SKIP TO CONTENT SKIP TO SITE INDEX SECTION NAVIGATION Search SUBSCRIBE FOR €0.50/WEEK LOG IN Takeaways Key Race Results How Results Work Primary Calendar Changes to Maps Seat Pickups ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Under Trump, National Intelligence Agency Has Broadened Focus on Elections Bill Pulte, who has shown that he has a keen sense of what the president wants and a desire to please him, is poised to take over the job from Tulsi Gabbard on an acting basis.

Listen · 3:04 min Share full article 19 Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, at the Fulton County elections office in January. Credit... Nicole Craine for The New York Times By Julian E. Barnes Julian Barnes has covered intelligence and election security matters since 2018.

June 17, 2026, 12:45 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Times on Google In Tulsi Gabbard’s time as director of national intelligence, she drifted in and out of President Trump’s good graces. When she expressed doubts about military action against Iran, Mr.

Trump criticized her publicly. But repeatedly she won back his favor by pivoting to election matters, including intelligence agencies’ examination of Russian interference in the 2016 and Mr. Trump’s unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 election. At Mr. Trump’s direction, Ms.

Gabbard showed up in Georgia to supervise an F.B.I. raid that seized ballots in Fulton County, and then put the president on the phone with agents carrying out the raid. She also began an inquiry looking for vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines, even taking a voting machine in Puerto Rico for examination by her office.

Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades. See more on: Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump READ 19 COMMENTS Share full article 19 Related Content ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Site Index Site Information Navigation © 2026 The New York Times Company NYTCoContact UsAccessibilityWork with usAdvertiseT Brand StudioPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyTerms of ServiceTerms of SaleSite MapHelpSubscriptionsManage Privacy Preferences To leave without signing in, use your browser's Back button.

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