Senior Trump official resigns over Iran: 'I cannot in good conscience support the war'

[turbinetree]

By Alexander Willis
Published March 17, 2026 9:57 AM ET

Joe Kent, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday out of protest over the U.S. war against Iran, marking the president’s first major rebuke on the conflict from a member of his administration.

“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” Kent wrote Tuesday in a statement shared on social media.

“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.”

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-iran-2676263816/

Hey cankles since you dug in your heels has that son, your kid, or the niece that like to brag about shopping at Erewhon, you know that one's that is eligible for battle................. did they enlist yet for your "war".................everyone wants to know.......I bet a donut .............no.........and are you going to bring back the draft birthday barrel for old time sakes, I still remember my date when it was yanked out of the barrel and it was after the first 200 days were pulled from that barrel, and I went into the reserves.................

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. This is a medium sized deal

Kent was an Ultra-MAGA from Washington state who ran for congress a couple of times.

[Blues Heron]

3. This will be Trumps Waterloo

[LeftInTX]

15. I hope it's only Trump's

[malaise]

4. K & R for

Visibility

[newdeal2]

5. Never heard of the guy

“He was a third rate leftover from Biden”

Expect many more lies like this today.

[Arazi]

7. He's a white supremacist Nazi.

I mean it’s good he’s resigning cause if you've even lost Joe Kent…

Unfortunately blaming Israel is bullshit and will have dire consequences with the Jew hatred that’s already spreading.

[newdeal2]

8. I meant Trump will say he never heard of him

I expect the replacement to be even worse?

[durablend]

6. Ya misspelled "Distraction from Epstein"

" it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” "

[orangecrush]

9. So this ultra MAGA

Said flat out the attack was unjustified, and furthermore he's getting the fuck out while the getting's good.

Fuck.

[ffr]

10. This must have been the bridge too far. But working for a pedophlie wasn't a concern.

EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN.

[UTUSN]

11. Ties with Proud Boys & "Christian" Nationalists - It's incredible all right, his claims "to have a conscience"

But a stopped clock, putting one of the correct times out in the open is excellent. What is Tulsi saying about Iran now (was against Iran attack in years past), but *crickets* now. Oh, well, they still have that 20-something DOGE brat a-hole in charge of anti-terrorism. But multiple members of KRASNOV's regime will have to settle for having KENT's pin-up poster.

[Mustellus]

12. Trump killed the current Supreme Leader's entire family....

Supreme Leader of a country noted for its terrorist attacks. Supreme Leader now with a Supreme Grudge.

Who wants to be Head of Counter Terrorism when Supreme Leader takes his Supreme Revenge?

[Rob H.]

13. Working for Trump means he never had a conscience in the first place nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. MaddowBlog-Key counterterrorism official in Trump administration resigns in protest over war in Iran

After less than a year as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent is quitting over his disagreement with Trump over Iran.

The truth is, Joe Kent never should’ve been confirmed as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the first place.

But his decision to resign in protest — first such resignation since the offensive in Iran began — creates a notable counterterrorism vacancy during a war.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-17T14:15:08.703Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/joe-kent-resigns-iran-war-trump-counterterrorism

Joe Kent, whom Senate Republicans confirmed last summer to serve as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has made headlines for a variety of unfortunate reasons, but on Tuesday morning, the Washington Republican made news in an entirely unexpected way: He announced that he’s resigning in protest from the Trump administration over the war in Iran.

In a brief item published to social media, Kent wrote:

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.

Kent, who included an image of his formal resignation letter, added that he considers it an honor to have served under Donald Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. His tweet concluded, “May God bless America.”....

Kent was a contentious figure long before he joined the president’s team. Indeed, The Associated Press published a memorable report during Kent’s 2022 Republican congressional campaign, for example, highlighting his “connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys.”

The Seattle Times later noted Kent’s “reported associations with white nationalists and other far-right groups, and embrace of conspiracy theories on an array of subjects.”.....

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called Kent’s record “deeply troubling” but said he agreed with his resignation.

“I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has espoused over the years, particularly those that risk politicizing our intelligence community,” Warner said in a statement on Tuesday. “But on this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East.”

In his resignation letter, Kent pushed a false conspiracy theory that Israeli officials and the media conspired to dupe Trump into launching a war with Iran. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., bashed Kent for resigning and appeared to suggest he’s antisemitic.

“Good riddance. Iran has murdered more than a thousand Americans,” Bacon wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. “Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”

Kent’s departure leaves the United States without a director of the National Counterterrorism Center during a war, which seems less than ideal.