The White House called the members a ‘distinguished and trusted group of Patriots.’
President Donald Trump announced Feb. 12 a list of individuals to serve on his President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB).
The members are “a distinguished and trusted group of Patriots” who will advise the president on issues in governing national security and other intelligence community (IC) work, according to the announcement released by the White House.
Trump chose the appointees to the group because of their range of experience, according to the statement. The White House said it hopes the board will “help restore integrity to our Intelligence Community.”
The committee members include former California congressman Devin Nunes, who will serve as the group’s chair. Other members include Scott Glabe, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Brad Robert Wenstrup, Wayne Berman, Reince Priebus, Robert O’Brien, Joshua Lobel, Sander R. Gerber, Katie Miller, Jeremy Katz, and Thomas Ollis Hicks, Jr.
What the Board Does
The federal government’s intelligence services website outlines the broad purpose of the PIAB, saying that it exists “exclusively to provide the president with an independent source of advice on the effectiveness with which the IC is meeting the nation’s intelligence needs.”
While the PIAB is an element of the executive office, it’s made up of citizens from outside of the government and has access to all the information needed for advising the president on intelligence issues. The board can be made up of up to 16 members. Trump’s board has 12 members.
Another component of the board is its Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB), which was created to make recommendations to the president for oversight of U.S. intelligence activities. This is specifically for the purpose of ensuring that agencies within the intelligence community adhere to Constitutional guidelines and other applicable laws, and presidential directives.
The board reports to the president on an as-needed basis but not less than twice per year.
According to the White House website, the IOB “complements and supplements, rather than duplicates the oversight roles of the Director of National Intelligence, Department and Agency Inspectors General and General Counsels, and the Congressional Oversight Committees.”
Board Leadership
Nunes resigned from Congress in 2021 and became heavily involved in Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, where he currently serves as the chief executive officer.
The former lawmaker’s upcoming position was announced in December of last year, along with the news that he would maintain his position as the CEO of Truth Social.
