Congressman leaving to head Trump social network
The former House Intelligence Committee chair, California Republican Devin Nunes, is to leave Congress before the midterms to become chief executive of TMTG, Donald Trump’s social media and technology venture.
“The time has come to reopen the internet and allow for the free flow of ideas and expression without censorship. The United States of America made the dream of the internet a reality and it will be an American company that restores the dream,” Nunes said, announcing the move on Monday.
He will resign from the House in the next few weeks and take over as CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) in January.
Trump described Nunes as “a fighter and a leader” who would make an “excellent CEO.”
“Devin understands that we must stop the liberal media and Big Tech from destroying the freedoms that make America great. America is ready for TRUTH Social and the end to censorship and political discrimination,” the 45th president added.
Truth Social is the name of the upcoming TMTG social media platform. TMTG also plans to provide a video streaming service that would offer “non-woke entertainment, news, documentaries, podcasts and more.”
It is distinct from Gettr, a Twitter rival launched earlier this year by former Trump aide Jason Miller. While Trump leveraged his social media presence to bypass US legacy media in 2016, most Silicon Valley companies banned him in January 2021 – while a sitting president – on the grounds that he had allegedly incited and promoted the violence that had ensued at the US Capitol riot.
As chair of the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019, Nunes played a key role in finding that the FBI had relied on the manufactured Steele dossier to justify spying on Trump’s campaign and presidency. His departure would leave California’s 22nd congressional district either without representation until the November 2022 midterms, or require a special election to fill the seat.
