March 18, Washington—Joe Kent, director of the Trump administration’s Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his position, citing disagreement over the war with Iran and its associated policies.
In a statement released via social media, he urged President Trump to reconsider his stance on the matter.
In a letter posted on his ex-account, Kent asserted that Iran does not currently pose a significant threat to the United States.
He claimed that the Trump administration initiated the war under pressure from Israel and its influential American lobby groups.
Kent, 45, an experienced member of the U.S. Special Forces and CIA, has long been dedicated to serving the homeland both domestically and internationally.
His wife, Shannon Kent, was also serving as a cryptologic technician in the U.S. Navy and was killed in a suicide attack in Syria in 2019.
In his letter, Joe Kent wrote: “By June 2025, President Trump will have to confront the reality that the Middle East war has cost us the invaluable lives of patriotic citizens, as well as our national wealth and prosperity.”
Kent further asserted that influential Israeli officials and American journalists have weakened Trump’s “America First” policy by spreading misinformation. The letter stated, “This was used to convince people that Iran poses a major threat to America, but that is false.”
A longtime supporter of Trump, Kent was appointed director of the U.S. Counterterrorism Center in July last year.
Previously, Kent was deployed overseas 11 times with the U.S. military, including service with the American special forces in Iraq.
He was also a member of the CIA and left government service following his wife’s death.
Regarding his military service and his wife’s death, Kent stated in his letter, “I cannot allow another generation to be sent to wars that do not serve the interests of the American people and that disregard the value of American lives.”
Several high-ranking officials in the Trump administration have resigned, including Margaret Ryan, director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Rick Grenell, chairman of the Kennedy Center.
However, the turnover rate among officers in Trump’s second term is significantly lower compared to his first term from 2017 to 2021.
window.fbAsyncInit = function () {
FB.init({
appId: ‘280041239029772’,
xfbml: true,
version: ‘v2.7’
});
};
(function (d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {
return;
}
js = d.createElement(s);
js.id = id;
js.src = “https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
