TRUMP ALLY JOE KENT RESIGNS OVER IRAN WAR, ROCKING NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM
A major crack just hit President Donald Trump’s national security team.
Joe Kent, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned in protest over the Trump administration’s handling of the war involving Iran, becoming one of the highest-profile officials yet to break ranks publicly over the conflict.
Reuters and other outlets reported Tuesday that Kent stepped down after posting a resignation letter on X, where he made it clear he could no longer support the war effort.
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
For those who may not know, the National Counterterrorism Center is one of the government’s key intelligence hubs. It helps track terrorist threats and maintains highly sensitive information tied to known and suspected terrorism cases. That means Kent wasn’t some low-level staffer walking away quietly — he was sitting in a powerful national security seat.
In his public statement, Kent said he had backed Trump’s values during his first term, but this time around, he believed the administration had been pulled in the wrong direction. According to reports, Kent argued the war served no real benefit to the American people and said he could not support sending another generation into battle for a conflict he believed was unnecessary.
Kent also said Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States and accused Israeli influence of helping push the U.S. deeper into war.
Kent worked closely under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and the two were seen as political allies. Gabbard, who has long criticized U.S. military intervention overseas, has kept a relatively low public profile since the war began. Reuters reported that her office had not publicly commented on Kent’s resignation as of Tuesday.
Kent’s background also makes this even more politically explosive. Before taking the counterterrorism post, he served in the Army Special Forces, completed 11 combat deployments during a 20-year military career, and later worked at the CIA. His personal story has also drawn national attention for years after his wife, Shannon Kent, a Navy cryptologist, was killed in a terrorist bombing in Syria in 2019.
But let’s be clear — Kent’s rise inside Trump world was controversial from the jump. His appointment to the center was viewed by critics as part of a broader effort by Trump’s administration to install loyalists in powerful intelligence, law enforcement, and diplomatic roles. Reports have previously noted Kent’s past associations with far-right figures and the backlash surrounding his public comments about January 6 defendants and extremist-linked individuals during his political career.
For now, Joe Kent’s exit is causing a lot of drama amongst MAGA.
