Drama in Washington: Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s intelligence chief, resigned

A shake-up at the security top of the United States: The head of American intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has submitted her resignation from her position – this was reported by Fox News this evening (Friday), which quoted from her official letter of resignation.

According to the report, Gabbard met today with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, and informed him personally of her intention to retire from the sensitive position. The official resignation is expected to take effect on June 30.

Gabbard’s departure comes at a particularly political and explosive time, in the midst of complex and sensitive negotiations that the Trump administration is conducting with Iran. As the person who headed the American intelligence community, Gabbard held a key role in the concentration of information and assessments of the situation around the Iranian arena, which now raises questions in Washington about the effect of the personal shock on the continuation of contacts.

In her resignation letter to the president, Gabbard asked to express her appreciation for her tenure and wrote: “I am deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me, and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Chief of State Intelligence for the past year and a half.”

Along with the tensions, the official reason for her departure is completely personal. Gabbard shared in her letter that her husband was recently diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer, and that she is choosing to end her demanding public role to be by his side and by her family’s side in the difficult moments. The White House has yet to officially respond to the identity of the replacement who will step into her big shoes at the height of the crisis with Tehran.