Trump's Spy Chief Shutters Revenge Task Force After Backlash

Tulsi Gabbard, the embattled director of national intelligence, has shuttered the task force she created to pursue Donald Trump's political vendettas.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has shut down the Director's Initiatives Group, a task force she created to investigate Donald Trump's debunked claims about the 2020 election. The group was accused of serving as a vehicle for Trump's political retribution campaign and faced allegations of missteps, including falsely linking a federal security worker to the planting of pipe bombs before the January 6 Capitol attack.

Why it matters

The closure of the Director's Initiatives Group comes amid intense scrutiny over Gabbard's handling of a whistleblower complaint and her seizure of voting machine data in pursuit of Trump's 2020 election conspiracy theories. The task force's alleged missteps and its role in perpetuating Trump's false claims have raised concerns about the politicization of the intelligence community.

The details

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who became a Republican in 2024, confirmed to Reuters that she has wound down the Director's Initiatives Group. The task force had issued reports attacking the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Biden administration's handling of domestic terrorism. It was initially tasked with overseeing Gabbard's investigation into Trump's debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen, focusing on alleged vulnerabilities with voting machines. The group was shut down after alleged missteps, including falsely linking a federal security worker to the planting of pipe bombs before the January 6 Capitol attack.

  • The Director's Initiatives Group was dissolved late last year.
  • Last month, Gabbard appeared at an FBI raid on an election center outside Atlanta, Georgia, which housed ballots related to Trump's 2020 electoral loss.

The players

Tulsi Gabbard

The 44-year-old director of national intelligence who created the Director's Initiatives Group to pursue Donald Trump's political vendettas.

Donald Trump

The former president whose debunked claims about the 2020 election being stolen were the focus of the Director's Initiatives Group's investigation.

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What they’re saying

“The Director's Initiatives Group was created as a temporary effort to surge resources to deliver on high priority projects with near term deadlines, including Presidential Executive Orders.”

— Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (The Daily Beast)

“The group 'seems to be just a pass for a witch hunt.'”

— Mark Warner, Democratic Senator from Virginia (Reuters)

What’s next

Gabbard has missed the deadline for a classified report to Congress with details about the leadership, staffing, and hiring practices of the Director's Initiatives Group.

The takeaway

The closure of the Director's Initiatives Group highlights the ongoing concerns about the politicization of the intelligence community and the need for greater transparency and accountability in the handling of sensitive investigations related to elections and national security.