Thomas Fugate Went From Grocery Store Clerk to Combating Terrorism — How Much Does He Make?

When it comes to combating terrorism on American soil, we can all sleep better at night knowing that we are in the capable hands of a former grocery store clerk. In June 2025, President Donald Trump appointed Thomas Fugate as Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), per ProPublica. This would be less alarming if he weren't a 22-year-old with a background in landscaping, which isn't the American soil we were talking about.

This position was previously held by William Braniff, who worked in terrorism studies and counterterrorism fields for more than 15 years, including time at the Combating Terrorism Center as Director of Practitioner Education and as Director of the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). One of these things is not like the other. Does Thomas's salary match his work experience? Here's what we know.

Although Thomas's salary has not been made public, we do know he will be responsible for a whopping $18 million budget. What is he bringing to the table? According to his since-deleted LinkedIn page, Thomas owned his own landscaping business from May 2020 to June 2020, per The Daily Beast. He performed lawn care work around his neighborhood for a "price that depended on the square footage of the yard." Surely this will translate to counterterrorism work. Pests are kind of like lawn terrorists.

While Thomas was studying politics and law at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he was working at an H-E-B supermarket in Austin, Texas, as a Cross Functional Team Member. What does that entail? Great question. Per the graveyard that is his LinkedIn, Thomas said he performed "various activities around every department of the store, fulfilling key duties contributing to store operations." Hopefully some of those key duties included preventing targeted violence and terrorism.

We return to Thomas's late LinkedIn page to dive into why President Trump plucked him out of obscurity. After leaving college in 2024, Thomas hit the campaign trail where he worked as an "advance team member" on Trump's campaign. He also interned for the Heritage Foundation, who are the architects of Project 2025. Speaking of internships, the committed Republican also interned for Texas Representatives Terry Wilson and Steve Allison.

His path to the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships began with his position as "special assistant" in an immigration office at the Department of Homeland Security in February 2025. When William Braniff resigned in March 2025, Thomas took over.

While the inexperienced former intern has not spoken publicly about his promotion, senior DHS official told The Daily Beast that he "performed well" as a Confidential Assistant in the Immigration & Border Security suboffice. "This is a credit to his work ethic and success on the job.”