White House aides were reportedly caught off guard when Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, posted his resignation letter on social media, according to a senior administration official. Kent, a former loyalist to President Donald Trump, announced he would step down because he could not support the justification for war with Iran.
Kent had informed Trump officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, on Monday evening of his decision. However, aides did not anticipate him making the letter public on government letterhead, prompting a scramble to downplay his role and criticise his stance on the military campaign.
In his letter, which had been viewed at least 92 million times on X by Wednesday afternoon, Kent accused the president of launching the Iran war based on “misinformation” from Israeli officials and the American 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,” he wrote.
Trump responded by calling Kent “a nice guy” but “weak on security”. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed the allegations, stating the US had “compelling evidence” that Iran was planning an attack and expanding its missile programme. “The absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others… is both insulting and laughable,” she posted on X.
White House officials had previously expressed dislike of Kent to his boss, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and had sidelined him from the team that briefs the president on intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kent was responsible for overseeing counter-terrorism threat assessments.
