Tulsi Gabbard defends Trump after Kent's resignation, accused of leaking information
The national intelligence director and Kent's boss spoke out on social media, where she asserted that President Trump reviewed intelligence information and "concluded that the Islamist terrorist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat."
Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard in the Oval Office/Andrew Caballero- Reynolds
Tulsi Gabbard defended Donald Trump after the resignation of Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center. The national intelligence director and Kent's boss spoke out on social media, where she assured that, after examining all the intelligence gathered by his teams, "President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat."
17 days after the U.S. and Israel launched 'Operation Epic Fury,' Kent confirmed his resignation through a harsh letter posted on his X account. In the missive, he questioned the decision to go to war with Iran, arguing that the Iranian regime posed "no imminent threat" to the United States. "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," he added.
It was in this context that Gabbard appeared to back President Trump in the dispute: "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."
">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
"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," she added.
As for Trump, he was asked about it when he hosted Ireland's prime minister at the White House for St. Patrick's Day. "I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security — very weak on security," the Republican said.
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Kent's problems with the Trump administration
As reported by Aishah Hasnie, Fox News White House correspondent, Kent's position had been in question for months within the Trump Administration.
According to the information provided by a senior Trump Administration official to the aforementioned media outlet, Kent, who was "a known (information) leaker, was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago."
In addition, the source noted that the former official "has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all," questioning his resignation letter released Tuesday morning.
The Washington Post: Kent met with Gabbard and Vance on Monday
According to John Hudson, who covers national security-related issues for the Washington Post, Kent reportedly met last Monday with Vance and Gabbard at the White House. He even reportedly gave his letter of resignation to the vice president.
According to a White House official, "the VP encouraged him to speak to White House chief of staff and POTUS before making any final decisions." He further advised him to be "respectful to the president." It is unclear whether the meeting between Trump and Kent ultimately happened.
Who is Joe Kent?
While he defeated Republican incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, he lost in the general election by a very narrow margin to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Indeed, he finished behind by 3,000 votes out of more than 318,000 cast.
In 2024 he again challenged Perez, but again lost in the general election. He got 48% of the vote to his Democratic challenger's 51%. In both of his races he won the endorsement of Trump and members of the House Freedom Caucus.
Kent is the widower of Shannon Kent, who served in the Navy and died during the 2019 Manbij bombing during the Syrian Civil War.
Already as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, an agency created after 9/11 with the goal of collecting and analyzing information from multiple sources on potential terrorist threats against the United States, he made news for having participated in the famous Signal group that was comprised of Pete Hegseth, Mike Waltz and other senior officials.
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