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What We Know About Thomas Fugate’s Temporary DHS Leadership Role

ProPublica reported in 2025 that Thomas Fugate took on temporary additional leadership duties at DHS’s violence-prevention office CP3. His current role is unverified.
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In June 2025, ProPublica reported that 22-year-old Thomas Fugate had taken on additional leadership responsibilities at the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3). DHS described the assignment as temporary. The reporting did not say Fugate was named CP3’s Senate-confirmed director, and sources reviewed do not establish his current DHS role as of October 8, 2026.

Who is Thomas Fugate, and what role did he take on?

ProPublica reported on June 4, 2025, that the White House appointed Fugate as a special assistant in February 2025, assigned to an immigration office. In May, he took on additional leadership responsibilities at CP3 to fill a vacancy, according to the report. A senior DHS official told ProPublica the added duties were temporary and in addition to Fugate’s aide role.

That distinction matters: the account described a temporary expansion of responsibilities, not a confirmed appointment as CP3’s permanent director or a Cabinet-level post. DHS’s official statement, as quoted by ProPublica, said: “Due to his success, he has been temporarily given additional leadership responsibilities in the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships office.” ProPublica’s report did not establish whether that arrangement continued.

What does CP3 do?

ProPublica described CP3 as the DHS office leading nationwide efforts to prevent targeted violence, including hate-fueled attacks and school shootings. Its work included a grant program intended to help communities combat violent extremism. ProPublica reported that the program amount was $18 million; that is the amount described in its 2025 account, not a verified current appropriation.

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The figures cited in the report describe different kinds of activity and should not be treated as proof that violence was prevented:

  • Bill Braniff, CP3’s former director, told ProPublica that nearly $90 million had been distributed since 2020 to help communities combat extremist violence.
  • ProPublica said DHS’s 2024 report to Congress described more than 1,100 recent grant-funded efforts to identify violent extremism locally and interrupt radicalization. That figure counts efforts, not people or demonstrated outcomes.

Braniff wrote on LinkedIn when announcing his resignation: “CP3 is the inheritor of the primary and founding mission of DHS — to prevent terrorism.” The quote reflects his view of the office’s mission, not an independent effectiveness assessment. ProPublica reported the figures and quotation.

Why did the assignment draw criticism?

ProPublica’s account said Fugate appeared to have little national-security or threat-prevention experience and was relatively new to government and the field. Those assessments came from researchers, former officials, grant recipients, and others familiar with CP3 whom the outlet interviewed; many spoke anonymously. They are reported criticisms, not independently verified personnel findings.

The same report relayed accounts from current and former DHS personnel, grant recipients, and prevention advocates that staffing had fallen from around 80 employees to fewer than 20, and that grant work stopped and restarted. The numbers are attributed reporting, not a government headcount. ProPublica also reported a shift in the office’s focus. These accounts describe conditions reported in 2025, not CP3’s verified staffing or mission today.

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What did DHS and the White House say?

DHS’s senior official framed Fugate’s added duties as temporary and as recognition of his work. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson wrote to ProPublica: “The notion that this single office is responsible for preventing terrorism is not only incorrect, it’s ignorant.” The response disputed the premise that CP3 alone was responsible for preventing terrorism.

In July 2025, Representative Haley Stevens sought information from DHS about CP3’s funding and staffing, how Fugate was selected, and plans to combat politically motivated violence. Axios reported that DHS, through a spokesperson, said the department had a robust counterterrorism program, characterized CP3 as ineffective, and said a senior official directly oversaw the program while Fugate and others assisted. Those were DHS’s statements as reported by Axios; they do not resolve the competing accounts of CP3’s work or its effectiveness.

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What is known about his status now?

The reporting described above concerns events in 2025. The sources reviewed do not establish Fugate’s current DHS position or employment status as of October 8, 2026, nor do they establish CP3’s current staffing, funding, or operations. A later change in departmental leadership does not answer those questions: DHS says Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as secretary on March 24, 2026, but that fact does not update Fugate’s status. DHS’s secretary page provides the agency’s leadership context.

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