22 MAY 26 SITREP

• Tulsi Gabbard submitted her resignation as Director of National Intelligence effective June 30th, 2026, after her husband Abraham was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.
• President Trump confirmed the departure on Truth Social and announced that principal deputy director Aaron Lucas will serve as acting Director of National Intelligence.
• Gabbard's exit followed other recent cabinet departures including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was replaced by Markwayne Mullen.
• The resignation left two open Senate-confirmed cabinet positions, intensifying existing White House frustrations with Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the filibuster and the stalled Save America Act.

• President Trump traveled by Air Force One and Marine One to Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, marking the first presidential visit to Rockland County since Gerald Ford in 1976.
• Thousands of attendees filled the venue and wrapped around the building in a swing district where Congressman Mike Lawler currently trails Democrats by one point but won his previous two elections, including a defeat of Democratic fundraising chief Sean Patrick Maloney.
• Lawler used his remarks to defend Medicaid reforms in the Save America Act, stating he preserved roughly $1.2 billion in federal Medicaid funding for New York hospitals, nursing homes, and health care providers through the state's MCO tax arrangement.
• Trump stated he would return directly to the White House rather than visit Bedminster or attend Don Jr.'s wedding at Mar-a-Lago, saying that circumstances pertaining to government and his love for the United States did not allow him to be away from Washington.

• New York State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio of the 2nd District reported that Albany had reached its 13th consecutive budget extender with no final agreement in place.
• Giglio stated the state budget grew from $175 billion to $268 billion in seven years, a figure she described as two-and-a-half times the size of Florida's budget despite New York having 5 million fewer residents.
• A public protection bill adopted the previous afternoon drew sharp criticism from Giglio, who said it would result in more crimes rather than protect the public.
• Constituents across the region expressed mounting frustration over energy costs and utility bill surcharges, intensified by the earlier shutdown of Indian Point nuclear power plant, which had provided 15% of the state's energy, even as the state now discusses building four new nuclear plants.