U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) is pointing to the resignation of President Trump’s chief counterterrorism officer to accuse the President of beginning the Iran war under false pretenses and to call for an end to it.
McGovern shared an AP article reporting the resignation of Joe Kent, the Director of the National Terrorism Center under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), headed by Trump appointee Tulsi Gabbard — like Kent an Iraq war veteran. (Kent did 11 combat tours and received six bronze stars for his service.)
McGovern wrote: “Trump’s appointed counterterrorism director—who virtually every Republican voted to confirm—just resigned and admitted there was no imminent threat. Trump lied, and American troops died.”
Trump’s appointed counterterrorism director—who virtually every Republican voted to confirm—just resigned and admitted there was no imminent threat.
Trump lied, and American troops died.
END THIS WAR NOW. https://t.co/NTkGkhXhOv
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) March 17, 2026
[It is likely the first time McGovern has had cause to agree politically with Kent, a former Green Beret soldier and CIA paramilitary officer who has floated various “deep state” theories including suggestions that January 6 was an inside job. Only Republicans, as McGovern indicates, voted for Kent when he was confirmed by the Senate 52-44 in July 2025.]
This week Kent became the first senior member of the Trump administration to resign over the war in Iran. In a letter to the President, Kent contended that “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 also referenced losing his wife, a cryptologist in the U.S. Navy who was killed in a 2019 suicide attack in Syria. Kent linked Israel to this event also, asserting that he lost his “beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel.” Allowing that this personal loss influenced his present decision, Kent wrote: “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’s reasoning — and his finger-pointing at Israel — brought rebuke from notable Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Don Bacon (NE), who wrote “Good riddance” and accused Kent of bigoted motives, writing on X: “Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”]
Kent’s claim that Israel had forced the U.S. into action is not new — the same sentiment was stated plainly and then swiftly walked back by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the first days after the bombing campaign started.
Explaining why the U.S. attacked, Rubio said at the time: “The first reason is that it was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone — the United States or Israel or anyone — they were going to respond and respond against the United States. The orders had been delegated down to the field commanders, it was automatic and in fact it beared to be true.”