Senate to grill Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel on Iran war after Joe Kent’s exit
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Lawmakers will be able to publicly question President Donald Trump’s top intelligence and espionage officials on the Iran war for the first time, just a day after the nation’s top counterterrorism official resigned in protest of the conflict.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency chief Lt. Gen. William Hartman and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. James Adams are set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
The hearing comes after Joe Kent, Trump’s pick to lead the National Counterterrorism Center under Gabbard, abruptly quit on Tuesday.
TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNED TO PROTEST US WAR AGAINST IRAN
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 23, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In his statement to the X channel, Kent said, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” “Iran did not pose an imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
While Venezuela and Cuba may be topics of discussion, Iran will likely be a major topic at the annual Worldwide Threats hearing, given that Senate Democrats are clamoring for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth to hold public hearings on the ongoing war.
Gabbard, who built her political career fighting against Iran and U.S. involvement in regime change, will likely be questioned upon Kent’s resignation from office.
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Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, was sworn in during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland” at the Cannon building on December 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Following the announcement, Gabbard said her job as DNI chief is to “coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform their decisions.”
“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and took action based on that conclusion,” Gabbard told X.
The hearing was presided over by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark. and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the panel’s top Democrat. It will be managed by.
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Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued that the war with Iran will last weeks, not days, as the United States continues to rein in its offensive capabilities. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Both of their perspectives on war were opposite; While Cotton passionately supported Trump’s decision, Warner argued that Iran did not pose an “imminent threat” to the United States.
“So the decision to endanger our troops and bases in the region was entirely based on the president’s judgment, not an imminent threat to America,” Warner told CNN earlier this month. he said.
Cotton predicted that the conflict would end within a few weeks and reaffirmed his view when pressed.
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“I said, based on my conversations with the president and my understanding of Iran’s military capabilities, that I expect this to take weeks, not days, and we’re only a few weeks away from that,” Cotton said. he said.
“And yet every day, there are hundreds if not 1000s of attacks coming into Iran, and these attacks are steadily and steadily weakening Iran’s military, and the end result will be a country that does not have the offensive capabilities to continue terrorizing the United States, Israel, our Arab friends, and the civilized world.” he continued.
