Overview

• Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old University of Texas at San Antonio graduate and former gardener and grocery store worker, was named head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Centre for Prevention Programs and Partnerships
• He steps into the role vacated by Bill Braniff, an army veteran with more than two decades of counterterrorism experience
• Counterterrorism experts and nonprofit partners caution that Fugate’s lack of direct security credentials could weaken domestic extremism prevention efforts
• The centre’s staff were reduced by roughly three-quarters during the early months of Trump’s second term and it oversees a multimillion-dollar grant programme aimed at curbing targeted violence
• A DHS official defended the decision by pointing to Fugate’s work ethic and performance in his previous special assistant role