Updated on: March 18, 2026 / 9:17 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Joe Kent, who resigned Tuesday as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, had been a steadfast supporter of Donald Trump since 2016, backing him through the 2020 election defeat, the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, and during Kent’s own conservative media advocacy and two unsuccessful congressional campaigns.
Kent, 45, posted a resignation letter on X saying Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and asserting that the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” His comments contradicted President Trump’s rationale for airstrikes and other actions, in which Trump said he acted to eliminate “imminent threats from the Iranian regime” and to protect U.S. troops, bases and allies.
In response, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Kent’s assertion “virulent anti-Semitism” and said Kent had shown he could not uphold the pledge he made to senators to lead with integrity and accountability. An administration official told CBS News Kent was not involved in briefings on Iran.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work, said it was the president’s decision whether Iran posed a threat, noting the president reached his own conclusion after reviewing available information.
Multiple sources told CBS News that the FBI is investigating Kent in connection with alleged leaks of classified information; the probe began before his resignation. The FBI declined to comment.
Association with far-right figures and conspiracy theories
During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kent acknowledged that during one of his congressional campaigns a consultant set up a call that included right-wing white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Fuentes has made explicitly antisemitic statements. Kent also paid Graham Jorgensen, linked to the Proud Boys, for consulting work in his 2022 House race, worked with Joey Gibson of Patriot Prayer, and drew support from various far-right figures.
Kent has promoted several controversial claims and conspiracy theories. He has called the COVID vaccine an “experimental gene therapy,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci should face murder charges, asserted the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and described Jan. 6 participants as “political prisoners.” He echoed a theory that federal agents instigated the Jan. 6 attack, called for impeachment of President Biden, sought an investigation into the 2020 election, and advocated defunding the FBI after its search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.
Kent later disavowed some of his right-wing ties and said he rejected racism and bigotry, but during confirmation he declined to distance himself from his 2020 election denialism. He was confirmed in July by a 52-44 Senate vote largely along party lines; every Democrat opposed the nomination and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis was the lone Republican to vote against him.
Role and background
As director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent led the agency created after the Sept. 11 attacks to analyze and detect terrorist threats and to maintain the government’s list of known and suspected terrorists.
Kent is a retired Green Beret with 20 years in the Army and about 11 combat deployments, mostly to Iraq. After retiring in 2018, he served as a paramilitary officer with the CIA and worked as a counterterrorism adviser to Trump’s 2020 campaign. He also served as chief of staff to Tulsi Gabbard before his nomination and was a frequent guest on conservative media during his 2022 and 2024 congressional runs.
His first wife, Shannon Kent, a Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria in 2019 while fighting the Islamic State group. Shannon Kent, fluent in seven languages, served multiple tours and participated in operations that led to numerous captures. After her death, Joe Kent voiced skepticism of U.S. intervention, saying her death underscored what he viewed as repeated deceptions by political leaders that keep the U.S. engaged in wars abroad. He criticized what he called the defense industry and a “permanent ruling class” profiting from nation-building.
Confirmation focus and controversies
During his confirmation hearings, Kent emphasized threats from Latin American drug cartels more than the Middle East, telling the Senate Intelligence Committee that identifying and removing violent cartels and gang members from the U.S. was a priority.
Kent’s nomination faced scrutiny when emails surfaced showing that while he was Gabbard’s chief of staff he pressed intelligence analysts to amend an assessment about links between the Venezuelan government and the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, seeking wording more aligned with Trump administration policies and critical of Biden-era immigration programs. The edits supported assertions that members could be removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act.
Senators also questioned Kent’s participation in a Signal group chat used by Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans. The chat inadvertently included an editor in chief at The Atlantic and contained messages revealing information about timing of warplane launches and airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in March 2025—disclosures that surfaced before the aircraft involved were airborne. Administration officials later denied classified information had been divulged; Kent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others faced no presidential discipline over the matter.
Trump praised Kent when nominating him in February 2025, saying Kent would help “keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the world, to the cartels in our backyard.”
Tags: Tulsi Gabbard; Terrorism; Iran; Donald Trump; Antisemitism
