There was a telling moment this week when Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, seemed unwilling to take any responsibility for the decision to go to war with Iran, which experts have said could “blow up in Trump’s face” if it drags on or starts to go badly.
Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, Gabbard deflected questions about whether Iran presented an “imminent” nuclear threat to the US, asserting that “it is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat… That is up to the President, based on the volume of information that he receives.”
A military veteran and former Democratic presidential candidate – Gabbard has been walking a fine line since the US-Israeli air strikes began on 28 February – seemingly not wanting to take any responsibility for the war while at the same time trying her best to show her loyalty to Trump.
Like many in the President’s orbit, she seems to be contorting herself as Trump has increasingly moved from an opponent of military engagement overseas – something that appealed to his “America First” base – into a leader who has launched multiple military forays in recent months.
But Gabbard’s position puts her in a notable position to do Trump harm should she push back too strongly, or walk away from the administration.
David Andersen, an associate professor of US politics at Durham University, told The i Paper that Gabbard has “made it look like the Iran war is firmly Trump’s decision.”
This absolutely could blow up in Trump’s face, Andersen added. “Militarily it has been a resounding success for the US and Israel, devastating much of Iran’s military capacity, but there’s no indication that the Iranian regime is near collapse so it’s hard to figure out what the US has gained from this.”
Andersen pointed out that Gabbard refused to allow the intelligence agencies to be thrown under the bus. “She said: ‘We brought intelligence to the President. It was his decision, and it’s his responsibility to make the decision’.”
Tulsi Gabbard and Donald Trump in the Oval Office on 12 February, 2025, after she was sworn in to office (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)He also pointed out that Gabbard could become a major thorn in Trump’s side if the situation in Iran goes poorly. If Trump attempts to pass the blame, saying he was misled by his intelligence agencies, Gabbard could fire back. “That would be very damaging to President Trump,” Andersen added.
Dodging any blame
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff pushed back hard on Gabbard’s statement on Wednesday, saying “it is precisely your responsibility to determine what consists of a threat to the United States”. He accused her of “evading a question because to provide a candid response to the committee would contradict a statement from the White House.”
In the same hearing, Gabbard was also grilled about her assertions in a written statement to the Committee that US strikes last year, which aimed to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities with “no efforts since” to rebuild.
Iran’s desire to build a nuclear weapon has been cited as a key reason Trump used to justify the war.
So far there is no sign of Gabbard looking to quit, but her appearance in front of the Senate Committee came after Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned over his disagreement with Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran.
Announcing his resignation, Kent wrote: “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.”
Joe Kent, the director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, resigned this week, citing misgivings over the Iran war (Photo: Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)In an interview with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, Kent later argued that Gabbard could have provided a “sanity check” for Trump if she had been in discussions about the war.
Gabbard was previously a vocal opponent of any kind of conflict with the Islamic Republic, going so far as to sell “No War With Iran” t-shirts during her short-lived presidential campaign in 2019, back when she was a Democrat.
Since then, she has transformed herself from being a left-wing Democrat into a key figure in the Trump administration.
“In some ways, she kind of followed [Trump’s] trajectory because he started off as a Democrat who supported rather progressive causes and eventually flipped and became the Republican that he is now,” Andersen said.
Gabbard’s previous criticism of Trump
Since the start of the current conflict, some of Gabbard’s previous comments opposing aggression against Iran have re-circulated.
In a tweet from May 2019, Gabbard wrote: “Trump promised to get the U.S. out of ‘stupid wars… But now he and John Bolton are on the brink of launching us into a very stupid and costly war with Iran. Join me in sending a strong message to President Trump: The U.S. must NOT go to war with Iran.”
Earlier this month, a Fox News interview with Gabbard from January 2020 also re-surfaced, which shows her criticising Trump over the killing of senior Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.
“Speeding towards an all-out war with Iran would make the wars that we’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan look like a picnic,” she said. “It will be far more costly in American lives and American taxpayer dollars, and all towards accomplishing what goal? What objective?”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during a Senate Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on 18 March, 2026 (Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)But during her time in his administration, Gabbard has been one of Trump’s staunchest allies, meaning any notable defection from her would be more damaging to the administration.
This hasn’t completely shielded her from Trump’s ire, however. Last year, prior to the attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump told a reporter that “I don’t care what she said” after Gabbard told Congress she did not believe Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon.
He was also reportedly furious when she posted a three-minute video on X warning that “political elite and warmongers” are “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers,” placing the world “on the brink of nuclear annihilation”.
She has also reportedly been kept out of White House planning meetings regarding operations against Iran and Venezuela.
Who is really in danger?
Before she faced the Senate committee, reporters asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt whether Gabbard’s job was in jeopardy. Leavitt responded: “Not to my knowledge. I haven’t heard the President say that… Obviously that’s a question for him.”
Mark Shanahan, associate professor of political engagement at the University of Surrey, suggests that Gabbard could be used as a scapegoat if things continue to go bad.
“The Iran situation is spinning out of control for Trump. But he’s never wrong: he deflects, denies and distorts, and is never slow to double-down, but never admits to any personal blame,” Shanahan said.
“That blame resides with others, and today, Gabbard is caught in the cross hairs,” he added. “Loyalty is a one-way street for Trump. Tulsi Gabbard may prostrate herself at his feet and pledge total fealty, [but] Trump won’t think twice about kicking her back to Hawaii.”
If things go well, Trump will happily take all of the credit but if things go badly, or Gabbard decides to follow Kent out the door, we can expect some major fall out.
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