Devin Nunes

Devin Gerald Nunes (; born October 1, 1973) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board since January 20, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Nunes was first the U.S. representative for California's 21st congressional district from 2003 to 2013, and then California's 22nd congressional district from 2013 to 2022. After leaving Congress, Nunes was the chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) from January 2022 to April 2026.

Nunes was the chair of the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019. He was also a member of President Donald Trump's first transition team. Nunes's former district, numbered as the 21st from 2003 to 2013 and as the 22nd after redistricting, was in the San Joaquin Valley and included most of western Tulare County and much of eastern Fresno County.

In March 2017, the U.S. House intelligence committee, which Nunes chaired at the time, launched an investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. In February 2018, Nunes publicly released a four-page memorandum alleging the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) committed malfeasance in its warrant applications to spy on Trump associate Carter Page. Nunes subsequently began an investigation of the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly abusing their powers in their investigations of Trump associates. In January 2021, Trump awarded Nunes the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Nunes was born on October 1, 1973, the older of two sons of Antonio L. "Anthony" Nunes Jr. and Toni Diane Nunes (née Enas). His grandfather founded Nunes & Sons, a prominent dairy operation in Tulare County.

Nunes is of three-quarters Portuguese descent, with ancestors emigrating from the Azores to California. He has one younger brother, Anthony III. In 2009, Nunes wrote in The Wall Street Journal that he became an entrepreneur at age 14 when he bought seven head of young cattle, learning quickly how to profit from his investment.

After receiving his Associate of Arts degree from the College of the Sequoias in 1993, Nunes graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor's degree in agricultural business in 1995, and a master's degree in agriculture in 1996. After finishing school, Nunes returned to farming.

In 1996, at age 23, Nunes was elected to the College of the Sequoias Board, making him one of California's youngest community college trustees in state history. He served on the board until 2002.

In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Nunes to serve as California State Director for the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development section.

In 1998, Nunes entered the "top two" primary race for California's 20th congressional district seat held by Democrat Cal Dooley. He finished in third place.

In 2002, Nunes ran for the Republican nomination in the 21st congressional district, a new district created by reapportionment after the 2000 United States census. His principal opponents in the crowded seven-way primary were former Fresno mayor Jim Patterson and state Assemblyman Mike Briggs. Nunes was the only major candidate from Tulare County; Patterson and Briggs were both from Fresno. This was critical, as 58% of the district's population was in Tulare County.

Patterson and Briggs split the vote in Fresno County, allowing Nunes to win by a four-point margin over Patterson, his nearest competitor. Nunes won 46.5% of the vote in Tulare County and 28.1% of the vote in Fresno County. Nunes was also helped by a strong showing in the rural part of the district. He was endorsed by the California Farm Bureau and The Fresno Bee. The district was solidly Republican, and Nunes coasted to victory in November 2002. He was 29 years old.

Nunes faced token Democratic opposition in 2004, 2006, and 2008. He ran unopposed in the 2010 general election.

After the 2010 census, Nunes's district was renumbered the 22nd. It lost most of eastern Tulare County to the neighboring 23rd District, and now has a small plurality of Hispanic voters. Despite these changes, on paper it was no less Republican than its predecessor. Nunes was reelected with 62% of the vote in 2012, 72% in 2014, and 68% in 2016.

During the presidency of Donald Trump, Nunes voted in line with the president's stated position 96.2% of the time. As of December 2021, Nunes had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 11% of the time.

On July 28, 2010, Nunes introduced H.R. 5899, "A Roadmap for America's Energy Future", which would have accelerated the exploration and production of fossil fuel, supported the rapid development of market-based alternative energy supplies, and expanded the number of nuclear reactors from 104 to 300 over the next thirty years. Kimberley Strassel of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "It's a bill designed to produce energy, not restrict it" with "no freebies", and "offers a competitive twist to government support of renewable energy."

Nunes wrote in his book Restoring the Republic that environmental lobbyists were "followers of neo-Marxist, socialist, Maoist or Communist ideals."

In February 2014, during a drought in California, Nunes rejected any link to global warming, claiming "Global warming is nonsense." He described the state's water shortages as a "man-made drought" due to water restrictions from the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and other environmental regulations that have seen water allocations decline dramatically even in non-drought years.

He criticized the federal government for shutting off portions of California's system of water irrigation and storage and diverting water from farmers into a program for freshwater salmon and the delta smelt. Nunes co-sponsored the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act to reduce California water shortages by reducing environmental regulations. He also co-sponsored the California Emergency Drought Relief Act. The bills passed the House of Representatives in February 2014 and December 2014 respectively, but were not voted on by the Senate.

Nunes married Elizabeth Nunes (née Tamariz), an elementary school teacher, in 2003. They have three daughters. Nunes is a practicing Catholic, and attends Mass in Tulare.

He wrote a foreword for the 2012 edition of the 1951 novel Home Is An Island by Portuguese-American author Alfred Lewis. It was published by Tagus Press, an imprint of the Center for Portuguese Culture and Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

President Donald Trump awarded Nunes the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 4, 2021. In a press release, the Trump White House lauded Nunes for exposing illegal surveillance by the Obama administration of the Trump campaign, stating, "Congressman Nunes pursued the Russia Hoax at great personal risk and never stopped standing up for the truth. He had the fortitude to take on the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democrat Party, foreign spies, and the full power of the Deep State."

Nunes has received the following foreign honors:

Grand-Officer of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal (June 7, 2013)

Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania, Romania (June 8, 2017)