaturalization process," Edlow said when asked about the denaturalization's unit in Trump's first term last September at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies."If that gives rise to the need for a denaturalization, we're going to move forward. I don't need it specially sent to an office. I want every office using this as a benchmark," he added.
A Trump cabinet secretary is breaking from the White House on proposed budget cuts, according to reporting by the New York Times. "The White House is asking Congress to cut the number of lawyers enforcing civil rights in schools," the Times reported on Friday. "Education Secretary Linda McMahon has told Congress she wants money to hire more."McMahon told House lawmakers last week that the proposed cuts are a "floor for hiring," the report noted. Two anonymous White House officials said McMahon is contradicting their position by framing the proposed cuts as a starting point for negotiations. The White House wants to cut staffing at the Department of Education's civil rights office by 49 percent and reduce its staff from 530 to 271, according to the Times. White House officials are expecting McMahon to work with those cuts, they told the outlet. "Public disagreements are rare between the White House and Cabinet officials," the Times noted. "The incongruity over the education budget reflects the chaotic approach the Trump administration has taken toward civil rights enforcement in schools." McMahon fired half of the Education Department's civil rights lawyers during her second week leading the department, prompting bipartisan concern "about the department's handling of civil rights enforcement," the report added. McMahon said the firings were already underway as part of the DOGE cuts. "In December, Ms. McMahon gave up on the firings in the face of mounting legal challenges and an expanding backlog of discrimination complaints in schools," according to the report. "Ms. McMahon told senators during a budget hearing in April that all of the civil rights lawyers had returned except for those who took early retirement. But public records suggest that Ms. McMahon has so far been unable to rebuild the office."A spokesperson for the Education Department, however, said they plan to "use all congressionally appropriated funds responsibly to uphold and restore civil rights enforcement." The Department of Education currently has job openings posted online for lawyers in civil rights enforcement roles.
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