Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term. There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with the president after he decided to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration.
Trump is heading to a toss-up congressional district in New York to test his midterm message on the economy, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship of it. The focus of the event is to promote the tax law Trump signed last year, particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes, which is critical in a high-tax state like New York.
Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe. And in Sweden, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced NATO allies confused by contradictory administration statements.
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The president has begun testing his midterm-year message, focusing on the economy.
But in New York, he quickly veered off-topic, discussing voter ID, crime, and transgender women in sports. He complained that toiletries are locked up in pharmacies, making them harder to buy, and polled the audience on what he should call his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
He eventually highlighted his tax cuts, claiming Democrats opposed them.
“I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state,” Trump said to the audience at Rockland Community College.
Trump appeared with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, praising him for supporting the tax law that expanded state and local tax deductions. Lawler, up for reelection, said he will embrace Trump to energize Republican voters.
The White House aims to spotlight Trump’s economic achievements amid declining approval ratings.
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A U.S. official said members of Congo’s World Cup team, who have trained for weeks in Europe, far from the Ebola outbreak, will be exempt from the U.S. travel ban on non-Americans recently in affected countries — provided they do not return home before the tournament.
The official said U.S. authorities advised the athletes, coaches and staff currently in Europe that they will be subject to the entry ban and any quarantine restrictions should they return to the Congo or the broader affected region before traveling to the U.S. The impacted area includes Uganda and South Sudan. The team is not prevented from traveling elsewhere to compete in pre-World Cup matches.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations between the U.S. and the team, said the Trump administration “will continue to uphold the highest safety and health standards for the United States and all World Cup participants.”
A U.S. official says the search for mines in the vital oil shipping corridor is ongoing, though none have been found.
No ships have been struck or damaged by mines in the strait, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. That’s even as some commercial traffic has flowed through the waterway where Iran has a chokehold, though at much lower volumes than before the war began.
Trump said last month that he ordered the military to begin mine-clearing efforts as part of a broader push to get commercial ships to traverse the strait again, following several attacks by Iranian forces.
No evidence of mine-laying by the Iranians has emerged since the start of the conflict, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said that they targeted and destroyed that capability as part of the airstrikes across the country.
The president opened his rally with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler by touting the congressman’s fight for SALT, the acronym for the state and local tax deduction he fought to include in Trump’s sweeping tax cuts law last year.
“He wouldn’t stop. He was driving us crazy,” Trump said.
Trump also gave a shout-out to Nassau County’s Republican Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor.
“You better watch yourself, Kathy,” Trump said, referring to New York’s incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection.
“You got a race,” Trump added.
A human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Tennessee was dismissed Friday without a trial.
Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year became an embarrassment for the Trump administration when it was ordered to return him to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia claimed the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated the prosecution was vindictive.
A federal judge agreed to dismiss the charges against Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years. Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.
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A bipartisan group of senators is departing for a tour of Arctic nations to reassure U.S allies. And this time they’re leaving the men behind.
From the eight senators to their staff and military liaison officers, the group will be entirely women. They are paying diplomatic visits to government officials in four Arctic nations, witnessing the challenges for militaries operating in the region and visiting a Norwegian archipelago so remote they will need escorts to avoid run-ins with polar bears.
The trip comes at a time when Trump has taken an aggressive, go-it-alone stance in the region.
“We will reassure our allies that we recognize and appreciate the importance of our allies and partners in the Arctic as in so many other areas,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Associated Press. She leads this trip alongside Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
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The president wrote on social media that he “very much wanted to be” at the wedding of his son Don Jr., but “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Trump wrote.
The president had originally been scheduled to spend the weekend at his estate in Bedminster, New Jersey, and was not scheduled to head to the Bahamas, where the wedding is reportedly taking place.
His post came a day after Trump told reporters that his son would “like me to go” and “I’m going to try and make it.”
But he also added, “This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.”
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate’s Intelligence committee, said that with Gabbard’s departure, her successor should help restore the reputation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Warner said that “at a time when the boundaries between verified intelligence and politically convenient claims have too often been blurred...the next DNI must be committed to restoring trust in the office, protecting the integrity of our intelligence, and ensuring our nation’s intelligence professionals can speak truth to power, without fear or interference” in a statement released shortly after Gabbard’s resignation became public.
Last summer, Gabbard revoked the security clearances of dozens of U.S. officials who she said had engaged in the “politicization or weaponization of intelligence” to advance personal or partisan goals, failing to safeguard classified information, failing to “adhere to professional analytic tradecraft standards” and other unspecified “detrimental” conduct in a memo released at the time.
In a social media post, the president wrote that Gabbard was “unfortunately” leaving his administration at the end of June.
“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him,” Trump wrote.
He added, “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” and that Gabbard’s “highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”
Gabbard has resigned as Trump’s director of national intelligence, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer.
She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term. In her resignation letter, which she posted on the social platform X, she wrote: “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.”
There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after he decided to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the war.
Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii known for opposing foreign wars, faced an awkward moment when the U.S. joined Israel’s attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
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Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is telling Trump not to settle for a peace deal with Iran.
In a statement, Wicker says the president “is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”
“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” he added.
Wicker’s statement stands in contrast to the position of a small but crucial number of Republicans who are calling on Trump to end a war that he started without congressional approval.
GOP leaders in both chambers have struggled this week to find the votes necessary to defeat war powers resolutions brought by Democrats that would compel Trump to end the war. A handful of Republicans have switched their votes to try to end the war.
Warsh, in his remarks, said he saw former Fed chair Alan Greenspan as a model for the role, explaining that the Fed can help with the nation’s prosperity.
“Our mandate at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve — inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take-home pay, higher,” Warsh said.
Kevin Warsh has been sworn in as Fed chair by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Warsh said it was an honor to be sworn in by his “esteemed friend,” Thomas. He explained Kavanaugh’s presence by telling the audience the two of them had worked at the White House earlier in their careers.
He’s also talking about former Fed chair Alan Greenspan, calling him an idol.
Greenspan was sworn in at the White House by President Ronald Reagan.
Warsh said that, like Greenspan, he intends to fill the role of Fed chair “with energy and purpose.”
“I really mean this. This is not said in any other way,” Trump said. “I want Kevin to be totally independent. I want him to be independent and just do a great job.”
“Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job, okay?” he added.
The pressure Trump placed on outgoing Fed chair Jay Powell to lower interest rates raised questions about the independence of the Federal Reserve.
The East Room was packed for the ceremony, which usually is held at the Federal Reserve Building.
Among those attending are Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council and at one point a top contender to succeed Jay Powell as Fed chair, until Trump decided he wanted to keep Hassett at the White House.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence will deliver the oath. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was also present, as were members of Trump’s Cabinet, other top Trump administration officials, and current and former members of Congress.
Trump opened with praise for Warsh, predicting that he “will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve.”
“I think he’s got abilities that very few people have,” Trump said.
When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off on a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate Trump’s allies for alleged political prosecution, he may have pleased his boss. But the eyebrow-raising move — has agitated the same Republican lawmakers he would need to secure the permanent job.
Blanche insists he’s not auditioning for the job of attorney general. But a succession of splashy steps taken under his watch at the Justice Department, including an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, have left no doubt that he’s trying to prove his loyalty to the president.
The fund in particular has put Blanche at the center of a Republican firestorm just when he aims to establish himself as the perfect person for the job for the remainder of Trump’s term. Read more
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is riding high ahead of his Republican primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, now that he has the president’s backing.
“I don’t know if y’all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,” Paxton told a small rally in a town outside Austin, inciting whoops and applause.
The senate race in Texas has drawn gobs of money and attention, including from Trump, who continues encouraging voters to boot any politician who displeases him.
Paxton has been turning his focus to state Rep. James Talarico, opening his latest event with attacks on the Democratic nominee, a sign of his confidence heading into Tuesday.
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Democrats are cheering rulings by federal judges in Maine and Wisconsin that dismissed Justice Department demands for detailed voter registration information.
The DOJ has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force the release of voter information including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. Thursday’s defeats follow similar rulings in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island, In Georgia, a judge dismissed a DOJ lawsuit filed in the wrong city, prompting the Trump administration to refile elsewhere.
Bianca Shaw, state director of Common Cause Wisconsin, said the decision protects voters “from an unauthorized national database that would have been a goldmine for hackers and a tool for intimidation.”
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat and Trump opponent who is running for governor, said the ruling affirms that states run elections.
Trump has a reputation for slashing his taxes using techniques that some experts find aggressive. Now the Justice Department has told the president he doesn’t have to worry about being called out on it.
In an extraordinary decision this week, the IRS is suspending probes into his past returns to settle a lawsuit that Trump brought against the agency he ultimately runs. Trump says tax authorities targeted him politically — a claim for which he has given no proof — and that he was right to seek a remedy.
Law experts say the move is unprecedented and unfair.
“This is giving the president and his affiliates completely different set of rules than everyday taxpayers,” said Brandon DeBot, policy director at New York University’s Tax Law Center.
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“Iran is trying to create a tolling system,” Rubio said. “That’s just not acceptable. It can’t happen. If that were to happen in the Straits of Hormuz, it will happen in five other places around the world.”
Iran’s official Mizan news agency reported that 35 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy in the previous 24 hours.
Without specifying the nationalities of the vessels, Mizan quoted the Revolutionary Guard navy as saying that the oil tankers, container ships and other commercial ships transited the strait after obtaining permission and in coordination with, and under the protection of, the Revolutionary Guard navy.
Iran has demanded the right to collect the tolls as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.
The Trump administration remains ready to resume mediation efforts that have been stalled for some time, Rubio said.
With concerns high in Europe, particularly in the Baltic states, that the administration’s interest in ending the conflict is waning, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. still believes the “the war can only end with a negotiated settlement. It will not end with a military victory by one side or the other.”
Previous rounds of talks were unfortunately “not fruitful,” Rubio said, but “if we see an opportunity to pull together talks that are productive, not counterproductive, and that have the chance to be fruitful, we’re prepared to play that role.”
The secretary of state said he and other foreign ministers discussed the issue of reopening the critical waterway, and that he reiterated the need for a “Plan B” if a deal isn’t reached between Washington and Tehran.
“Someone’s going to have to do something about it, okay?” Rubio said. “They’re not just going to voluntarily reopen the straits in that scenario.”
Rubio said he received lots of “nods” from European allies when he brought it up Friday. In the same breath, Rubio confirmed what Iranian officials had been saying, that progress is being made in the negotiations.
“I wouldn’t exaggerate it and I wouldn’t diminish it,” he said. “But there’s more work to be done.”
Rubio says America’s NATO allies understand that eventually there will be a reduction in the U.S. troop presence in Europe as the Trump administration evaluates its force posture globally.
“I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” Rubio told reporters.
NATO allies have been confused by contradictory statements coming from Trump and his top aides, including an announcement last week that troop levels would be reduced in Poland that Trump appeared to reverse on Thursday. A previously announced troop reduction in Germany appears to be going ahead but Rubio noted that the Germans “didn’t freak out about it” because it brought the numbers back to where they were three years ago.
FILE - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, leaves after speaking to reporters outside the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington, where the East Wing once stood, as work also begins for the upcoming UFC fight on the South Lawn. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One, Friday, May 15, 2026, as he returns from a trip to Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
