President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to appoint Portuguese American career politician Devin Nunes to lead the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
This independent body, within the Executive Office, oversees the U.S. intelligence community’s compliance with the Constitution.
Currently, Nunes serves as the CEO of Truth Social and leads Trump Media & Technology Group, a public company valued at nearly $8 billion. Trump is the company’s largest shareholder, holding approximately 115 million shares, currently valued at about $4.2 billion.
Devin Nunes, 51, was born in Tulare, California, to a family of Azorean Portuguese descent. A Republican lawmaker, he represented California’s 22nd congressional district in the San Joaquin Valley and chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
In 2015, a congressional delegation led by Congressman Nunes visited Terceira island in the Azores, on a fact-finding mission to assess the status of the U.S. Lajes Military Field on the island.
Nunes has led Trump Media since late 2021. His selection to head the Intelligence Advisory Board further strengthens the company’s ties to the incoming Trump administration. Linda McMahon, Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, and Kash Patel, slated to become FBI Director, both serve on Trump Media’s board alongside Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s son.
Nunes was first elected to public office in 2002 at 22. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, he served on two committees: Ways and Means, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Trade, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Additionally, he co-chaired the Brazil Caucus and the U.S.-Mexico Friendship Caucus. Nunes’ family has operated a farm in Tulare County for several generations.
PAJ/Staff
The Azores (population 250,000) is a region of Portugal composed of nine islands. The archipelago discovered by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976. The government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores includes the Legislative Assembly, composed of 57 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for the Regional Government executive operations. The Autonomous Region of the Azores is represented in the Council of Ministers of the Central Government by a representative appointed by the President of Portugal. According to the latest US census over 1.3 million individuals of Portuguese descent live in the United States, the majority with roots in the Azores. It is estimated that over 20,000 US citizens live in Portugal.
