Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing entitled “Global Threats to the Homeland” on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Cannonville.
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Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he is resigning in the wake of the Trump administration’s military actions against Iran.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war,” Kent said in a letter to President Donald Trump posted on X’s official personal account.
Kent, a far-right conspiracy theory promoter who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate as director last July, accused the president of being misled by Israel into supporting the war against Iran.
“Iran is not an immediate threat to our country, and it is clear that we started this war under pressure from Israel and its powerful U.S. lobby,” Kent said in the letter.
The White House, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which houses the counterterrorism center, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
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