Joe Kent, a former U.S. Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary officer, has been sworn in as the new Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced Thursday.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard confirmed Kent’s appointment in a ceremony at ODNI headquarters in Washington, D.C., calling him a “patriot” with “unmatched battlefield experience” and a clear mandate to help carry out President Trump’s counterterrorism and border security strategy.
A MAGA Veteran Returns to Duty
Kent, 45, served in the U.S. Army Special Forces with 11 combat deployments, primarily in Iraq. He later joined the CIA as a paramilitary officer, operating in high-threat regions like Yemen and Somalia.
Kent entered politics after the death of his wife Shannon, a Navy cryptologist killed in a 2019 suicide bombing in Syria. He ran as a MAGA-aligned Republican for Congress in Washington state’s 3rd District, winning the GOP primary in 2022 before narrowly losing in the general election.
Tasked With Leading America’s Domestic & Foreign CT Response
As NCTC Director, Kent will coordinate counterterrorism efforts with:
His focus will span Islamist terror, domestic political extremism, and transnational cartel activity — including human trafficking and narcotics operations flooding across the southern border.
“Joe has consistently put country before self,” Gabbard said. “His experience gives him a deep, practical understanding of the enduring and evolving threat of Islamist terrorism, and the cartel-driven trafficking crisis plaguing our nation.”
Kent: “No Better Time to Take on This Mission”
“It’s a profound honor to be confirmed… I’ve spent over two decades on the front lines of the counterterrorism fight,” Kent said in a statement.
“There’s no better time to take on this mission, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump and DNI Gabbard for entrusting me to lead NCTC in defeating the threats we face.”
Critical Moment for U.S. National Security
Kent’s appointment comes amid a spike in politically motivated attacks, including:
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The June assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and near-fatal shooting of a state senator and his wife
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The firebombing of a New Jersey GOP lawmaker earlier this week
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A January ISIS-inspired car attack in New Orleans that left seven dead
These events have intensified calls for a more aggressive domestic counterterrorism strategy, particularly from within the Trump administration.
Trump’s Border Security Mandate
Kent is expected to play a key role in enforcing President Trump’s counterterrorism-linked immigration policy, which treats border insecurity as a national security threat — linking drug and human trafficking with cartel-backed terrorism.
