Mystery at the center of Russia probe: How to pronounce Nunes

California Rep. Devin Nunes is seeing his national profile soar due to his controversial leadership of the House intelligence probe into whether Donald Trump's campaign officials colluded with the Russians to meddle with the election.

But he’s also gaining notoriety for his name — or, rather, how so many people seem unable to pronounce it.


From reporters in the briefing room to congressional opponents to cable news hosts, pronouncing Nunes has become something of a free-for-all. Critics such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi both notably botched Nunes’ last name when slamming his leadership of the probe, pronouncing his name as Núñez.

But even defenders of the lawmaker, like White House press secretary Sean Spicer, have frequently mispronounced Nunes as Núñez.

“I wish they’d say his name right,” former California state assemblywoman Connie Conway, who has known Nunes for many years, told POLITICO’s David Siders. “If I hear that Chuck Schumer one more time calling him Núñez — it drives me crazy.”

So which is it? Nyoon-yes? Noon-yes? Noones? It’s pronounced “new-ness,” according to Nunes himself, in his own campaign videos.

Despite the frequent mispronunciations, Nunes has not seemed to go out of his way to correct the record. Louie Campos, a Democrat who ran against Nunes in the 2016 congressional election, said he thinks Nunes’ decision not to correct the pronunciation is strategic.

“I think it’s something that’s maybe a benefit,” Campos said, adding that about 45 percent of Nunes’ district is Hispanic, and that some residents Campos has spoken with while canvassing the district believe that Nunes is of Latin American descent. (Nunes has cited his family’s Portuguese heritage in interviews and official biographies.)

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“They can identify with him, and I think that only helps him,” Campos told POLITICO. “It’s not the reason he wins, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.”

Nunes’ director of communications, Jack Langer, acknowledged that Nunes’ name is often botched, but he said it’s nothing new.

“But he prefers to go by ‘Devin,’ which also solves this problem,” he added.