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Gone quiet · last update Aug 20, 2026 / Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard's resignation as director of national intelligence

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence and an advocate of a more restrained foreign policy, resigned in May 2026, saying she was stepping away to support her husband, who had been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer.[1][2] Trump named Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as , and the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton, the US attorney in Manhattan, as her successor in July by a vote of 51 to 47.[3][4]

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Trump named Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as , and the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton, the US attorney in Manhattan, as her successor in July by a vote of 51 to 47.[3][4]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-05-18 (UTC): 27%, 54 of 197 tracked outlets (17 left, 24 center, 13 right)Week of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): 19%, 35 of 186 tracked outlets (11 left, 16 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-06-08 (UTC): 10%, 19 of 200 tracked outlets (4 left, 10 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-06-15 (UTC): 3%, 8 of 234 tracked outlets (4 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): 7%, 41 of 559 tracked outlets (11 left, 21 center, 9 right)Week of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 4%, 22 of 562 tracked outlets (4 left, 11 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): 12%, 67 of 561 tracked outlets (11 left, 41 center, 15 right)Week of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 537 tracked outlets (2 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 464 tracked outlets (0 left, 2 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 7 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (9 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Aug 17, 202602810 of 4642%
Aug 3, 20262125 of 5371%
Jul 27, 202611411567 of 56112%
Jul 20, 2026411722 of 5624%
Jul 13, 20261121941 of 5597%
Jun 15, 20264228 of 2343%
Jun 8, 2026410519 of 20010%
Jun 1, 20261116835 of 18619%
May 18, 202617241354 of 19727%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Aug 19, 2026 · first reported · Headline from The Hill

    Gabbard shares emotional update on husband’s cancer months after White House exit

Background

Gabbard submitted her resignation letter on May 22, 2026, and planned to leave at the end of June.[1][5] Trump named Pulte, who at the housing agency had pressed for investigations of the president's political foes, as acting director,[3][6] and Pulte took over on June 19; his office carried out at least four rounds of layoffs.[7] In June Trump said he would nominate Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman,[8] then delayed the nomination over a lapsed surveillance tool and a voter ID bill.[9]

At his confirmation hearing in July, Clayton stressed his government and national security experience,[10][11] and the Intelligence Committee advanced his nomination on a party-line vote.[12] The Senate confirmed him 51 to 47 on July 28 after months of Democratic opposition to him and to Pulte,[4] and he was sworn in.[13] Gabbard later spoke about her husband's diagnosis with sacral chordoma.[2]

Supporting stories (13)
  1. Tulsi Gabbard to resign as director of national intelligence
  2. Gabbard shares emotional update on husband’s cancer months after White House exit
  3. Trump says he wants new acting intel chief Bill Pulte to cut staff: ‘Lot of people that shouldn’t be there’
  4. Trump administration profile: Jay Clayton
  5. Trump Replaces Tulsi Gabbard As Director Of National Intelligence—Again—With Bill Pulte
  6. Trump taps housing regulator Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence
  7. Pulte says he completed 4th round of layoffs as acting DNI
  8. Trump plans to nominate US Attorney Jay Clayton to be national intelligence director
  9. Trump delays Jay Clayton’s nomination for intel director to try to push Congress on voting bill
  10. Trump's intelligence nominee refuses to say who won 2020 election
  11. Takeaways from Blanche and Clayton hearings: Fund for Trump allies and 2020 election at the forefront
  12. Senate panel advances Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead U.S. intelligence agencies
  13. Intelligence director sworn in despite denial

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 13 recorded updates

August 2026

  1. Gabbard shares emotional update on husband’s cancer months after White House exitHeadline from The Hill · 10 outlets
  2. Intelligence director sworn in despite denialHeadline from Omaha World-Herald · 4 outlets

July 2026

  1. Trump administration profile: Jay ClaytonHeadline from OpenSecrets · 63 outlets
  2. Pulte says he completed 4th round of layoffs as acting DNIHeadline from Phl17 · 7 outlets
  3. Senate panel advances Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead U.S. intelligence agenciesHeadline from The Columbian · 22 outlets
  4. Trump's intelligence nominee refuses to say who won 2020 electionHeadline from PBS NewsHour · 30 outlets
  5. Takeaways from Blanche and Clayton hearings: Fund for Trump allies and 2020 election at the forefrontHeadline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri · 16 outlets

June 2026

  1. Trump delays Jay Clayton’s nomination for intel director to try to push Congress on voting billHeadline from New York Post · 8 outlets
  2. Trump plans to nominate US Attorney Jay Clayton to be national intelligence directorHeadline from Anchorage Daily News · 20 outlets
  3. Trump Replaces Tulsi Gabbard As Director Of National Intelligence—Again—With Bill PulteHeadline from Forbes · 7 outlets
  4. Trump says he wants new acting intel chief Bill Pulte to cut staff: ‘Lot of people that shouldn’t be there’Headline from New York Post · 21 outlets
  5. Trump taps housing regulator Pulte to be acting director of national intelligenceHeadline from Los Angeles Times · 14 outlets

May 2026

  1. Tulsi Gabbard to resign as director of national intelligenceHeadline from FOX 5 New York · 60 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →