Karoline Leavitt Answers Questions On DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s Future Following Joe Kent’s Resignation

Following Joe Kent’s resignation as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, rumors have swirled that DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who was in charge of Kent, may be next to leave.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has addressed the rumors head-on.

While speaking with a reporter on Wednesday, Leavitt said Gabbard is expected to remain in her role.

She added that she has not heard President Trump discuss any plans to fire Gabbard.

Take a look:

🚨 JUST IN: DNI Tulsi Gabbard is expected to remain in her role following controversy involving Joe Kent.

Karoline Leavitt: "Not to my knowledge. Obviously that's a question for the president, but I haven't heard him say that at all."pic.twitter.com/qDSi6OMFhS

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 18, 2026

Leavitt later addressed Kent’s resignation:

FOX NEWS: When was the last time Joe Kent saw President Trump?

LEAVITT: It has been a while. It's been a while since the president has seen him here at the White House. It's been a while since he's been involved in the process of the presidential daily briefs. He wasn't involved… pic.twitter.com/5X2O6T4gLk

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2026

Gabbard is expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee today.

ABC News provided an overview of what Gabbard is expected to face:

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday on worldwide threats — her most significant public appearance in months and her clearest opportunity yet to address the intelligence picture surrounding the war in Iran.

Lawmakers are expected to press Gabbard on the administration’s handling of the Iran conflict, homeland security concerns, election integrity and the broader global threat environment at a moment of rising tension.

She also heads into the hearing under fresh scrutiny after the resignation of Joe Kent, the administration’s top counterterrorism official, who stepped down Tuesday over his objections to the Iran war — the highest-profile administration official to resign publicly over the conflict.

An ODNI official told ABC News that Gabbard was not asked by the White House to fire Kent, pushing back on a report first aired by Fox News.

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Kent’s resignation sharpened questions already hanging over the administration’s case for war — whether Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.

In his resignation letter, Kent said he could not “in good conscience” support the war and argued that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the nation, directly undercutting President Donald Trump’s repeated public justification for the conflict.

Trump has previously said Tehran posed an imminent threat and was “very nearly” in a position to strike.

Hours after Kent’s resignation became public, Gabbard moved to publicly back Trump’s authority to make that call.

Gabbard, following Kent’s resignation, in which he blamed Israel for getting the U.S. to go to war against Iran, released the following post on X:

Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the…

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) March 17, 2026

Full Text:

Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country.

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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions.

After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.