Joe Kent, whom Senate Republicans confirmed last summer to serve as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has made headlines for a variety of unfortunate reasons, but on Tuesday morning, the Washington Republican made news in an entirely unexpected way: He announced that he’s resigning in protest from the Trump administration over the war in Iran.
In a brief item published to social media, Kent wrote:
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
Kent, who included an image of his formal resignation letter, added that he considers it an honor to have served under Donald Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. His tweet concluded, “May God bless America.”
He is the first and only prominent official from the Republican administration to step down over the U.S. military offensive in the Middle East.
‘Good thing he’s out’
In response to Kent’s departure, Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that he “always” thought the counterterrorism official was “a nice guy” but “weak on security.”
“Very weak on security,” the president said. “It’s a good thing that he’s out.”
One White House official told MS NOW’s Jake Traylor that they believe Kent’s resignation could lead to a pattern of other administration officials stepping away from their roles in protest.
Another White House senior official said they were shocked by the resignation and noted the rarity of a public resignation of this kind.
A third White House official said Kent did not have “power or influence” despite being the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and encouraged other critics of the war to swiftly exit the administration.
All three White House officials were granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal dynamics.
‘Deeply troubling’ record
Kent was a contentious figure long before he joined the president’s team. Indeed, The Associated Press published a memorable report during Kent’s 2022 Republican congressional campaign, for example, highlighting his “connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys.”
The Seattle Times later noted Kent’s “reported associations with white nationalists and other far-right groups, and embrace of conspiracy theories on an array of subjects.”
Kent insisted, for example, that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged and stolen” and that the FBI was “corrupt” and needed to be brought “to heel.” Kent has also defended Jan. 6 rioters as “political prisoners” and called the Covid-19 vaccines an “experimental gene therapy.”
Despite (or perhaps because of) this record, the Republican spent recent months working as the acting chief of staff to Gabbard — herself a longtime opponent of a U.S. war in Iran — and was accused of brazenly trying to politicize intelligence, allegedly ordering analysts to “rewrite” intelligence assessments to help the White House.
GOP senators nevertheless confirmed Kent last summer. His tenure didn’t quite reach the eight-month mark.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called Kent’s record “deeply troubling” but said he agreed with his resignation.
“I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has espoused over the years, particularly those that risk politicizing our intelligence community,” Warner said in a statement on Tuesday. “But on this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East.”
In his resignation letter, Kent pushed a false conspiracy theory that Israeli officials and the media conspired to dupe Trump into launching a war with Iran. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., bashed Kent for resigning and appeared to suggest he’s antisemitic.
“Good riddance. Iran has murdered more than a thousand Americans,” Bacon wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. “Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”
Kent’s departure leaves the United States without a director of the National Counterterrorism Center during a war, which seems less than ideal.
