WASHINGTON — Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking Trump administration official to step down over the U.S. war in Iran. In a public resignation letter, Kent stated he “cannot in good conscience” support the conflict, saying 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.” This account has been confirmed by reporting from ABC News, the Boston Globe, Oregon Public Broadcasting, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and Politico. Each of the bullet points immediately below have been confirmed by at least four of the six respected sources we curated on this story.
- Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective Tuesday, March 17, 2026, citing his opposition to the administration’s military actions in Iran.
- Kent stated publicly that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and claimed the war started due to “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
- The National Counterterrorism Center is housed within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and is tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
- Kent is a combat veteran who served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army and completed 11 combat deployments in the Middle East.
- He is a Gold Star husband whose wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, was killed in action during a suicide bombing while serving in Syria in 2019.
- Kent was confirmed to his post in July 2025 on a 52-44 Senate vote without Democratic support, following two unsuccessful congressional campaigns in Washington state.
- President Trump responded to Kent’s resignation by stating he “always thought” Kent was a “nice guy” but was “weak on security, very weak on security.”
- Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that while he disagrees with many of Kent’s positions, on this matter “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.”
Additional Details Reported
Kent’s resignation reflects unease within President Trump’s base about the war and demonstrates that questions about the justification for military action in Iran extend to senior members of his own administration. The departure comes as the war enters its third week and amid heightened concerns about terrorism threats in the homeland.
In his resignation letter, Kent invoked his personal history as a Gold Star husband and veteran of 11 combat deployments. “As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” he wrote.
Kent addressed the president directly in his letter, stating that “until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.” He called on Trump to “reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for,” adding that the president could “reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.”
The resignation comes at a time of heightened domestic security concerns following recent attacks, including one at a Michigan synagogue and another at a Virginia university. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to testify before lawmakers later this week about threats facing the United States.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Democrats raised concerns about Kent’s past ties to far-right figures, including his participation in a Signal group chat used by Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans. He also refused to distance himself from conspiracy theories about the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and false claims about the 2020 election. Despite these concerns, Republicans praised his counterterrorism qualifications, with Senator Tom Cotton stating that Kent had “dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
Some pro-Israel groups criticized Kent’s remarks. Ilan Goldenberg, senior vice president of the political nonprofit J Street, said Kent’s warnings of an Israeli conspiracy to deceive the U.S. “plays on the worst antisemitic tropes,” while noting his own opposition to the war.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, later issued a statement saying Kent’s letter contained “many false claims” and disputed his argument that Iran did not pose an imminent threat. “As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” Leavitt said.
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