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Tulsi Gabbard

DNI Feb 2025 to mid-2026. Named UAP a priority, set up ODNI's Director's Initiatives Group with a UAP remit, co-signed the PURSUE launch, resigned May 2026.

Current role: Former Director of National Intelligence (12 February 2025 until mid-2026). Announced her resignation on 22 May 2026 with a stated departure date of 30 June. No public role in the UAP process since, as of 2026-10-10.

Former roles:

  • Director of National Intelligence (Feb 2025 – 2026)
  • U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd district (2013–2021)
  • Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve

@TulsiGabbard on X

Background

Former Democratic congresswoman for Hawaii and Army Reserve officer who joined the Trump administration as Director of National Intelligence, confirmed by the Senate on 12 February 2025. She was the first DNI to name UAP as a priority during a confirmation hearing, and in 2025 she set up a Director's Initiatives Group (DIG) inside ODNI whose portfolio included UAP alongside other declassification work. Under her, ODNI co-signed the 8 May 2026 PURSUE launch with the Department of War. She announced her resignation on 22 May 2026. The DIG had been wound down earlier in the year, and its handling of whistleblowers later became the subject of sworn Senate testimony. The interagency UAP Governance Board and the 31 July 2026 ODNI memo on NDA waivers were set up after her announcement, under Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas.

On the record

  • 2026-05-08 – X post as DNI, on the first PURSUE release – "Under President Trump's leadership, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is actively coordinating the Intelligence Community's declassification efforts with the Department of War to ensure a careful, comprehensive, and unprecedented review of our holdings" and "Today's release is the first in what will be an ongoing joint declassification and release effort." X · war.gov/ufo
  • 2025-08-05 – "Pod Force One" podcast with Miranda Devine – said "Yes," when asked whether she believes in the possibility of extraterrestrials and UFOs, added "In this role, I have to be careful with what I share," and said there was nothing she was "prepared to talk about" yet: "We're continuing to look for the truth and share that truth with the American people." NY Post
  • 2025-01-30 – Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing – listed UAP, alongside anomalous health incidents, among recent intelligence failures she intended to address. Clip

Reported claims (secondary / anonymous-sourced)

  • 2026-03-27 – Liberation Times (Christopher Sharp), citing unnamed sources – reported that the DIG had been wound down in February 2026 and that whistleblowers Matthew Brown and Dylan Borland faced alleged smear campaigns said to originate in classified-facility discussions connected to the DIG inquiry. ODNI's response: it remains "focused on carrying out the objectives of President Trump's executive orders", and SCIF discussions do not automatically confer whistleblower protections. Liberation Times
  • 2025-01-05 – Matthew Pines, commentator, in conversation – "I was told that [Gabbard] was given some sort of briefing or informal conversation with individuals involved in this." No official confirmation of any such briefing exists. Clip

Responses and criticism

  • 2026-05-13 – James E. Erdman III, CIA senior operations officer who led the DIG from March 2025 to April 2026, under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – said the group "investigated three areas, one of which was UAP", and that CIA "monitored the computers and phones of DIG personnel" and tracked their "contact with whistleblowers". CIA communications director Liz Lyons called the hearing "dishonest political theater" without addressing specifics. Testimony (PDF) · C-SPAN
  • 2026-05-22 – Her resignation and succession are reported inconsistently. AP reported she resigned on 22 May with a departure date of 30 June and that Trump named Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas acting director. Wikipedia's office-holder table gives her end date as 19 June 2026, lists Bill Pulte as acting DNI from 19 June and Jay Clayton as DNI from 3 August 2026. Only the 22 May announcement and the Lukas appointment are confirmed by more than one source. AP via WOWT · Wikipedia

Timeline of involvement

  • 2025-01-30 – confirmation hearing, names UAP as a priority
  • 2025-02-12 – confirmed as Director of National Intelligence
  • 2025-03 – Director's Initiatives Group begins work under James Erdman, with UAP in its remit
  • 2025-08-05 – Pod Force One interview
  • 2026-02 – DIG wound down (reported by Liberation Times)
  • 2026-05-08 – PURSUE launch, ODNI statement
  • 2026-05-13 – Erdman testifies on the DIG and CIA monitoring
  • 2026-05-22 – announces resignation, Aaron Lukas named acting DNI
  • 2026-07-31 – ODNI NDA-waiver memo issued under PDDNI Lukas, after her departure (memo PDF)

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-10-10. Spotted an error? Reach out.