(José Niño, Headline USA) Hours after Joe Kent announced his resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center in protest of the Iran war on Tuesday, senior White House correspondents reported that administration officials were telling a very different story about the departing official.
Jacqui Heinrich, the Senior White House Correspondent at Fox News, tweeted that a senior administration official described Kent as “a known leaker” who had been cut out of presidential intelligence briefings months ago. According to Heinrich, the official said Kent “has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.”
Senior admin official says Joe Kent was “a known leaker” – and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. He has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.
Official says also the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for…
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 17, 2026
Heinrich added that the official claimed “the White House told DNI Gabbard Kent should be fired for suspected leaks, but she never did.”
Mary Margaret Olohan, the White House Correspondent at The Daily Wire, reported a partially conflicting account. An intelligence official told The Daily Wire “that it’s true that Joe Kent wasn’t part of the planning of the Iran war or briefings on the war.”
NEW: Intelligence official tells @realDailyWire that it’s true that Joe Kent wasn’t part of the planning of the Iran war or briefings on the war.
It is not true that DNI’s Tulsi Gabbard was asked by the White House to fire Kent, source says— if she had been asked to do so, she…
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) March 17, 2026
However, Olohan’s source disputed the claim about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. “It is not true that DNI’s Tulsi Gabbard was asked by the White House to fire Kent, source says — if she had been asked to do so, she would have fired him.”
The conflicting reports added another layer of intrigue to the most significant resignation from the Trump administration since the Iran war began on February 28. According to a CBS report, Kent had posted his resignation letter publicly on X, accusing Israel and its American lobby of pressuring the administration into a war that “posed no imminent threat to our nation.”
According to The Hill, President Trump dismissed Kent’s concerns in remarks from the Oval Office. “I always thought he was a nice guy. But I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security,” Trump said. “When I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out, because he said Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat — every country realized what a threat Iran was.”
Taylor Budowich, a former Trump deputy chief of staff, attacked Kent directly on X. “Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work. He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States. This isn’t some principled resignation — he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser.”
Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work.
He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States.
This isn’t some principled… https://t.co/bcv0Kh6XVH
— Taylor Budowich (@Budowich) March 17, 2026
Conservative Zionist activist Laura Loomer claimed 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.”
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
Mark Levin speculated about whether Kent had resigned ahead of termination. “He’s part of that radical isolationist Woke Right cabal. Watch how the left-wing media use him to attack the president and the military campaign against Iran. In part, that’s why he wrote that letter. I wonder if he was one of the leakers in the administration.”
I wonder if this guy Joe Kent was about to be fired but quickly resigned first. That's how these things typically work. He's part of that radical isolationist Woke Right cabal. Watch how the leftwing media use him to attack the president and the military campaign against Iran.…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 17, 2026
Tucker Carlson defended Kent to the New York Times. “Joe is the bravest man I know, and he can’t be dismissed as a nut. He’s leaving a job that gave him access to highest-level relevant intelligence. The neocons will now try to destroy him for that. He understands that and did it anyway.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
