NEW: Longtime MAGA Figure Joins Trump Administration

A former U.S. counterterrorism official and vocal member of MAGA has returned for duty, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced on Thursday.

Joe Kent, who served in the U.S. Army and CIA before running as a Republican for Congress, will report to Gabbard as the new Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. There, he will be responsible for directing U.S. operations to thwart plans to carry out acts of domestic terrorism under a joint operation agreement with the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Gabbard posted a photo of Kent taking his oath of office at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in Washington, D.C. earlier on Thursday.

Kent, 45, served as an Army Ranger and deployed 11 times, primarily in Iraq, before shifting in 2018 to become a paramilitary officer for the CIA. He became involved in politics after his wife, Shannon, was killed during a suicide bombing in 2019.

In 2021, Kent won the Republican primary for Washington state’s 3rd congressional district but lost to Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WI) in what was widely seen as an upset at the time.

The appointment by Gabbard requires U.S. Senate confirmation, which Kent already secured earlier this month.

“With two decades of military service, including 11 combat deployments, Joe has consistently put country before self, enduring great personal sacrifice in that service,” said DNI Gabbard in a release from her office. “His experience serving as the tip of the spear in some of the world’s most dangerous battlefields has given him a deep, practical understanding of the enduring and evolving threat of Islamist terrorism, as well as the threats we face from the cartels’ human trafficking and drug trafficking operations.

“Under Joe’s leadership, the National Counterterrorism Center will reinvigorate its focus on counterterrorism and counternarcotics, integrating Federal, State and Local law enforcement and intelligence agencies to carry out President Trump’s border security mandate and ensure the safety, security and freedom of the American people. I am proud to welcome soldier, father, husband, patriot Joe Kent to our leadership team.”

“It’s a profound honor to be confirmed as NCTC Director at this pivotal moment,” said NCTC Director Kent. “I’ve spent over two decades on the front lines of the counterterrorism fight, from Fallujah to Yemen, losing my wife Shannon and countless brothers-in-arms to this war. Their sacrifices drive me to lead with relentless focus to keep Americans safe. There’s no better time to take on this mission, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump and DNI Gabbard for entrusting me to lead NCTC in defeating the threats we face.”

The appointment comes at a critical time for the Trump administration, which is under pressure to tamp down on acts of domestic terrorism that have become increasingly directed at lawmakers themselves.

In June, a man dressed as a police officer shot and killed a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband before shooting and critically wounding a state senator and his wife. Just earlier this week, a Republican lawmaker in New Jersey was doused with gasoline and set on fire.

Instances of Islamic extremism have also begun to percolate on U.S. soil. In January, a man inspired by ISIS rammed his car into a crowd of revelers enjoying New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, killing seven.