Donald Trump’s kakistocracy is at it again
Donald Trump’s government has often been described as a kakistocracy, where the least qualified get tapped to lead. This has become the reality despite the fact that Trump has long insisted that he hires “the best people.” A new hire makes it clear that Trump is doubling down on valuing loyalty far above experience and qualifications for important roles, even when it comes to keeping America safe.
Trump has appointed Thomas C. Fugate III to serve as acting director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3). This office leads national efforts to counter violent extremism and manages more than $18 million in terrorism-prevention grants. Fugate, who is now at the helm, is just 22 years old and fresh out of college.
According to reports, Fugate had a summer internship at the Heritage Foundation and work on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, along with a brief stint as a “special assistant” in a Homeland Security immigration office, having been appointed by the White House in February, according to a ProPublica report. Before that, he participated in a Model United Nations club, worked as a grocery store cashier, and held landscaping and gardening jobs. A professional or academic background in counterterrorism is glaringly missing from his resume.
Fugate is taking over for Bill Braniff, who brought years of academic and operational experience to the role. A military veteran who served as the director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and advised military and intelligence agencies, Braniff had the sort of background you would expect for such a position. He resigned in March after Trump began making serious cuts to CP3, paving the way for Trump to install someone like Fugate.
Trump’s pick of Fugate to direct CP3 echoes his first-term appointment of Lynne Patton to oversee billions of dollars in federal housing programs as head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New York and New Jersey office. A longtime Trump family aide and former event planner, Patton similarly had no professional background in housing policy.
Fugate and Patton are not rare exceptions. In the second term of this classic kakistocracy, loyalty trumps competence—even when it comes to protecting the nation against terrorists. This nation has many talented, qualified people to fill positions at every level, but when Trump picks the winners, America inevitably becomes the loser.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month