President Donald Trump has selected Joe Kent, a former Green Beret, CIA officer, and two-time candidate for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, to serve as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

This agency plays a key role in analyzing and integrating intelligence related to terrorism.

Getting confirmed by the Senate could be a tough task for Kent due to some of his past comments about federal law enforcement and his support for some of Trump’s claims about the 2020 election.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Kent, writing, “Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life. Above all, Joe knows the terrible cost of terrorism, having lost his wonderful wife, Shannon, a great American hero, who was killed in the fight against ISIS.”

Before that post, early yesterday morning, Kent posted on Facebook, “On the move for America,” hinting at the coming nominations with pictures from a trip to Washington, D.C.

Kent previously ran for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022 and 2024 but was defeated both times by Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.