Joe Kent, a top counterterrorism official, resigns citing Iran war : NPR
Joe Kent, while campaigning as a Republican candidate for Congress in 2022, resigned citing his opposition to the war in Iran.
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The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned in protest against the war with Iran. Joe Kent, an Army veteran, said he “could not in good conscience” support the war.
He said pressure from Israel had pushed the United States into the conflict and that Iran “poses no imminent threat to our nation.”
He shared his resignation letter in a social media post.
Kent said he supports “the values and foreign policy” that President Trump campaigned on.
“Until June 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that was robbing America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleting our nation’s wealth and prosperity,” Kent wrote to Trump in the letter.
Kent’s wife, Navy Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, died while serving in Syria in 2019.
Kent called on Trump to “think about what we are doing in Iran and who we are doing it for.” He said Trump could “turn the tide and chart a new course for our nation, or you can allow us to slide further into decline and chaos.” You hold the cards.”
