Johnson reiterates Iran posed an ‘imminent threat’ after Joe Kent resigns
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The article reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson challenged National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent’s resignation claim that Iran posed no imminent threat and that the war against Iran was driven by Israeli pressure. Johnson said Kent wasn’t present at the briefings and asserted that Iran was actively pursuing nuclear capability and rapid missile progress, facts he says helped justify President Trump’s decision to strike Iran in what was described as “operation Epic Fury.” Rubio and other top officials were said to have had access to highly detailed intelligence, and Johnson argued the management acted to prevent mass casualties and damage to installations. White House spokespeople restated many of Johnson’s points, while Leavitt defended the administration’s rationale and dismissed Kent’s allegations as false. Kent, the first high-ranking Trump official to resign over the iran conflict, said he could not support the ongoing war, claiming Iran did not pose an imminent threat. The piece also notes supportive and hostile reactions from other political figures, including marjorie Taylor Greene defending Kent, and details Kent’s background as a CIA veteran with extensive combat experience and personal losses tied to the war.
Johnson reiterates Iran posed an ‘imminent threat’ after counterterrorism director resigns
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded to the resignation of National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent on Tuesday, challenging the departing Trump official’s assertion that Iran “posed no imminent threat” to the United States.
“I don’t know where Joe Kent is getting his information, but he wasn’t in those briefings clearly,” Johnson told reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill.
The House Republican leader is a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” group, which receives closed-door briefings from the executive branch on classified intelligence and covert operations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the Gang of Eight on Iran in the days and hours leading up to the initial joint U.S.-Israel strikes that commenced late last month. The conflict has lasted over two weeks now.
Johnson explained he and the seven other lawmakers were told that Iran was actively seeking nuclear capability and quickly building ballistic missiles. With that information in hand, the Trump administration deemed the Islamic regime a credible threat in the Middle East and abroad.
Rubio and other top officials in the administration, Johnson said, “had exquisite intelligence, and we understood that this was a serious moment for us.”
The potential loss of American lives was a major factor in President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran in “Operation Epic Fury,” the speaker told the press.
“Had the president waited, I am personally convinced that we would have had mass casualties of Americans, service members, and others. And our installations would have been dramatically damaged,” he added. “The president felt that he had to strike first to prevent those mass casualties.”
In a lengthy statement after the House GOP press conference, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt restated many of Johnson’s points.
Kent became the first high-ranking Trump official to leave his post based on the president’s war in Iran. Tuesday is his last day as Trump’s counterterrorism head.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in his resignation letter. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Leavitt denied that Trump was influenced by Israel to launch the operation.
“The absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable,” she said. “President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.”
A longtime Trump adviser similarly blasted Kent’s reasoning for resigning.
“Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work,” former White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted on X. “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.”
Other conservative figures who are more critical of Trump, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), rushed to Kent’s defense.
“They are going to lie about Joe Kent and try to discredit him. Do not believe the lies!” Greene pleaded. “Joe Kent is a great American hero, deployed 11 times, and a Gold Star Husband! He’s right!”
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Kent took over the National Counterterrorism Center last summer after passing the Senate confirmation process. When he was nominated last year, Trump promised that Kent “will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard.”
Kent once served at the CIA and served 11 combat tours in Iraq primarily. He blames a “war manufactured by Israel” for his wife’s death, which is why he says he “cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.” At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the conflict began.
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