The qualifications of a 22-year-old Trump loyalist leading counterterrorism efforts across the nation have drawn fresh criticism after Iran vowed payback for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Thomas Fugate, a former Trump campaign worker, is leading the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships—a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees terrorism prevention, ProPublica reported earlier this month.
But the reality of his experience is raising concerns: He is a former gardener and grocery store clerk who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago.
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Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy was among the leading Democratic voices who criticized Trump’s secret Iran attack for putting a target on the backs of Americans abroad and at home.
In a Sunday morning X post Murphy wrote, “As our nation girds for possible Iranian terrorist attacks, this is the person Trump put in charge of terrorism prevention,” sharing a photo of Fugate.
He added, “22 years old. Recent work experience: landscaping/grocery clerk. Never worked a day in counter-terrorism. But he’s a BIG Trump fan. So he got the job.”
The Republicans Against Trump X account added in a post, “As major U.S. cities brace for possible terror attacks in response to the strikes on Iran, just a reminder of who Trump put in charge of terror prevention. God help us all.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, a DHS spokesperson called the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships an “insignificant” and “ineffective” piece of a larger puzzle.
“Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, CP3 was weaponized against political opponents, and its main purpose was to funnel money to progressive groups. It should be no surprise to anyone that the Trump Administration is making a diligent effort to end waste, fraud, and abuse—this office is just another example,” they wrote. “The senior official performing the duties of the undersecretary has directly overseen efforts to reform this office and has tasked several staffers to assist with this.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised President Trump’s secret overnight attack on Iran’s nuclear capacity as a “massive success” in a Sunday meeting after the president eerily thanked “in particular, God” in an address to the nation on the heels of the attack.
However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled that Trump’s unprecedented attack—which political leaders such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has ripped as unconstitutional—will have “far-reaching” consequences.
“The warmongering and lawless Administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,” Araghchi said in a response delivered from the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Time magazine reported.
He added, “The U.S. military aggression against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of a UN member state—carried out in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime—once again laid bare the depth of depravity that governs American foreign policy and revealed the extent of hostility harbored by the U.S. ruling establishment against the peace-seeking and independence-loving people of Iran.”
During his address to the nation, Trump said retaliation from Iran would bring “tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.”
He added, “But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill.”
