Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a top aide to DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard, has resigned in protest of Trump’s war in Iran.
Kent, citing no imminent threat to our nation, shared a letter to Trump on X, saying that Trump “holds the cards” to “reverse course and chart a new path for our nation.”
“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 wrote.
Kent said he prayed that Trump, whose policies he agreed with in 2016, 2020, and 2024, “will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for.”
Kent was a former Green Beret and two-time Congressional hopeful for the GOP. After serving as an aide to DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard, he was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-44 vote last summer to be a principal counterterrorism adviser.