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McConnell claims Joe Kent's resignation letter contained 'virulent anti-Semitism'
By Alex Nitzberg
Published March 18, 2026
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky asserted in a post on X that Joe Kent's resignation letter was tainted by "virulent anti-Semitism."
Kent posted the resignation letter on Tuesday, announcing that he was stepping down from the role of National Counterterrorism Center director.
"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," McConnell declared in the post on X.
"The virulent anti-Semitism 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. Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government," the senator added.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell is pushed in a wheelchair in the Senate Subway of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Kent explained in the resignation letter that he was leaving the job due to his opposition to the Iran war.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. 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," Kent wrote in the message directed toward President Donald Trump.
Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, prepares to testify in a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Dec. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again," he warned.
"As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I 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," Kent declared in his resignation letter.
An Iranian flag is placed amid rubble and debris next to a destroyed residential building in Tehran on March 3, 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
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McConnell, who has served in the U.S. Senate since early 1985, is not seeking another term this year.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconnell-claims-joe-kents-resignation-letter-contained-virulent-anti-semitism