Where in the world is Tulsi Gabbard? As President Trump’s team basked in the glory of its high-octane assault on Venezuela, one key player was missing from the spotlight: Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
Insiders say that Gabbard was left out in the cold while everything from missile strikes in Caracas to a daring Delta Force raid unfolded, ultimately resulting in the shocking capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The couple was whisked off to New York, now facing serious charges linked to narcotics conspiracies.
Dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, the dramatic incursion was months in the making—spearheaded by a who’s who of Trump loyalists: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense chief Pete Hegseth, CIA boss John Ratcliffe, and the ever-controversial Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller. According to The Washington Post, Tulsi Gabbard barely factored into the master plan, her role described as almost nonexistent.
Saturday brought a triumphant press event at Trump’s luxurious Mar-a-Lago retreat, with all the main architects present—except Gabbard. While Rubio, Hegseth, and Ratcliffe soaked up media attention across Fox, Newsmax, and OANN, Gabbard was seemingly MIA, choosing instead to welcome 2026 with some yoga poses on the sun-drenched beaches of Hawaii. Her only acknowledgment of the regime change came days later, on Tuesday, when she broke her silence online and applauded U.S. personnel for carrying out Trump’s controversial anti-cartel crackdown.
Still, her absence has tongues wagging. An anonymous ex-intelligence insider told the Post, “The writing’s on the wall—Gabbard was never in the thick of things. Honestly, she’s always pushed for America to mind its own business, while Trump seems keen on flexing military muscle abroad.”
The White House, meanwhile, is putting on a united front. Communications Director Steven Cheung insisted to the Post that Trump stands firmly behind his “exceptional national security team.” As Rubio fronted a major press briefing on January 3, 2026, defending Washington’s bold action, attempts to paint discord in the administration were dismissed as “nothing but media noise.”
Gabbard’s long-standing anti-interventionist stance from her days as a Democratic congresswoman—and Iraq War veteran—make her a curious figure among hawkish Trump allies. Social media is buzzing with renewed interest in her 2019 video urging restraint on Venezuela, fueling speculation about her true place in the administration’s circle.
