WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation Tuesday, citing concerns about the rationale for military strikes against Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the Trump administration’s war.
“Iran poses no imminent threat to our country and it is clear that we are waging this war under pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said in a statement posted on social media.
Kent, a former political candidate with ties to right-wing extremists, was confirmed in a 52-44 vote last July. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he heads an agency responsible for analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
His resignation reflects unease among President Donald Trump’s supporters about the war and suggests that doubts about the legitimacy of Iran’s use of force extend to at least one senior member of his administration.
The staffing changes at one of the nation’s top counterterrorism offices come after attacks on a Michigan synagogue and the University of Virginia in the past week and heightened concerns about domestic terrorism.
Iran’s rationale hits resignation to core
In his resignation letter, Kent wrote that his decision to resign came down to the reasons for the attack on Iran, or what he called the lack of it.
Trump has offered evolving justifications for the attacks and pushed back against claims that Israel pressured the United States into taking action. Earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said the White House believed Israel was determined to take action on its own, leaving the Republican president to make a “very difficult decision.”
A spokesman for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard did not immediately respond to questions about Kent’s resignation. There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Democrats fiercely opposed Kent’s confirmation, pointing to his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. But after Kent resigned, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Kent’s concerns about a war with Iran were legitimate.
“I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has espoused over the years, especially those that have the potential to politicize our intelligence community,” Warner said. “But on this, he is right: There is no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify the United States’ rush to launch another war in the Middle East.”
However, Johnson disputed Kent’s assertion that Iran did not pose an imminent threat when asked about his resignation at a press conference on Tuesday.
“I have received all the briefings. We all understand that there is clearly an imminent threat and that Iran is very close to enriching its nuclear capabilities and they are building missiles at a rate that no one in the region can keep up with,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he firmly believed that if Trump waited, “we would have mass casualties of Americans, service members and others, and severe damage to our facilities.”
As we set off, fear and fear intensified
Kent is leaving the Trump administration as three recent acts of violence have raised concerns about threats to his homeland.
In New York City, federal authorities said two men inspired by the Islamic State group staged a far-right protest outside the mayor’s mansion, carrying powerful homemade bombs.
In Michigan, a naturalized citizen from Lebanon crashed his vehicle into a synagogue and was shot by security guards before turning the gun on himself.
In Virginia, a man who had been imprisoned on terrorism charges shouted “Allahu akbar” (Arabic for “God is the greatest”) before opening fire on a college classroom, in an attack that officials said ended when he was killed by a student.
Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to testify before lawmakers later this week on threats to the United States, and this year’s annual hearings are likely to discuss issues surrounding the war with Iran, specifically the issue that outdated intelligence may have allowed the United States to launch a missile that hit an Iranian elementary school and killed more than 165 people.
Gabbard, a veteran and former congresswoman from Hawaii, has criticized talk of military strikes against Iran in the past. Six years ago, she said, “An all-out war with Iran would make the wars we’re seeing in Iraq and Afghanistan look like a picnic. It would be far more costly in terms of lives, American lives, and American taxpayer dollars — and all to achieve what goal? What goal?”
Gabbard’s office did not respond when asked whether she supported the attacks, and she has not posted about Iran on her social media accounts since the attacks began last month.
Popular figure among Trump supporters
Kent’s military background and his personal story of failure and sacrifice have made him a leading figure on national security issues among Trump supporters.
Before entering the Trump administration, Kent ran twice unsuccessfully for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, serving 11 deployments as a Green Beret before retiring from the Special Forces and joining the CIA. He also endured tragedy: His wife, Shannon, a Navy cryptographer, was killed by a suicide bomber while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019, leaving him to raise his two young sons alone. Kent, 45, later remarried.
During the chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Kent criticized the misguided nation-building aspirations of some in Washington, D.C.
“This exposes our arrogance,” Kent told reporters while campaigning for Congress. “We’re not learning from all this, it just shows that there are people out there making money and making a career on the other side. And they’ve been doing it on the backs and bodies of American soldiers.”
During the 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right military group, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from various far-right figures.
Kent acknowledged early in the first campaign that a political consultant initiated a conference call and was joined by popular right-wing influencer Nick Fuentes, who had said Jews were holding America “hostage” and at one point declared “Hitler was awesome, Hitler was right.”
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to distance herself from conspiracy theories that federal agents incited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and false claims that Trump defeated Democrat Joe Biden to win the 2020 election.
Kent later denied the links and said he rejected all “racism and bigotry”.
Democrats also questioned Kent’s participation in a Signal group chat used by Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.
Still, Republicans praised Kent’s counterterrorism credentials, pointing to his military and intelligence experience.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said in a speech that Kent “has dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Brian Slodysko contributed to this report.