Tulsi Gabbard ‘Goes Rogue’ Sparking White House Civil War

Donald Trump’s intelligence chief is once again throwing Washington into chaos.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democrat-turned-MAGA ally, blindsided Trump’s own staff when she abruptly announced online that she had revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former officials. The move, posted publicly on X, left Trump’s aides fuming — and scrambling to clean up the mess.

Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right. Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold. In… pic.twitter.com/23DUNuVAi0

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) August 19, 2025

“This was not coordinated. This was not vetted. We were blindsided,” one senior aide told reporters off the record. “She put lives at risk.”

On August 19, Gabbard blasted out to her 762,000 followers that she was stripping clearances from officials who, in her words, had “betrayed their oath to the Constitution.” Many of the names included officials who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election or who had testified during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

“Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” Gabbard wrote. “Those who put their own interests ahead of the American people broke the sacred trust they promised to uphold.”

But Trump aides were caught off guard — and furious — when they learned Gabbard had included deputies to the CIA director and at least one officer who was working undercover. Revealing the identity of covert agents can be a felony, though it remains unclear whether the law shields Gabbard as a government official.

“This is reckless,” a former intelligence official told The Daily Beast. “She didn’t just burn bridges. She may have burned assets.”

Despite the White House distancing itself, insiders say Trump was directly involved. According to a senior intelligence official, Gabbard personally showed Trump a list of names tied to the Russia investigation and “malign influence” assessments. Trump reportedly told her, “These people should be removed.”

That decision, critics say, confirms what Democrats have long warned: Trump is using the levers of government to settle old scores.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blasted the move. “This is not about protecting national security. This is about punishing those who dared to speak truth about Russia and about Trump,” Warner said in a statement.

Despite the uproar inside the West Wing, the official line from Trump’s team has been full-throated praise. A spokesperson said Gabbard was doing a “phenomenal job” and claimed the administration was united in “ensuring those who have weaponized their clearances to manipulate intelligence are held to account.”

But privately, aides are seething. Several told reporters that the move blindsided not only staff but the CIA itself, which received the list only the night before it was made public.

“It’s chaos,” one aide admitted. “We’re supposed to be running a government, not a witch hunt.”

Gabbard’s latest stunt underscores the growing tension inside Trump’s second administration. Once hailed as a bipartisan maverick, she is now accused of carrying out Trump’s vendettas under the guise of “draining the swamp.”

“It’s not the swamp she’s draining,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a scathing interview. “It’s our democracy.”

For Democrats, the episode is yet another reminder that Trump’s presidency is not just about policy disagreements but about the dangerous politicization of national security itself.