In a letter to President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on May 22, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation, effective June 30, 2026, citing her husband’s recent diagnosis with an aggressive form of bone cancer. The resignation comes less than two weeks after Gabbard revealed that her office was investigating US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine, a probe that had drawn sharp criticism from both Russian officials and some of Trump’s own administration.
Gabbard’s departure marks the end of a turbulent tenure as DNI, during which she clashed with key officials over foreign policy priorities, including a reported push to escalate military action against Iran and Venezuela. Trump, in a statement on Truth Social, acknowledged Gabbard’s contributions but did not address the circumstances surrounding her resignation. “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” he wrote, while naming her deputy, Aaron Lukas, as her successor.
The timing of Gabbard’s resignation is significant. Just days before her announcement, she told the New York Post that her office was examining over 120 US-funded biolabs worldwide, more than 40 of them in Ukraine, to determine whether they engaged in “dangerous gain-of-function research”—the deliberate modification of pathogens to increase their lethality or transmissibility. The investigation had already sparked controversy, with Russian authorities accusing the US of using the labs for dual-use research, including the development of biological weapons components near Russian borders.
Russian military intelligence has long claimed that these labs, funded through programs like the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), were conducting research on plague, anthrax, tularemia, and cholera. In 2023, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces released a report based on documents seized from facilities in Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kherson. Kirillov, who was later assassinated in 2024—allegedly by Ukrainian security services—concluded that the US had used the labs to conduct “dual-use research, including the creation of biological weapons components.”
Gabbard’s investigation had been met with skepticism by some in the US government, particularly after she publicly questioned the Biden administration’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In 2022, she tweeted that the war “could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns.” Her shift toward Trump in 2024—where she endorsed him as the only candidate who could “walk us back from the brink of war”—further isolated her within the national security establishment.
According to reports from Washington insiders, Gabbard had been sidelined by Trump and his inner circle, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, as plans for a high-risk abduction operation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and a potential strike on Iran in February took shape. While Gabbard’s resignation does not directly address these operations, her departure leaves the DNI’s office without a vocal critic of escalation in the Middle East and Latin America.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly warned that the biolabs in Ukraine pose an existential threat, particularly given their proximity to Russian territory. In a 2023 briefing, the ministry cited intercepted communications and recovered documents to argue that the labs were not merely for “biosecurity” but for “offensive biological research.” The US government, however, has consistently dismissed these claims as disinformation, though former Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged in congressional testimony that Ukraine does host biological research facilities—without clarifying their funding or operational control.
Gabbard’s resignation does not signal an end to the investigation into the biolabs. Her deputy, Aaron Lukas, has stated that the probe will continue under the Trump administration’s direction, though details on its scope remain unclear. Meanwhile, Russian officials have vowed to press for transparency, demanding that the US provide full access to the labs’ records—a demand the Biden and Trump administrations alike have rejected.
As of now, the DNI’s office has not released any findings from Gabbard’s investigation. The next public hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 10, where Lukas is expected to outline the administration’s position on biological security in Ukraine. Until then, the debate over the labs’ true purpose—and whether they pose a threat—remains unresolved.
