As nominee for director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent warrants sharp scrutiny.
Kent, a Yacolt Republican, has been tapped by President Donald Trump for the position. The counterterrorism center coordinates strategy against terrorism and maintains a national repository of known and suspected terrorists. It works in partnership with the CIA, FBI and Defense Department.
On the surface, Kent’s background suggests he is well-qualified for the position. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18 and served for two decades, deploying 11 times before becoming a field operative for the CIA. On social media, Trump wrote: “As a Soldier, Green Beret, and CIA Officer, Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life.”
But there is more, as voters learned during Kent’s two unsuccessful campaigns for congressional representative from Washington’s 3rd District. In 2022, he ran against six-term Republican incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, criticizing her for voting to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Kent defeated Herrera Beutler in the primary but then lost a close race against Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the general election. Perez again defeated Kent in the 2024 general election.
Throughout both campaigns, Kent voiced loyalty to Trump and support for the rioters who attempted to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. He said people jailed in connection with the attack were “political prisoners;” he spoke at a “Justice for J6” rally near the U.S. Capitol in September 2021; he falsely claimed that people facing criminal charges for the attack were denied due process.
Kent routinely demonstrated support for people who are nothing less than terrorists, undermining his apparent qualifications as patriotic bulwark standing in defense of the United States.
Kent also has had documented contacts with white supremacists:
- During the 2022 campaign, he sat for an interview with Greyson Arnold, a white nationalist who has repeatedly praised Nazis. Kent’s campaign then claimed he was not familiar with Arnold.
- Kent did a podcast with well-known white supremacist Nick Fuentes. According to RawStory.com: “They mused on the ‘ideal ratio’ of non-white or non-Christian people in the United States.”
- According to the Associated Press, Kent’s campaign paid $11,000 to a worker who has been identified by law enforcement as a member of the Proud Boys. The group has been categorized by the FBI as an extremist organization with ties to white nationalism.
The nomination of Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center requires confirmation from the U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, urged senators to perform due diligence.
“Joe Kent has twice been rejected from public office by the people of Southwest Washington because of his extremism,” Thompson said in a statement. “Someone who has employed a Proud Boy, affiliated with a far-right leader whose rallies led to violence in Portland, and given an interview to a Nazi sympathizer is unfit to lead the nation’s primary organization that processes terrorism and counterterrorism intelligence.”
Indeed, there are questions about Kent’s willingness to defend the United States against domestic terrorism. Senators should closely examine his beliefs and weigh whether his fealty to Trump supersedes his sense of duty to the nation.
