Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, speaks during a congressional debate at KATU studios Oct. 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)2026-03-17T13:49:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he cannot in good conscience back the Trump administrations war in Iran.Kent said on social media 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.There was no immediate comment from the White House.Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.Before entering President Donald Trumps administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA. Democrats strongly opposed Kents confirmation, pointing to his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to distance himself from a conspiracy theory that federal agents instigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, as well as false claims that Trump, a Republican, won the 2020 election over Democrat Joe Biden. Democrats grilled Kent on his participation in a group chat on Signal that was used by Trumps national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.Still, Republicans praised Kents counterterrorism qualifications, pointing to his military and intelligence experience.Sen. Tom Cotton, the GOP chair of the intelligence committee, said in a floor speech that Kent had dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe. SEUNG MIN KIM Kim covers the White House for The Associated Press. She joined the AP in 2022 and is based in Washington. Kim is also a political analyst for CNN. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site