[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Joseph Kent

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, today, I urge my Senate colleagues to 
confirm Joe Kent as the Director of the National Counterterrorism 
Center.
  Mr. Kent has 20 years of military service and 11 combat deployments 
during the War on Terror, as well as experience as a Green Beret and a 
CIA officer. Mr. Kent has dedicated his career to fighting terrorism 
and to keeping Americans safe.
  For Joe, this mission is both patriotic and, sadly, personal, as his 
first wife Shannon was tragically killed while serving in Syria in 
2019. America remains grateful for and honored by her selfless, valiant 
service to our Nation, and we continue to hold Joe and their children 
in our prayers for their loss.
  Mr. Kent understands the grave threat that terrorism poses to the 
security and safety of Americans. He has committed to returning the 
National Counterterrorism Center to its statutory mission of 
integrating threat intelligence from foreign terrorist organizations 
and to getting out of purely domestic activities. These are among the 
reasons I call on my colleagues to support his nomination.
  Finally, in addition to Mr. Kent, I would like to emphasize the 
urgency with which the Senate ought to confirm nominees to all 
intelligence and national security-related positions. Getting these 
nominees through the confirmation pipeline is essential to our national 
security and crucial to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of 
our intelligence Agencies.
  Again, I am pleased to offer my support for Mr. Kent's nomination, 
and I call on my colleagues to do the same.