Tulsi Gabbard's departure marks 4th exit of women officer from Trump's cabinet — List of dismissals and resignations

US President Donald Trump staffed his second-term Cabinet with more women than his first term and much more than his Republican predecessors, but four women have lost their seat at the table in the last three months. Tulsi Gabbard's resignation marks the latest and fourth exit of a woman from Trump's cabinet this year.

Trump's cabinet: List of dismissals and resignations of women officers

Four female cabinet members who have been fired or have resigned are as follows:

• Kristi Noem who was appointed as Homeland Security Secretary was the first to exit Trump's cabinet on March 5 after criticism over handling of Trump's administration's immigration crackdown and disaster response. POTUS fired her from her position following mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, marking the first cabinet shakeup of his second term.

• Pam Bondi, who served at Attorney General post, was the second Trump administration official, to be removed. A longtime ally and fierce defender of Trump administration, Bondi was ousted from her post of America's top law enforcement officer in April. While announcing her departure Truth Social, Trump praised her and said she would be "transitioning" to a role in the private sector.
• Lori Chavez-DeRemer was the third to leave Trump's cabinet from the post of Secretary of Labor in April. Her exit happened after multiple allegations surfaced accusing her of abusing her position’s power, having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job. Announcing her departure, Chavez-DeRemer in a statement posted on social media praised Trump and wrote, “I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first.” Chavez-DeRemer’s exit was announced by a White House aide unlike other recent Cabinet departures that were intimated by the president.

• The latest to resign is Tulsi Gabbard, the nation’s chief intelligence official. On 23 May, she announced her resignation on social media. She revealed that she planned to leave office to care for her husband, Abraham, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.

The post stated, “He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months,” adding, “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Gabbard, a former military officer and Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, joined the Republican Party in 2024. According to a source familiar with the matter, Gabbard was removed by the White House, Reuters reported. In the past, Trump hinted at growing differences with Gabbard on their approach to Iran, suggesting that she was "softer" than him on curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

A White House spokesman Davis Ingle said, “Any suggestion that the White House forced her to resign over her husband’s health is slanderous,” while noting that Gabbard was a patriot who had served her country extremely well

Trump in a post on social media announced that Gabbard was “unfortunately” leaving the office because of her husband’s diagnosis, “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.”

On this occasion, Iranian embassy in Armenia wished Gabbard and her husband on X and stated, “You have previously shown at times that you work for America and not Israel, and sometimes you spoke truths about Iran that Trump hated." It added, “It was a pity that someone like you worked with this government, which has sidelined America and is a proxy for Israel.”