White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on the Fox News program “America’s Newsroom” on March 18, 2026, where she stated that President Donald Trump has full confidence in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after the resignation of top counterterrorism official Joe Kent. Kent stepped down from his position because of the joint strikes between the U.S. and Israel on Iran.
When Leavitt was asked if Trump was confident in Gabbard following the resignation, she answered, “He does, yes.” Gabbard appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to give testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a hearing concerning worldwide threats. The hearing came the day after Kent, Gabbard’s top counterterrorism aide and former chief of staff, announced he was stepping down.
Kent’s critics quickly began to toss around accusations that Kent leaked information from the administration. His departure came after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence hired Dan Caldwell, who was himself accused of leaking classified information before being fired from the Pentagon in April 2025.
“We look forward to watching the director’s hearings today and I think anyone who has been suspected of leaking or has been proven to be a leaker will not be welcome in this administration,” Leavitt went on to say during the interview. “I know that for a fact because I’ve heard the president say it myself.” She then added that investigations were currently underway into potential leakers in the administration, according to The Hill.
“There are investigations underway into leakers in this administration, and people will be held accountable for that. It’s unacceptable and it cannot be tolerated,” she added. Leavitt was asked at the White House if Gabbard’s job might be in trouble, to which she responded, “not to my knowledge.” She then added, “I haven’t heard the president say that – so obviously that’s a question for him, but I haven’t heard him say that at all.”
Gabbard took to social media platform X and posted a response to Kent’s resignation, saying that President Trump “concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action.” However, Gabbard did not say that the country’s intelligence apparatus came to the same conclusion. Kent, in a letter addressed to the president that he shared publicly, said he supported “the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020” and during the previous election.
However, he stated clearly that he did not agree with Trump’s decision to join with Israel and launch attacks against Iran. “I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now,” Kent said. He then told the president that he still has time to reverse course on the military operation against the oppressive Islamic regime.
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You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards,” Kent went on to write in the conclusion of the letter. Operation Epic Fury started on February 28, 2026, in a massive joint airstrike with Israel that thoroughly decimated the leadership of the Islamic country, killing its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video