US President-elect Donald Trump nominated his long-time ally Devin Nunes to chair the White House Intelligence Advisory Board on Saturday. Nunes, a former Republican congressman, heads Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind the Trump-founded online network Truth Social. Trump appointed the former US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, as a special envoy.
At the beginning of Trump’s first term, Nunes chaired the House Intelligence Committee. As committee chairman, Nunes was involved in the 2018 investigation into possible contacts between Trump’s campaign team and Russia during the 2016 US presidential election campaign. In a memo, Nunes accused the US Federal Police of improper methods in the Russia investigation.
Donald Trump’s new special envoy caused a lot of discontent in Berlin
Nunes will use his “experience” as committee chairman and in exposing the “Russia hoax” “to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and accuracy of the activities of the US intelligence community,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. According to Trump, Nunes will continue to lead the online network as chairman of the intelligence advisory board.
Former US Ambassador Grenell, known for his criticism of Germany, is to become Trump’s envoy for special missions. “Ric will be working in some of the hottest places in the world, including Venezuela and North Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. In the meantime, Grenell had also been discussed as Secretary of State, but Trump nominated Senator Marco Rubio for the post in mid-November.
Grenell caused a lot of discontent during Trump’s first term as US ambassador in Berlin when he publicly lectured the federal government on foreign policy several times. The 58-year-old, who is also considered a loyal Trump supporter, attended Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York in September.
