In early June 2025, a rumor spread online that the new appointee U.S. President Donald Trump placed in charge of counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security was Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old recent college graduate with no national security experience.
For example, X user Ron Filipkowski shared the claim with a photo of Fugate (archived):
The post had gained 565,700 views and 4,900 likes as of this writing. Other X posts (archived, archived) relayed the claims, as did posts on Reddit (archived), Facebook (archived), Threads (archived) and Instagram (archived).
The rumor stemmed from a June 4, 2025, report by ProPublica, which recounted how Fugate was installed at the helm of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, known as CP3.
Snopes was not able to independently review Fugate's LinkedIn profile, which was deleted after the publication of the report. Therefore, we were not able to confirm the claims directly. However we reached out to him and to DHS and we will update this report should they respond.
Former President Joe Biden's administration established CP3 in 2021 to replace the Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, saying in a news release that the new center was set up "to combat terrorism and targeted violence, consistent with privacy protections, civil rights and civil liberties, and other applicable laws." In particular, it aimed to gather intelligence on radical extremism within the U.S. and to develop the competencies to prevent domestic terrorism. Its About page says CP3 boasts a multidisciplinary approach with a team that includes a variety of profiles and expertise.
Such an organization requires knowledge and experience from the person who leads it, according to unnamed sources cited in the ProPublica report. However, nothing in Fugate's public profile indicated he had such knowledge and experience, ProPublica said.
According to a report by The Daily Beast, a review of his now-deleted LinkedIn profile revealed he had worked at an H-E-B grocery store in Texas while in college. In 2020, when he was 17, he worked as a "landscape business owner," the same report said. ProPublica's article added that he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at San Antonio, an academic career that included an internship at the Heritage Foundation,
Later, Fugate reportedly took part in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Aside from that, nothing indicated he was qualified for the post at CP3, the reports indicated.
In contrast, CP3's previous director, Bill Braniff, was a U.S. Army veteran. He brought to the position more than 20 years of experience in counterterrorism, according to his LinkedIn profile. He left CP3 in March 2025 to become the executive director of the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab at the School of Public Affairs at American University.
Fugate's appointment sowed concern among anonymous counterterrorism experts ProPublica interviewed, who called it "reckless." Some described it as symptomatic of the direction the Trump administration was taking, focusing on immigration and away from preventing homegrown violent extremism.
Snopes has contacted DHS and CP3 to confirm reporting on the various elements of Fugate's résumé and to inquire further about what, in their view, made Fugate an ideal candidate for this job. We will update this report should they respond.