Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard is missing from the Situation Room pictures that President Donald Trump and his White House just released. 

These are the pictures, according to the New York Post, that were released just after Trump ordered the United States to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

Ordinarily, the absence of Gabbard might not have even been noticed, but her absence was noticed because of recent events.

Those recent events included what the media has framed as a disagreement between her and Trump - although she and the Trump administration have disputed this characterization.

Background

One of the primary justifications for the United States' attack on Iran is the claim that it either has nuclear weapons or is very close to having nuclear weapons. There, however, has been some dispute about this.

The Hill reports:

Gabbard testified to Congress in March that the intelligence community assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, and its supreme leader had not authorized a nuclear weapons program. She also noted that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was “unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.”

This testimony, of course, is several months old, but it is some of the only official testimony that we have about Iran's nuclear capabilities. Accordingly, those who oppose Trump's attack on Iran have argued that the public is being misled about just how close Iran is to having nuclear weapons.

It reached the point at which Trump decided to come out and publicly state that Gabbard "is wrong" in her assessment. Gabbard replied with this message:

The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. 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… pic.twitter.com/mYxjpJY2ud

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) June 20, 2025

Gabbard out?

One of the big questions that is now being asked is whether Trump has soured on Gabbard and whether she may be on her way out.

Members of the administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance have indicated that the administration continues to stand behind Gabbard.

But, this has not stopped the speculation.

The speculation only intensified when, after the strikes on Iran, Trump released images from the Situation Room - images that included several of his top secretaries, but not Gabbard.

Is this a sign of things to come for Gabbard? Time will tell.