A longtime Trump supporter who stood by the former president through election challenges and January 6th has now broken ranks over military action in Iran, stepping down from his top counterterrorism role on Tuesday.
Joe Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, departed his position citing disagreements with the administration’s Iran policy. Despite his previous unwavering loyalty to Trump, Kent stated Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and claimed “we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
The 45-year-old former special forces operator had been viewed as one of Trump’s most reliable allies in a crucial national security position. His departure highlights a significant rift within the administration over Middle East strategy.
Kent’s reasoning directly contradicts Trump’s justification for military action against Iran. On February 28, when U.S. and Israeli forces began their bombing campaign, Trump declared that Iran’s “menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”
In his resignation letter to the president, Kent argued that “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign … to encourage a war with Iran.”
These comments about Israeli influence and American media reflect Kent’s history of controversial associations with extremist groups. His remarks echo antisemitic conspiracy theories suggesting Jewish Americans wield excessive control over news coverage.
During Senate confirmation proceedings, Kent admitted that a campaign advisor arranged a phone call that included Nick Fuentes, a far-right personality who has praised Hitler and made inflammatory statements about Jewish people controlling America.
Kent’s 2022 House race involved payments to Graham Jorgensen, a Proud Boys member, for campaign consulting. He also collaborated with Joey Gibson, who founded the Christian nationalist organization Patriot Prayer, and received backing from various extremist figures.
Prior to his congressional campaigns, Kent promoted unfounded theories that government agents orchestrated the January 6th Capitol attack and falsely claimed Trump defeated Joe Biden in 2020. He has demanded Biden’s impeachment, called for investigating the election results, and advocated defunding the FBI following the Mar-a-Lago document search.
Kent eventually distanced himself from some extremist connections and stated he opposes “racism and bigotry.” However, during Senate hearings, he refused to abandon his election conspiracy claims.
The Senate confirmed Kent in July by a 52-44 margin, with nearly all Democrats opposing his nomination due to his radical associations. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina was the only GOP member to vote against confirmation.
In his role, Kent oversaw an intelligence organization established following 9/11 to identify and analyze terrorist threats. The agency maintains the government’s database of known and suspected terrorists.
Prior to confirmation, Kent served as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The former Green Beret completed 11 combat deployments, primarily in Iraq, during two decades of Army service.
Following his 2018 military retirement, Kent joined the CIA as a paramilitary officer and advised Trump’s 2020 reelection effort on counterterrorism matters. He frequently appeared on conservative television programs and podcasts while pursuing congressional seats in 2022 and 2024.
Kent’s first wife, Shannon Smith, died in a 2019 suicide bombing while serving as a Navy cryptologist fighting ISIS in Syria.
Smith’s death transformed Kent into a critic of American military interventions worldwide.
“That is why I have a skepticism of our federal government,” he explained regarding his wife’s death, stating she died because “Republicans and Democrats consistently lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad.”
During America’s troubled 2021 Afghanistan exit, Kent harshly criticized the defense establishment and Washington’s “permanent ruling class.” He suggested some nation-building advocates were misguided while others pursued selfish interests.
“It speaks to our hubris,” Kent told reporters during his congressional campaign. “For us not to have learned from all this just shows that there are people making money and making their careers at the other end of it. They’ve been doing it on the backs and dead bodies of U.S. soldiers.”
Trump praised Kent enthusiastically when announcing his nomination in February 2025.
“Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard,” Trump posted on social media.
During confirmation hearings, Kent emphasized Latin American drug cartels rather than Middle Eastern threats.
“President Trump is committed to identifying these cartels and these violent gang members and making sure that we locate them and that we get them out of our country,” Kent informed Senate Intelligence Committee members.
While working under Gabbard, Kent instructed an intelligence analyst to modify a report about Venezuela’s government and transnational gangs. The changes supported Trump’s claims that gang members could be expelled using the Alien Enemies Act, typically reserved for wartime situations.
Democratic senators questioned Kent extensively about his involvement in a Signal messaging group used by Trump’s national security team to discuss classified military operations.
The Signal conversation accidentally included an Atlantic magazine journalist and revealed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing precise details about warplane departures and bombing schedules for March 2025 attacks on Yemen’s Houthis. This sensitive information was disclosed before pilots had even taken off.
The incident created significant embarrassment for the administration, though Trump imposed no penalties on Hegseth, Kent, or other officials involved.
