Trump’s pick of 22-year-old Thomas Fugate—who worked as a gardener in 2020 and at a grocery store in August 2023—to lead the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships has stunned many. Fugate graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio only a year ago.

Fugate’s meteoric rise from landscaping to heading a vital anti-terrorism unit leaves experts reeling, as his LinkedIn shows nearly no counter-terror experience. “Managed to secure himself a permanent gig” now trends alongside searches for ‘Trump DHS youth appointment’.

As recently as August 2023, Fugate was still bagging groceries; now he’s tasked with fighting extremism at the nation’s highest security level.