A top intelligence official who told Congress she was blindsided by a dismissal in her office was in fact informed of the personnel move directly by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard herself, according to internal memos obtained by The Daily Wire.
Tamara Johnson, the acting Intelligence Community Inspector General, informed a group of congressional Democrats that Gabbard “unilaterally terminated” one of Johnson’s top deputies without getting Johnson’s approval. But a memo sent by Gabbard to Johnson on May 30 — nearly two weeks before Johnson’s claims to the senators were made public — shows that Gabbard not only informed Johnson that Acting General Counsel Stephanie McDonald would be fired, but also that Gabbard believed she had Johnson’s support for the move.
“You agreed to terminate Ms. McDonald’s employment and volunteered to notify Ms. McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI [Human Resources],” Gabbard wrote in the memo to Johnson, which was obtained in full by The Daily Wire. “The [Chief Operating Officer] and [ODNI’s] Acting General Counsel emphasized that your support was appreciated, along with your agreement to take the action.”
A May 20 memo, also obtained by The Daily Wire, memorializes the conversation between the COO, ODNI’s top lawyer, and Johnson, in which the decision to terminate McDonald was presented. In that memo, ODNI COO Lora Shiao wrote that Johnson “confirmed her approval of DNI’s decision” to fire McDonald during a May 15 video call.
Shiao added that she and ODNI’s top lawyer “emphasized that we appreciated [Johnson’s] support” for firing McDonald, and her “agreement to take this action.” Johnson reportedly told the officials from Gabbard’s office that “she would notify Stephanie McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI Human Resource management,” the memo reads.
In her May 30 memo to Johnson, Gabbard argues that she didn’t need her approval, but sought it anyway. She said that, “Despite not needing your approval to terminate a probationary employee of ODNI, I had my office reach out to you to discuss the termination.”
The memos contradict claims from Johnson included in the Monday letter from Democrats alleging that Gabbard acted “contrary to law,” and “never sufficiently explained” why she had fired McDonald.
The spat with the acting inspector general comes as Gabbard works to weed out politicization of the inspector general’s office, which is supposed to be an impartial watchdog for the intelligence community. Top officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence say the office remains beholden to partisan interests, and has resisted changes ordered by the Trump administration.
Johnson has “failed to demonstrate timely compliance with Presidential direction regarding DEI matters, politicization of the work environment, and workforce optimization,” according to a document prepared by an intelligence official from Gabbard’s office obtained by The Daily Wire.
The document paints a picture of an office that appears beset by anti-Trump sentiment.
For example, Johnson waited over 30 days to remove DEI language from mission statements displayed throughout office areas and took nearly 60 days to remove DEI language from its internal website, according to the intelligence official. In contrast, Gabbard’s office removed all references to DEI within five days of Trump’s executive order.
Johnson’s office also refused to let her employees take advantage of Trump’s DOGE initiatives, including use of Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), according to the document.
“Several ODNI cadre employees, at that time assigned to [Johnson’s] office, indicated their intent to take advantage of these incentives. [Johnson’s] office stated that they did not wish to offer these incentives to their eligible employees and that the DNI did not have the authority to do so, despite existing [Office of Personnel Management] guidance to the contrary,” the intelligence official noted.
There were also complaints against Johnson’s office not putting up photos of Trump and Vice President JD Vance after the inauguration where photos of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been. New photos were not displayed until May 2025, after a senior advisor for Gabbard arrived and took steps to resolve the issue.
“The employee complaint noted that their absence was perceived as a politically motivated slight to new leadership by some members of the workforce,” the intelligence official noted.
The review of Johnson’s office also found allegations that employees were told “to deprioritize responding to inquiries from Republicans in Congress,” and that taxpayer dollars were misspent.
ODNI senior advisors reported that Johnson’s office had a reputation for accumulating “large quantities of branded swag that was not specifically for purposes of recruiting or other authorized activities” and that Johnson herself had spent $10,000 of taxpayer dollars on an ornamental throw rug for her office when she was deputy inspector general.
Johnson’s office also violated Intelligence Community policy by storing hundreds of branded thumb drives in classified facilities, according to senior advisors from Gabbard’s office. When reached for comment, the Inspector General’s office said it had no comment on the firings or politicization claims.