President-elect Donald Trump has approached several Californians — including former San Joaquin Valley Congressman Devin Nunes — for posts in his next administration.
Nunes, a Republican and former dairy farmer from Tulare, left his seat in the House of Representatives in 2022 after nearly two decades to become CEO 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 selected Nunes to chair the president’s intelligence council.
The board “exists solely to provide the president with an independent source of advice” on intelligence matters, and “has access to all information necessary to carry out his duties,” according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The members do not require Senate confirmation.
Trump wrote that Nunes would use his experience as a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee “and his key role in unmasking the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax” to provide Trump with “independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety” of Trump’s actions the USA intelligence services.
Nunes was a close ally of Trump during the House investigation into ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, which Nunes helped lead given his position on the Intelligence Committee. He dismissed several connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian assets, even as a now-senator. Adam B. Schiff – a California Democrat on the Intelligence Committee – alleged that Trump’s team had colluded with the Russians and that the Justice Department had continued its own investigation.
Trump said Nunes would retain his CEO position at Trump Media. Trump has also nominated other Trump Media officials to prominent posts in his administration — including pro-wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, his pick for Secretary of Education, and Kash Patel, his pick for FBI director.
Patel is a former House Intelligence Committee staffer under Nunes, and a fellow Trump loyalist.
Nunes wrote on Truth Social that he “looked forward to serving our great nation again” under Trump. On Fox News, Nunes sang Patel’s praises and said they would work together — with Trump’s other justice and intelligence nominees — to restore integrity to the system.
“It is critical to do what the president wants to do, what he has promised the American people, [which] The intent is for these agencies to focus on tackling bad guys and protecting Americans,” 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 served as acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, previously worked at the United Nations Security Council.
Trump said Grenell “will work in some of the hottest places in the world, including Venezuela and North Korea,” and “will continue to fight for peace through strength, always putting AMERICA first.”
Grenell called working under Trump “an honor of a lifetime” in a post 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 started.’
Grenell is a rabble-rouser known for his caustic attacks on social media. He was heavily criticized by German officials while he was ambassador — one called him “a biased propaganda machine” — and his appointment as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term was met with disdain by Democrats, who said he was not had the intelligence experience necessary for the post. .
Grenell, who has a home in Palm Springs and previously taught at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, has also drawn both support and ridicule from California lawmakers.
Grenell, who is gay, has been labeled anti-LGBTQ+ by queer rights groups for railing against the rights of transgender youth and the Equality Act. When California Republicans honored Grenell on the California Senate floor in 2023 in the name of Pride Month, several Democrats walked off the floor in protest — including gay Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who called Grenell “a man who really a self-hating gay man, who takes numerous anti-LGBTQ positions.”
Trump also nominated former Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar on Saturday to be deputy secretary of homeland security.
Edgar, an IBM executive, previously served in Trump’s first term as chief financial officer and as deputy assistant secretary for management for Homeland Security.
In a Truth Social post announcing his selection, Trump credited Edgar with helping lead an “uprising” against sanctuary cities as mayor of Los Alamitos, a small town in Orange County.
“I am very excited to have Troy on our team as he will help us Make America Great Again!” Trump wrote.
The California Values Act, which took effect on January 1, 2018, limits local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials in many cases. Edgar and other Los Alamitos officials passed an ordinance that sought to exempt the city from state law — boosting support from other conservative officials in the state and drawing the attention of Trump, who invited Edgar to the White House.
The Trump administration sued to block the California law, but the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in 2020 and left the law intact.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
