If you’ve been scouring the headlines lately looking for the latest on Tulsi Gabbard Secretary of Defense updates, you’ve probably run into a wall of confusion. There is a lot of noise out there. People keep typing that specific phrase into search bars, expecting to see her name on the door of the Pentagon.
But here is the thing. Honestly? She isn't there.
While the internet might be convinced she’s running the military, the actual reality of the current administration is a bit different. As of early 2026, the person sitting in that massive office at the Pentagon is Pete Hegseth. In fact, he’s been there since January 2025, and he’s even overseen the rebranding of the department back to the "Department of War."
So where does that leave Tulsi?
The Mix-up: Director of National Intelligence vs. Secretary of Defense
It's easy to see why people get this twisted. During the transition in late 2024, Tulsi Gabbard was one of the most talked-about names for any high-level national security post. She’s a veteran. She’s a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. She’s got the "outsider" vibe that the current administration loves.
But the President didn’t tap her for Defense. He chose her to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
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That’s a massive job. Huge. She oversees 18 different spy agencies, including the CIA and the NSA. She was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025 after a pretty wild 52-48 vote. It was a nail-biter. Only one Republican, Mitch McConnell, voted against her. Since then, she’s been the one delivering the President’s daily briefings, not running troop movements.
Why does everyone think she’s the Secretary of Defense?
Maybe it’s because she spends so much time with Hegseth. Just a few weeks ago, in January 2026, the two of them teamed up to appoint Tim Kosiba as the new deputy director of the NSA. They’ve been working in lockstep to overhaul what they call the "deep state" within the intelligence and defense communities.
When you see them standing together at a press conference, it’s easy to blur the lines. They’re both veterans, both disruptors, and both have been tasked with basically gutting the old way of doing things in D.C.
What Tulsi Gabbard is actually doing right now
Since taking over as DNI, Gabbard hasn't exactly kept a low profile. If you were expecting her to just sit in a dark room and read folders, you don't know Tulsi.
- The Ukraine Stance: She’s been very vocal about moving toward a "neutral Ukraine" and ending the flow of billions in military aid. This is a huge shift from the previous administration and has caused plenty of friction with European allies.
- The "Deep State" Purge: She’s spent the last year focused on "weaponization." In her view, the intelligence agencies have been used against American citizens. She’s been leading a massive internal audit to ensure civil liberties are protected—or so the official line goes.
- A New Relationship with Russia: At the recent AmericaFest in Phoenix, she accused critics of pushing a "false narrative" to drag the U.S. into a direct war with Moscow.
The controversy hasn't slowed down
Even though she isn't the Secretary of Defense, the level of scrutiny she faces is about the same as if she were. People still bring up her 2017 meeting with Bashar al-Assad. They still point to her past comments about biolabs in Ukraine.
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Her detractors, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, have publicly questioned if she should even have access to the nation's secrets. But inside the White House? She’s a star. She’s one of the few people the President reportedly trusts to give him the "unfiltered" truth without the polish of the career bureaucrats.
Comparing the Roles: Defense vs. Intelligence
Let’s get technical for a second. If Gabbard were the Secretary of Defense, she’d be managing the largest employer in the world. We’re talking millions of service members and a budget that’s creeping toward a trillion dollars.
As DNI, her role is more about information flow. She doesn't command tanks; she commands data.
- Secretary of Defense (Hegseth): Focuses on "lethality," new tech like drone swarms, and getting the military ready for a potential fight with China.
- Director of National Intelligence (Gabbard): Focuses on "truth," making sure the President isn't being misled by his own spies, and shifting the focus away from "regime change" wars.
It’s a subtle difference if you’re just watching the news, but in the halls of power, it’s a world of difference. Hegseth builds the hammer; Gabbard tells the President where to swing it—or, more often in her case, why he shouldn't swing it at all.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Power
There’s a common misconception that the DNI is a "weaker" spot than Defense. Kinda wrong.
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Actually, the DNI was created after 9/11 specifically to be the boss of the entire intelligence community. If the Secretary of Defense wants to know what’s happening on the ground in a specific country, they often have to go through the DNI’s coordinated reports.
By putting Gabbard in this spot, the administration basically put a gatekeeper at the very top of the information funnel. Nothing gets to the President’s desk without her fingerprints on it. That’s a level of influence that is, in some ways, more personal than what the Secretary of Defense has.
The Bottom Line
If you came here looking for a confirmed story about Tulsi Gabbard Secretary of Defense, the real story is that you're looking at the wrong office. She’s the DNI, she’s been the DNI for a year, and she’s probably the most influential DNI we’ve seen in decades.
She’s busy trying to dismantle the way the CIA and NSA operate. She’s busy trying to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from interventionism. And she’s doing it all while Pete Hegseth handles the actual soldiers over at the Department of War.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to stay truly informed about Tulsi Gabbard’s actual role and the changes at the Pentagon, stop looking for "Secretary of Defense" news and start following these specific areas:
- Monitor DNI Budget Requests: Look for the FY 2027 budget filings. This is where you’ll see if she is actually succeeding in defunding programs she views as "politicized."
- Watch the NSA Leadership: Keep an eye on the appointments she and Hegseth are making together. The Kosiba move was just the beginning of a total leadership swap in the cyber and intelligence world.
- Follow the "Department of War" Rebrand: Hegseth is moving fast on restructuring. Understanding how the newly renamed Department of War interacts with Gabbard’s Office of the DNI is the only way to understand where U.S. foreign policy is headed in 2026.
Don't get distracted by the old rumors. The real action is happening in the intelligence briefings.