Sen. Mitch McConnell said Joe Kent revealed his antisemitism when resigning from the National Counterterrorism Center in protest of the Iran war.
In his Tuesday letter of resignation, Mr. Kent said Iran didn’t pose an “imminent threat” to the U.S. and asserted that President Trump “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, called that “virulent antisemitism” and said the federal government’s intelligence community was better off without Mr. Kent.
In a social media post, Mr. McConnell said:
“Joe Kent testified before the Senate one year ago that Iran and its terror proxies threatened U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East. He said it would be an honor to return to the fight against terrorism, and he pledged to lead with integrity and accountability. The virulent antisemitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves.”
He added, “Isolationists and antisemites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government.”
According to Mr. Kent, the president’s alliance with Israel is misinformed.
He said in his resignation letter that “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign” to “deceive” the president into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S.
While it is unclear what media Mr. Kent is referring to, suggesting Jewish Americans control the media is a longstanding antisemitic stereotype.
Mr. McConnell, a longtime Senate GOP leader, joined his fellow Republicans in voting to confirm Mr. Kent in a largely party-line vote in July 2025.
Mr. Kent’s confirmation was marred by criticism, mostly from Democrats, of his support for far-right conspiracy theories.
The now-former U.S. counterterrorism official also had ties to antisemitism and right-wing extremism.
Mr. Kent acknowledged in his Senate confirmation hearings that, during one of his two failed congressional campaigns, his political consultant set up a call with popular right-wing influencer Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier who frequently uses anti-Jewish rhetoric.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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