National Security & Defense

Source: NBC News

Tulsi Gabbard sidelined in Trump administration discussions on Israel and Iran

The MAGA rift over Iran is playing out within the administration, with Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, at odds with other top officials — and the president himself.

June 18, 2025, 9:59 PM EDT
By Dan De Luce, Matt Dixon, Garrett Haake, Carol E. Lee and Courtney Kube

WASHINGTON — National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic of past U.S. military interventions abroad, appears to have fallen out of favor with President Donald Trump as he weighs military action against Iran, according to multiple senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter.

Gabbard allies insist that, while there is some White House tension, some of the public blowback is overstated, and none interviewed by NBC News expect her to leave the administration as a result of the president’s Iran policy, even if that includes direct U.S. involvement.

Gabbard’s politically perilous position burst into the open this week when Trump brushed her back over her testimony to Congress in March. At that time, she said the U.S. intelligence community did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon — a comment at odds with Trump’s recent public statement about the threat posed by Iran’s potential nuclear program.

“I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” Trump told reporters Tuesday on Air Force One.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/tulsi-gabbard-sidelined-trump-administration-discussions-israel-iran-rcna212702