National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard released a statement Tuesday afternoon, in reaction to the resignation of Joe Kent, the Director of the U.S. National Counter Terrorism Center, who worked under her department.
Kent announced in a social media post that he has resigned in protest over the war against Iran. He claimed that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S., and the airstrikes should have never taken place. While saying he supports the values and foreign policies Trump campaigned on and implemented in his first administration, Kent claimed that he believes Trump has been deceived by Israel.
President Trump had reacted earlier, saying, “When I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat… Iran was a tremendous threat.”
In a carefully-worded statement, Gabbard gave absolutely no indication whether she agrees with President Trump or Kent. She only stressed that the American people elected President Trump and he is the one who makes the decisions.
Gabbard is scheduled to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence tomorrow, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday.
Gabbard wrote:
Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions.
After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.
Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the…
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) March 17, 2026
Journalist Laura Loomer alleged in a post on X that Kent “was caught leaking President Trump’s private meeting with @marklevinshow to Tucker Carlson a couple months ago and he was told by White House advisors that if he got caught leaking again, he would be fired. Kent even admitted to leaking to Tucker.”
BREAKING:
Notorious leaker @joekent16jan19 just resigned from his role as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Kent reports to Tulsi Gabbard @TulsiGabbard.
I have been warning you all about Joe Kent for a long time now.
I predict @TulsiGabbard will resign next.… https://t.co/avDuaoeIOe pic.twitter.com/97iNDAaJqg
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 17, 2026
WHAM! Trump comments on Joe Kent resignation, others speak out
BREAKING: Top US counterterrorism director resigns in protest over Iran conflict
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