US counterterror chief Joe Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says he 'cannot in good conscience' support it

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his post on Tuesday, saying he "cannot in good conscience" support the Donald Trump administration’s war in Iran.

In a post on social media, Kent said 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."

Kent had been confirmed as head of the National Counterterrorism Center last July in a 52–44 vote. The agency is responsible for analysing intelligence and identifying potential terrorist threats to the United States.


Before joining the Trump administration, Kent had twice contested congressional elections in Washington state but was unsuccessful. He previously served in the US military as a Green Beret with 11 deployments and later worked at the Central Intelligence Agency.

His confirmation had faced strong opposition from Democrats, who raised concerns about his past associations with far-right figures and conspiracy theories. During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right group Proud Boys, for consulting services.

Kent was also reported to have worked closely with Joey Gibson, founder of the Christian nationalist organisation Patriot Prayer, and had drawn support from several far-right activists.

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During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent declined to distance himself from a conspiracy theory claiming that federal agents instigated the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He also did not reject false claims that Trump, a Republican, had won the 2020 presidential election over Democrat Joe Biden.

Democratic lawmakers also questioned Kent about his participation in a group chat on the messaging platform Signal that had been used by members of Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.

Despite the criticism, Republican lawmakers defended Kent’s appointment, highlighting his military and intelligence background.

Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a floor speech that Kent had "dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe."