Dec. 7 (UPI) — Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said Monday he will depart the U.S. House of Representatives early next year to become CEO of a new company founded by former President Donald Trump.
Nunes, who has served in the House since 2003 and is ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as well as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement he would leave office by Dec. 31 to head Trump Media & Technology Group, or TMTG, in January 2022.
“I’m writing to let you know I’ve decided to pursue this opportunity and therefore will be leaving the House of Representatives at the end of 2021,” Nunes said in an emailed statement to constituents. “I will deeply miss being your congressman. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to represent you and I thank you for the trust you put in me through all these years.”
In a separate statement shared by TMTG, Nunes said he was “humbled and honored” that Trump asked him to take on the executive role.
“The time has come to reopen the Internet and allow for the free flow of ideas and expression without censorship,” he said. “The United States has made the dream of the Internet a reality and it will be an American company that restores the dream.”
In October, Trump announced the launch of TMTG, a new publicly traded media company.
The company plans to launch a social media network called TRUTH Social in the first quarter of next year followed by a subscription-based video-on-demand service that will feature “‘non-woke’ entertainment programming, news, podcasts and more.”
In a statement Monday, Trump described Nunes as “a fighter and a leader,” adding he will make an “excellent” CEO of the company.
“Devin understands that we must stop the liberal media and Big Tech from destroying freedoms that make America great. America is ready for TRUTH Social and the end to censorship and political discrimination,” said Trump.
