Chairman Thompson Statement on Trump Plan to Nominate Chad Wolf as Homeland Security Secretary
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news President Trump announced he plans to nominate Chad Wolf to be Homeland Security Secretary. Recently, the Government Accountability Office released a legal decision determining that Mr. Wolf was illegally appointed to the position of Acting Secretary.
“It has taken President Trump far too long – over 500 days – to nominate someone to permanently run the Department of Homeland Security. Because the President has mismanaged the Department so badly, there are many legal questions about whether Mr. Wolf can be nominated while he is ostensibly running the Department.
“The President had no intention of nominating anyone until GAO released its legal decision concluding that Chad Wolf was illegally appointed as Acting Secretary. This nomination is a clear admission that the Administration is installed Mr. Wolf as Acting Secretary unlawfully. Since every policy decision Mr. Wolf made since November may be challenged because he lacked proper authority, this is also an attempt to limit the Administration’s exposure to legal challenges.
“In the over nine months that Mr. Wolf has been illegitimately serving as Acting Secretary, instead of focusing on the top threats to the nation and the ongoing pandemic that has killed over 175,000, his number one focus has been to please the President and carry out his radical political agenda. I have seen no indication that he understands the Department’s non-partisan national security mission or is willing to carry it out. It’s quite clear he is simply not up to the job and his nomination should not move forward.”
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