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December 05, 2017

Thompson Statement on DHS Secretary Senate Confirmation Vote

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news the Senate has confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen to be Homeland Security Secretary:

“While I am glad that the Department of Homeland Security will soon finally have a permanent leader for the first time since July, there is still much we do not know about Ms. Nielsen’s plans for the Department. She still must show us she has the ability lead a workforce of 240,000 while keeping the country safe and secure.  She also must show us she will work with Congress as a coequal partner.  I, like many Americans, have been concerned with the precarious direction this Administration has pushed the Department in since January.  It is clear the Department has been a political tool of the White House tasked with enacting campaign promises while lacking any standard definition of accountability.  Instead, the Department should focus its time and energy on empowering its frontline workforce to keep our skies, waters, and borders from foreign and domestic threats.”

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Media contact: Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978