section_path: Director of National Intelligence (2025–present)/Tenure
section_name: Tenure
paragraph_text: Tenure
  
  Gabbard was sworn in as the 8th director of national intelligence on February 12, 2025, by Attorney General Pam Bondi, taking the position responsible for leading 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and assuming the role of president's top intelligence adviser. After her swearing-in, Gabbard promised to "focus on ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people" while echoing Trump's claims of politicization of the intelligence community and the need to rebuild trust. With this appointment, she became the first female military combat veteran to serve as DNI and first Pacific Islander American and first Hindu American to hold a Cabinet-level position.
  
  Immediately after being sworn in, Gabbard made her first international trip as DNI to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. In March 2025, Gabbard’s second international trip was to Asia with a focus on the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, Thailand, and India. Before traveling to Asia, Gabbard stopped in Hawaii, which hosts the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command headquarters. In her visit to India, Gabbard attended the Raisina Dialogue, an annual multinational conference of security officials held in New Delhi, and outlined the Trump administration's strategy for global peace and security.
  
  In March 2025, Gabbard, along with other senior members of the administration, discussed the plans for the US's attacks in Yemen on a Signal group chat that leaked to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg. When questioned by Congress, Gabbard admitted sharing the information with Goldberg was a "mistake", but claimed none of the information shared was classified. After the Signal leak, reporters of Der Spiegel used online leaked data to find personal information such as emails, phone numbers, and messaging accounts of several U.S. security officials including Gabbard, who was exposed on WikiLeaks and Reddit. Gabbard’s office responded that Gabbard had not used the online accounts for several years and that her data leak occurred nearly 10 years ago.
  
  In May 2025, Gabbard announced the reorientation of the U.S. intelligence towards border security, counterterrorism, and counternarcotics, based upon the current administration’s national security priorities. Speaking at the GEOINT 2025 Symposium, Gabbard noted the emphasis on domestic border surveillance, while addressing professionals across the geospatial intelligence sector. Gabbard's office also noted that they were consolidating the intelligence operations by moving the National Intelligence Council (NIC) to the DNI office building while taking more control of the President’s "Daily Brief". Gabbard also fired the two officials at the NIC "because of their opposition to Trump", after the council contradicted the Trump administration's position on Venezuelan gang members.
  
  In June 2025, President Trump was questioned by reporters about Gabbard’s testimony to Congress in March 2025, in which she had stated that the US intelligence community "continues to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized a nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003." Trump said that she was wrong in suggesting that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. On 20 June 2025, Gabbard clarified her position stating that she agrees with President Trump that Iran could have nuclear weapon in weeks, and blamed the media for taking her March testimony "out of context" and trying to "manufacture division." Gabbard stated that "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.”
  
  Gabbard was sworn in as the 8th director of national intelligence on February 12, 2025, by Attorney General Pam Bondi, taking the position responsible for leading 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and assuming the role of president's top intelligence adviser. After her swearing-in, Gabbard promised to "focus on ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people" while echoing Trump's claims of politicization of the intelligence community and the need to rebuild trust. With this appointment, she became the first female military combat veteran to serve as DNI and first Pacific Islander American and first Hindu American to hold a Cabinet-level position.
  
  Immediately after being sworn in, Gabbard made her first international trip as DNI to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. In March 2025, Gabbard’s second international trip was to Asia with a focus on the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, Thailand, and India. Before traveling to Asia, Gabbard stopped in Hawaii, which hosts the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command headquarters. In her visit to India, Gabbard attended the Raisina Dialogue, an annual multinational conference of security officials held in New Delhi, and outlined the Trump administration's strategy for global peace and security.
  
  In March 2025, Gabbard, along with other senior members of the administration, discussed the plans for the US's attacks in Yemen on a Signal group chat that leaked to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg. When questioned by Congress, Gabbard admitted sharing the information with Goldberg was a "mistake", but claimed none of the information shared was classified. After the Signal leak, reporters of Der Spiegel used online leaked data to find personal information such as emails, phone numbers, and messaging accounts of several U.S. security officials including Gabbard, who was exposed on WikiLeaks and Reddit. Gabbard’s office responded that Gabbard had not used the online accounts for several years and that her data leak occurred nearly 10 years ago.
  
  In May 2025, Gabbard announced the reorientation of the U.S. intelligence towards border security, counterterrorism, and counternarcotics, based upon the current administration’s national security priorities. Speaking at the GEOINT 2025 Symposium, Gabbard noted the emphasis on domestic border surveillance, while addressing professionals across the geospatial intelligence sector. Gabbard's office also noted that they were consolidating the intelligence operations by moving the National Intelligence Council (NIC) to the DNI office building while taking more control of the President’s "Daily Brief". Gabbard also fired the two officials at the NIC "because of their opposition to Trump", after the council contradicted the Trump administration's position on Venezuelan gang members.
  
  In June 2025, President Trump was questioned by reporters about Gabbard’s testimony to Congress in March 2025, in which she had stated that the US intelligence community "continues to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized a nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003." Trump said that she was wrong in suggesting that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. On 20 June 2025, Gabbard clarified her position stating that she agrees with President Trump that Iran could have nuclear weapon in weeks, and blamed the media for taking her March testimony "out of context" and trying to "manufacture division." Gabbard stated that "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.”