President-elect Donald Trump has selected several Californians to serve in his next administration, including former San Joaquin Valley Congressman Devin Nunes.
Nunes, a Republican and former dairy farmer from Tulare, will retire from the House of Representatives in 2022 for the first time in nearly 20 years and join Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the president-elect’s platform Truth Social. He was appointed CEO. On Saturday, President Trump announced on stage that he had selected Nunes to chair the Presidential Intelligence Advisory Council.
According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the board “exists solely to provide an independent source of advice to the President” on intelligence matters and “has access to all information necessary to carry out its functions.” Its members do not require Senate confirmation.
President Trump leveraged Nunes’ experience as former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and “key role in exposing Russia, Russia, and Russian disinformation” to “evaluate the effectiveness” of actions taken by the United States. It said it would provide President Trump with an “independent assessment of the validity and appropriateness.” intelligence agency.
Nunes was a staunch ally of Trump throughout the 2016 House investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Nunes used her post on the Intelligence Committee to help lead the probe. Even though he is currently a senator, he has denied various connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian assets. Adam B. Schiff, a California Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, alleged that Trump’s team colluded with the Russians, and the Justice Department launched its own investigation.
President Trump said Nunes would remain CEO of Trump Media. President Trump has also nominated other Trump media figures to key positions in his administration, including pro wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, whom he nominated as secretary of education, and Kash Patel, whom he nominated to head the FBI.
Patel is a former staffer on the House Intelligence Committee under the Nunes administration and a Trump supporter.
Nunes wrote on Truth Social that he “looks forward to serving our great country again” under the Trump administration. Nunes praised Patel on Fox News and said she would work with Trump’s other Justice Department and intelligence nominees to “restore sanity” to the system.
“It’s important that the president does what he wants to do and what he promised the American people. [which] Let these agencies focus on going after the bad guys and keeping the American people safe,” Nunes said.
President Trump also named another ally from California, Richard “Rick” Grenell, on Saturday as a “special mission envoy,” a role that does not currently exist.
Grenell served as acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, and previously served on the United Nations Security Council.
President Trump said Grenell will “work in some of the hottest parts of the world, including Venezuela and North Korea,” adding that he will “continue to fight for peace through strength and always put America first.”
In his post about X, Grenell said working for Trump was the “honor of a lifetime.”
“President Trump is a problem solver who keeps Americans safe and prosperous,” he wrote. “We have a lot of work to do. Let’s get to work.”
Grenell is a flame monger known for his vitriolic attacks on social media. The ambassador was heavily criticized by German officials (one called him a “biased propaganda machine”) and was appointed acting director of national intelligence during President Trump’s first term, a requirement for the post. He was scorned by Democrats for lacking significant intelligence experience. .
Grenell, who has a home in Palm Springs and previously taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication, has also drawn both support and derision from California lawmakers.
Grenell, who is gay, has been labeled as anti-LGBTQ+ by gay rights groups for slamming the Transgender Youth Rights and Equality Act. When the California Republican Party honored Grenell on the California Senate floor in honor of 2023 Pride Month, several Democratic senators walked out of the chamber in protest. That included gay state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who called Grenell “such a guy.” He’s a really self-hating gay man who takes a lot of anti-LGBTQ positions. ”
President Trump on Saturday nominated former Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Edgar, an IBM executive, previously served as chief financial officer during President Trump’s first term and as deputy assistant secretary for management at the Department of Homeland Security.
In a post on Truth Social announcing his selection, Trump praised Edgar, who as mayor of the small Orange County city of Los Alamitos led a “rebellion” against sanctuary cities.
“I’m so excited to welcome Troy to our team. He will help us make America great again,” Trump wrote.
The California Values Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities in many cases. Edgar and other Los Alamitos city officials approved an ordinance that exempts the city from state law, gaining support from other conservative officials in the state and inviting Edgar to the White House. It attracted the attention of Mr. Trump.
The Trump administration sued to block California’s law, but the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in 2020, leaving the law in place.
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