Donald Trump’s chief counterterrorism official has stepped down in protest against the ongoing conflict with Iran, accusing Israel and its influential American supporters of pushing the U.S. into a war based on falsehoods.

Joseph Kent, who served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, asserted that Iran did not pose an immediate threat. He claimed the war resulted from “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” stating, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war.”

Kent, who worked under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, criticized President Trump for abandoning the non-interventionist ideals he championed during his campaign.

“Until June of 2025, you recognized the Middle Eastern wars as traps that cost American lives and drained our nation’s wealth and prosperity,” Kent, a former Army Special Forces operative, expressed in his resignation letter.

He continued, “The moment for decisive action is now. You can change direction and forge a new path for our country, or let us drift further toward decline and chaos. The decision is yours.”

Kent, who has been deployed to combat zones 11 times and tragically lost his wife Shannon in what he describes as a conflict engineered by Israel, is closely aligned with the populist “America First” faction of the Trump administration. This group includes Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance, both of whom have cautioned against further entanglements in the Middle East.

His resignation lays bare a widening split inside Trumpworld. Kent accused high-ranking Israeli officials and members of the American media of running a ‘misinformation campaign’ to deceive the President into believing Iran posed an imminent threat, drawing a direct parallel to the lead-up to the Iraq war. 

The divide pits the Gabbard-Vance non-interventionist faction against hawkish Republicans who back US support for Israel and a harder line on Tehran. 

President Donald Trump gives remarks to the media as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, March 16

Joe Kent, a former congressional candidate from Washington state, listens to testimony by Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, during her Senate Select Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, January 30

Kent and his now-deceased wife Shannon with their two young boys 

The Daily Mail has contacted the White House and the Officer of the Director of National Intelligence for comment. 

Kent, 45, has a decorated military career spanning two decades in U.S. Special Forces. He later joined the Central Intelligence Agency as a paramilitary officer following eleven combat tours in Iraq.

His wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, was killed in a suicide bombing while serving in Syria. The couple had two young children. 

Following his wife’s death, Kent launched his political career advocating against military intervention in the Middle East.

Kent ran for Congress in February 2021 in Washington against Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.

After a tough primary, Kent won the Republican nomination with endorsement of Trump, but lost the general election against Democrat Marie Perez. He ran again in the same district in 2024 but lost again. 

Kent’s 2021 campaign received financial support from Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.

Following his wife’s death, Kent launched his political career advocating against military intervention in the Middle East

Thiel, at the time, also provided monetary support to other Republican figures during the 2021 GOP primaries, including Vance in Ohio.

Kent is seen as a key ally of Vance, as both built their political careers opposing foreign wars and championing Trump’s ‘America First’ principles. 

His foreign policy views were also backed by Gabbard, who has been seen as on the outs in Trump’s inner circle following his decision to launch the war.