President Donald Trump has added two more of his Fox News favorites to a role in his administration.
He announced Thursday the current network host Mark Levin and former commentator Bo Dietl, who recently grabbed headlines as a central figure in a Real Housewives of New Jersey scandal, had been appointed to a Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Also added to the “revamped” council is the Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and the MAGA Florida lawmaker Joseph Gruters.
Trump wrote that the quartet are “experts in their field, who are highly respected by their peers.” They will serve on the council in addition to their existing roles, and it is unclear how much they will be compensated—if at all—for their advisory work.
“Under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s leadership, HSAC will work hard on developing new Policies and Strategies that will help us secure our Border, deport Illegal Criminal Thugs, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing our Citizens, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,” Trump added.
Levin, 67, is the host of Fox News’ Life, Liberty & Levin, and has been supportive of Trump’s immigration crackdown. He even had Noem on his show in February to talk about flying alleged criminal migrants to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Levin has at times been critical of MAGA 2.0, criticizing the Trump administration for cozying up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and for negotiating with “Hamas Nazis.”
That appears to be water under the bridge now, however. Levin posted to X after the announcement: “What an honor! Thank you, Mr. President!”
Dietl, 74, was banished from Fox News in 2016 after he was accused of accepting a private detective gig to discredit sexual harassment allegations against the network’s then-CEO Roger Ailes. Before his ouster, he was Fox’s “tough cop” commentator who once called for the execution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on air.
Notably, given his new spot on Noem’s team, Dietl told the network in 2017—amid his failed NYC mayoral bid—that the U.S. should not seek to deport immigrants who are “working hard” or are “peaceful” with U.S. citizen kids.
“Someone with three kids who are illegally here,” he said, “what are we going to do? Get rid of the breadwinner? If he’s a peaceful, loving person? We have to identify them. We got to give path to citizenship. We have to identify who they are. That’s where I’m at. I’m not for deporting the family of three—with three kids, because who’s going to pay for them? We’re going to.”
Dietl is a former New York Police Department detective who was the head of security for Jordan Belfort, of Wolf of Wall Street fame, in the 1990s. He starred as himself in the 2013 blockbuster, which also featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, and Matthew McConaughey.
Dietl has also featured in other Martin Scorsese crime flicks, like Goodfellas and The Irishman, and was at one point an Arby’s pitchman in the fast-food chain’s attempts to cut into Subway’s customer base. He most recently has worked as a private investigator and was accused in a lawsuit last year of hacking a computer to dig up dirt on Real Housewives of New Jersey stars. He has denied being involved.
He also sold a 50 per cent stake in his private security company to a Chinese firm in 2015, which boasted about the deal being part of the Chinese Communist Party’s “belt and road initiative,” The New York Post reported.
The Queens native thanked Trump for appointing him Thursday by writing a statement that was similar to what the president posted himself on Truth Social.
“I am incredibly honored to share that President Trump has appointed me to serve on the newly revamped Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC)!” he wrote. “It is a true privilege to join this important mission alongside South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mark Levin, and Joseph Gruters, under the leadership of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“Our focus will be on securing our borders, removing violent criminal offenders, stopping the deadly flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs, and helping to MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. With decades of experience in law enforcement and security, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for the American people. Thank you, President Trump, for this incredible opportunity. Let’s get it done!”
Previously the advisory group had included the former CIA director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former New York, Boston and Los Angeles police commissioner Bill Bratton, and William Webster, who had led both the FBI and CIA.
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