In the hours leading up to the U.S. operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump was surrounded by a trusted team of advisers, with one notable absence: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who was reportedly practicing sun salutations on a Hawaiian beach, reports Baltimore Chronicle via The Hill. Gabbard had been regularly excluded from operational planning for Venezuela, to the point where White House aides joked that “DNI” stood for “Do Not Invite.”
The reasons for Gabbard’s absence appear tied to her consistent opposition to a hardline approach toward the Maduro regime, once stating that U.S. intervention would “wreak death and destruction on the Venezuelan people.” Early assessments suggest fewer than 100 deaths occurred during the operation, with Cuban security personnel accounting for the largest share.
Administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, denied that Gabbard was intentionally sidelined, but her absence drew attention. Images released from the Situation Room highlighted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe beside the president. Gabbard commented on the operation more than 48 hours later, praising its execution without explicitly mentioning Maduro or Venezuela.
Though the State Department refuted claims that Rubio orchestrated her exclusion, Gabbard and Rubio have a history of clashes over foreign policy dating back to their congressional tenures. In a 2015 post on X, she criticized Rubio and the late Senator John McCain for opposing Russian strikes in Syria, which evolved into a prolonged campaign where Russian air operations targeted Syrian hospitals alongside Assad’s forces.
Gabbard’s isolation intensified following a contentious confirmation process, during which she publicly rejected claims of being a “puppet” for adversaries such as Assad or Vladimir Putin. Despite this, she failed to gain full trust from the administration that appointed her, raising questions about her suitability to oversee 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.
The American public has yet to receive a clear explanation for why the DNI was excluded from a high-stakes operation. This lack of transparency coincides with strained relationships with international allies, particularly in NATO and Greenland, increasing concerns among intelligence-sharing partners, including the Five Eyes alliance.
During Gabbard’s confirmation hearings, British security officials expressed hesitation about intelligence-sharing due to her past conciliatory statements regarding Putin. Months later, she issued a directive restricting Five Eyes partners, including the United Kingdom, from accessing U.S. intelligence on Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
Gabbard’s pattern of marginalization extended to discussions on Iran, where she was excluded in June from deliberations over potential military action, following a social media video she released warning of nuclear war and her previously dovish statements as a Democratic congresswoman.
Her record on Russia includes authoring a memo criticizing U.S. hostility toward Putin. On China, she has promoted narratives originating from Beijing to challenge Japan, a key U.S. ally, including opposing Tokyo’s efforts to strengthen defense capabilities—a position at odds with longstanding U.S. encouragement of Japan’s military modernization.
One year into her tenure, Tulsi Gabbard has repeatedly diverged from the Trump administration, allied nations, and public expectations. Her absence from the Venezuela operation is one of several instances where she was sidelined, with no indication that it will be the last.
Earlier we wrote that Trump Distances from Noem and Miller After Alex Pretti Shooting; Federal Investigation Underway in Minneapolis
