Joseph Kent was confirmed as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Wednesday in a 52–44 Senate vote, with support and opposition falling largely along party lines.
Kent, a former Army Special Operations soldier and CIA officer, has been serving as a senior adviser to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. He will now lead the agency created after the September 11 attacks to coordinate intelligence on domestic and transnational terrorism and threats to U.S. interests worldwide.
Kent, who was endorsed by President Trump in both of his congressional campaigns, has said that Russia’s territorial demands in Ukraine were “very reasonable” shortly after the start of the war in 2022. He has also maintained that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and suggested that the FBI may have played a hidden role in the events of January 6, 2021. After being nominated in February, Kent said the intelligence community under President Trump is investigating “whether elements of the government” were involved in the Capitol breach.
