Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on Friday proposed Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as a potential successor to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation effective June 30. Banks argued the House Republican would face few obstacles in the confirmation process.
“Stefanik would make a great replacement for Tulsi as DNI. Easily confirmable too,” Banks wrote on X, the social media platform.
Gabbard stepped down citing her husband’s recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. In her resignation letter obtained by The Hill, she wrote: “He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
Her departure makes her the fourth member of President Trump’s second-term Cabinet to resign this spring, following former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Trump quickly named Aaron Lukas as acting DNI via Truth Social.
Speculation about a permanent replacement has centered on Stefanik, a fierce Trump ally who was initially nominated as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations after the 2024 election. The White House later withdrew that nomination, concerned that losing her from the House would complicate the GOP’s razor-thin majority. That majority has shrunk further due to special election losses, deaths, and resignations, leaving Republicans with little margin for error on party-line votes.
Stefanik currently serves as chairwoman of House Republican Leadership, appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) when she returned to Congress last April. She had previously relinquished her role as conference chair, the fourth-ranking GOP leadership position, upon her U.N. nomination. She also sits on the Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Armed Services Committee, and the Education and Workforce Committee.
Stefanik framed her return to the House as a team effort. “This is about stepping up as a team, and I am doing that as a leader, to ensure that we can take hold of this mandate and deliver these historic results,” she told Fox News’s “Hannity” in March.
Banks’s endorsement adds to the chatter around Stefanik, though Trump has not publicly indicated his pick. The DNI role oversees 18 intelligence agencies, and any nominee will face intense scrutiny. Recent controversies, including false claims about an FBI raid on Gabbard’s office, have highlighted the political sensitivity of the position.
