Overview

• In May, President Trump tapped Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old with no counterterrorism background, to lead DHS’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3).
• Fugate succeeded William Braniff, an Army veteran with more than two decades of national security experience who resigned in protest of staff and budget cuts.
• CP3 oversees an $18 million grant program aimed at helping communities prevent hate-driven violence, school shootings and other targeted attacks.
• Lawmakers and counterterrorism experts highlight Fugate’s résumé, noting his prior roles were a Heritage Foundation internship and campaign work rather than any security posts.
• A DHS spokesperson has described CP3 as playing an insignificant and ineffective role in broader counterterrorism efforts even as the department prepares for possible Iranian retaliation following recent US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.