NEW: Trump ditches acting DNI Stacey Dixon after rumors she was trying to derail Tulsi Gabbard’s appointment

According to the New York Times, a senior Trump official said Dixon was asked to go so that Trump could name someone “who aligns with his priorities.” Dixon had reportedly also been aligned with DEI initiatives from the Biden administration.

Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec had previously written on X, "I'm told Acting DNI [Stacey] Dixon trying to derail Tulsi, in contact with some that have had their clearances revoked, cooking up a new fake story about intel on Russia, per senior official."

Trump has chosen Lora Shiao to take Dixon's place. Shiao served under former Director of National Intelligence Avril D. Haines. Shiao was promoted to lead the National Counterterrorism Center by Richard Grenell during the first Trump administration. Grenell was appointed by Trump ahead of his second term for the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions.

According to Ballotpedia, Shiao "worked across the intelligence community with assignments in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, and other intelligence agencies. She was an intelligence briefer to the attorney general and FBI director from 2005 to 2007."

Allies of Trump told the outlet that Dixson had been too involved in the DEI initiatives from the Biden administration, which made diversifying the intelligence agencies a priority. She was appointed by the Biden administration to serve as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence in 2021.