President-elect Donald Trump has tapped several Californians — including former San Joaquin Valley congressman Devin Nunes — for positions in his next administration.
Nunes, a Republican and former dairy farmer from Tulare, resigned his House seat after nearly two decades in 2022 to become chief executive of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the president-elect’s Truth Social platform. On Saturday, Trump announced on the platform that he had chosen Nunes to chair the Presidential Intelligence Advisory Council.
The council “exists exclusively to provide the President with an independent source of advice” on intelligence matters and “has access to all information necessary to carry out its duties,” according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Its members do not need Senate confirmation.
Trump wrote that Nunes would use his experience as former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee “and his key role in exposing the Russia-Russia hoax” to provide Trump with “independent assessments of the “effectiveness and merits” of the measures taken by the United States. intelligence agencies.
Nunes has been a staunch Trump ally throughout the House investigation into ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, which Nunes helped lead given his position on the Intelligence Committee. He has denied various ties between Trump campaign officials and Russian assets, even though he is now a senator. Adam B. Schiff — a California Democrat on the Intelligence Committee — claimed that Trump’s team colluded with the Russians and that the Justice Department conducted its own investigation.
Trump said Nunes would retain his position as CEO at Trump Media. Trump has also named other Trump Media executives to important positions in his administration, including professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, his pick for education secretary, and Kash Patel, his pick for the job as director of the FBI.
Patel is a former member of the House Intelligence Committee under Nunes and another Trump loyalist.
Nunes wrote on Truth Social that he “looks forward to serving our great nation again” under Trump. On Fox News, Nunes sang Patel’s praises and said they would work together — along with Trump’s other justice and intelligence nominees — to “restore integrity” to the system.
“It is essential to do what the president wants to do, what he promised the American people, [which] is to get these agencies focused on going after the bad guys and keeping Americans safe,” Nunes said.
Trump on Saturday also named Richard “Ric” Grenell, another California loyalist, as his “envoy for special missions” — a role that does not currently exist.
Grenell, who during Trump’s first term served as acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany, previously worked at the United Nations Security Council.
Trump said Grenell “will work in some of the hottest places on earth, including Venezuela and North Korea” and “will continue to fight for peace through strength, and will always put AMERICA first.”
Grenell called working under Trump “the honor of his life” in an article on X.
“President Trump is a problem solver who keeps Americans safe and prosperous,” he wrote. “We have so much to do. Let’s get to work.
Grenell is a firebrand known for his caustic attacks on social media. He was heavily criticized by German officials as the ambassador – one called him a “biased propaganda machine” – and his appointment as acting national intelligence director during the first term Trump’s position was met with contempt by Democrats, who said he lacked the intelligence experience needed to hold the position. .
Grenell, who has a home in Palm Springs and previously taught at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, has also drawn both support and derision from California lawmakers.
Grenell, who is gay, has been flagged as anti-LGBTQ+ by gay rights groups for speaking out against transgender youth rights and the Equality Act. When California Republicans honored Grenell in the California Senate in the name of Pride Month in 2023, several Democrats left the room in protest — including gay Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who called Grenell of “a guy who is truly a self-hating homosexual, who takes tons of anti-LGBTQ positions.
Trump also named former Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar as deputy secretary of Homeland Security on Saturday.
Edgar, an IBM executive, previously served during Trump’s first term as chief financial officer and associate deputy assistant secretary for Homeland Security Management.
In a Truth Social article announcing his selection, Trump credited Edgar with helping lead a “revolt” against sanctuary cities as mayor of Los Alamitos, a small town in Orange County.
“I’m excited to have Troy on our team because he will help us make America great again!” Trump wrote.
The California Values Act, which took effect January 1, 2018, in many cases restricts local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration agents. Edgar and other Los Alamitos officials approved an ordinance that attempted to exempt the city from state law — galvanizing support from other conservative state officials and attracting the attention of Trump, who invited Edgar to the White House.
The Trump administration sued to block California’s law, but the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in 2020, leaving the law intact.
