Trump Picks Ukraine Aid Critic To Head Anti-Terrorism Center

Joe Kent, a former GOP congressional candidate whose social media feed sometimes echoed pro-Russian talking points about the war in Ukraine, was recently tapped by President Donald Trump to head up the National Counterterrorism Center, which aims to coordinate U.S. intelligence efforts.

If confirmed by the Senate, Kent would report to the director of national intelligence. Trump nominated for that post Tulsi Gabbard, whose nomination has faced difficulties because of her past statements defending Russian President Vladimir Putin and deposed Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

“As a Soldier, Green Beret, and CIA Officer, Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life,” Trump said in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Monday.

“Above all, Joe knows the terrible cost of terrorism, losing his wonderful wife, Shannon, a Great American Hero, who was killed in the fight against ISIS. Joe continues to honor her legacy by staying in the fight,” he added.

Kent lost races in 2022 and 2024 in Washington state for the U.S. House to Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.). His loss in 2022, by less than 3,000 votes, was one of the narrowest of any race in that cycle. In 2024, he lost by a larger margin, more than 16,000 votes.

The Democratic National Committee condemned the pick.

“Donald Trump is playing politics with America’s national security, picking a far-right conspiracy theorist to lead the national counterterrorism center,” said Alex Floyd, the DNC’s rapid response director, on Tuesday.

“Trump chose Kent because he will put his loyalty to Trump over the safety and security of the American people,” Floyd added.

Kent came under fire for his seeming willingness to echo talking points advanced by Russia about its brutal invasion of Ukraine and his defense of the far-right Proud Boys, whose leader, Enrique Tarrio, was convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. (Tarrio was later given clemency by Trump and released from prison.)

Kent was a vocal critic of continued U.S. aid to Ukraine and his social media reflected that. In September, HuffPost reported that several of Kent’s posts in 2023 and 2024 on X, formerly called Twitter, echoed those of Ukraine Watch, a pro-Russia account on social media site Telegram.

Ukraine Watch touts itself as being “For Multipolar World,” but it has been publicly endorsed by the Russian government. Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s top diplomat at the United Nations, once held up a QR code leading to the channel at a U.N. Security Council meeting to encourage people to check it out.

Last year, Kent responded to an inquiry from HuffPost about his posts by writing on X, “The dems have nothing to run on so their media lackeys are trying this slop once again.”

“l fought for our nation for over 20 yrs. I want us to avoid wars that risk WW3,” he added.

Kent also suggested the CIA or Ukraine was to blame for a terror attack in Moscow in March 2024 that left more than 140 Russians dead. A branch of ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the attack and provided video to support the claim.

Kent also dismissed concerns about the Proud Boys in remarks during the opening of a GOP county headquarters in September, HuffPost reported.

He compared the Proud Boys to antifa, left-wing activists that confront neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

“So, the left says they’re terror, I don’t know,” Kent said about the Proud Boys. “It’s just, it’s a group to scare left-wing people. It’s like saying ‘antifa’ to a bunch of Republicans. So really, it’s a scare tactic.”

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