Donald Trump still has complete confidence in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after her top counterterrorism official was accused of prolific ‘national security leaks’ before resigning, according to Karoline Leavitt.
She revealed that federal investigations commenced to root out leakers after National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned in protest of President Trump’s strikes on Iran.
White House Press Secretary Leavitt said that anyone within the echelons of the federal government who leaks information will be removed from their post.
It comes after Trump allies claimed that Kent was a known leaker and was in the firing line before submitting his resignation earlier this week.
Gabbard is testifying to Congress Wednesday morning amid the fallout from Kent’s resignation and his claims that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.’
The DNI posted to X that it was up to her team to present the intelligence to Trump and then it was up to the President to determine if there was a credible threat that warranted action by the US.
‘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,’ Gabbard wrote.
Asked by Fox News host Dana Perino if Trump still has full confidence in Gabbard, Leavitt replied: ‘He does, yes.’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that President Donald Trump still has complete confidence in DNI Tulsi Gabbard
Gabbard is on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 for a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee
‘Anyone who has been suspected of leaking or is proven to be a leaker will not be welcome in this administration,’ she added in regard to Kent. ‘I know that for a fact because I’ve heard the President say it myself.’
She also revealed that ‘there are investigations underway into leakers in this administration and people will be held accountable for that.’
‘It’s unacceptable and will not be tolerated.’
Former Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X Tuesday that ‘Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks.’
‘He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States,’ he went on. ‘This isn’t some principled resignation—he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned.’
Kent’s resignation and statement was an extraordinary and unprecedented move for this administration, especially considering he is part of the populist ‘America First’ wing of the party, which rarely – if ever – publicly breaks from Trump’s positions.
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent announced on Tuesday his resignation from the Trump administration due to his protest over US involvement in the Iran conflict
Trump said Tuesday he liked Kent but is still glad that his top counterterrorism official resigned over the war with Iran.
‘When I read his statement I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat – every country realized what a threat Iran was,’ Trump said during an Oval Office press conference.
He said there would have been a ‘nuclear holocaust’ if the US had not taken the step at the end of last month to strike Iran with Israel.
‘When somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran is a threat – we don’t want those people,’ Trump added.
