Who is Joe Kent?
Joseph Clay Kent (born April 11, 1980) is an American politician, former United States Army warrant officer, and former Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary officer who served as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center from 2025 to 2026.
A member of the Republican Party, Kent was its nominee in the United States House of Representatives election for Washington's third congressional district in 2022 and 2024.
Kent enlisted in the 75th Ranger Regiment and applied for the Special Forces before the September 11 attacks. He served eleven combat tours, primarily in Iraq, and retired in 2018, becoming a paramilitary officer with the CIA.
In January 2019, Kent's wife, Shannon, was killed in a suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria. He became involved in political advocacy after Shannon's death.
In 2022, Kent was the Republican nominee for Washington's third congressional district. Running as a supporter of Donald Trump, he defeated the incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler in the Republican primary but lost to Democratic nominee Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the general election. Kent ran again in 2024 and lost to Gluesenkamp Perez in a rematch.
In February 2025, Trump nominated Kent for director of the National Counterterrorism Center. That month, he began serving as the chief of staff to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. Kent was confirmed by the Senate in July.
In March 2026, Kent resigned as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, citing disagreement over U.S. involvement in the Iran war and the influence of Israel and the Israeli lobby in domestic politics.
2026-03-17 Resignation from Trump Administration:
Joe Kent@joekent16jan19·Mar 17
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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.
May God bless America.
Director of National Intelligence
National Counterterrorism Center
President Trump,
After much reflection, I have decided resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in god conscience support the ongoing war in Iran, Iran posed no imminent threat to your nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
I support the values and the foreign polices that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. 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.
In your fist administration, you understood better than any modem President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.
Early in this administration, high-ranking Israel officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that I am posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was lie and is the
same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.
As a veteran who deployed to combat I times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in 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.
I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.
It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.
Joe Kent
Director, National Counterterrorism Center