President Trump has allegedly asked cabinet officials whether he should replace his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. According to The Independent, Trump was displeased with Gabbard for not condemning former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent after he announced his resignation. SCOOP: Trump has been asking cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, venting frustration about her leadership and that she shielded Joe Kent, a former deputy who undercut his rationale for war with Iran @guardian https://t.co/1JVTeWi2qh — Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) April 2, 2026 More from The Guardian: It is not clear that Trump will actually fire Gabbard over the episode. Currently, there is no standout candidate to take the job, and advisers have cautioned that creating a high-profile vacancy before a successor is ready could cause unhelpful political distractions. But Trump’s discussions mark an ominous development for Gabbard, given the president tends to poll his advisers when he starts to seriously consider whether a personnel change is necessary. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump’s doubts about Gabbard followed her testimony at the worldwide threats hearing on Capitol Hill last month where she declined to condemn Joe Kent, who had resigned days earlier after arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, the people said. The nature of Kent’s departure and his criticism of the war had already angered Trump, but he expressed particular frustration about Gabbard seemingly defending Kent and appearing reluctant to defend the administration’s position to attack Iran, the people said. Asked on Sunday whether he still had confidence in Gabbard’s leadership, Trump offered a mixed endorsement. “Yeah, sure,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I mean, she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve.” “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said last month. “It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC. May God bless America,” he continued. “Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that you should strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again,” Kent wrote in a letter to President Trump. “As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives. I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards,” he continued. President Trump Responds After Top Counterterrorism Official Resigns Over Iran War The Independent shared further: Trump's reported polling of cabinet officials about Gabbard's future comes as Trump mulls firing another senior female cabinet member: Attorney General Pam Bondi. Sources told Politico that Bondi is likely on the way out of the Trump administration, with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin reportedly lined up as a potential replacement. That report came hours after the New York Times said Trump was considering replacing Bondi amid backlash over her botched handling of the Epstein files.