Speaking in a video posted on Tuesday, June 2, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard commented on her husband’s health and the treatment he is undergoing in a battle against cancer. The video comes after Gabbard announced that she is retiring from her present position as the DNI so that she can help care for her husband as he fights the debilitating disease.
As background, posting about her resignation and sad news on X in May, DNI Gabbard said, “I am deeply grateful for the trust President Trump placed in me and for the opportunity to lead @ODNIgov for the last year and a half. Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026.”
She added, “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
Now, she already appears to be helping him, as she posted a video in which she and he were heading in the hospital to get started with treatment. Captioning the post, she said, “We are getting ready to head to the hospital for my husband’s surgery and just wanted to say thank you so much to all of who have shared messages, prayers and well wishes for Abraham. We are humbled and so grateful to be surrounded by aloha during this really tough time. 🙏🏽”
In the video itself, the Director of National Intelligence explained that his surgical battle against the dangerous and rare bone cancer was beginning on that morning, saying, “So good morning, we’re getting ready to head into the hospital now for Abraham’s surgery.”
Continuing, she thanked all of the many Americans who have chimed in with kind messages of support for Abraham, and for her, saying, “I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you with all of our hearts to all of you who have shared such beautiful messages and prayers and well wishes for Abraham.”
Concluding, she commented on how heartwarming and morale-boosting it is to have so many people on whom one can rely, and just to get support and kind words from, during battles like these. She said, “We’re truly humbled and so grateful to be surrounded by so much aloha from all of you during this very tough time. Aloha.”
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Watch her here:
In her letter announcing her retirement, Gabbard said, “I am deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half. Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle. Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role. His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge.”
Continuing, she wrote, “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position. While we have made significant progress at the ODNI – advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community – | recognize there is still important work to be done. I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video