The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TRUMP TAPS INTERIM HEAD FOR HOMELAND SECURITY AGENCY
President Donald Trump will name Chad Wolf to be the next acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the fifth person in the administration to lead the agency responsible for securing the country.
Who is he?
Wolf was the chief of staff to Kirstjen Nielsen, who was the homeland security secretary until she was replaced this year by Kevin McAleenan, who said last month he would resign.
As Nielsen’s chief of staff, Wolf helped enforce the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy to prosecute families who crossed the border illegally, which led to thousands of children being separated from their parents. Many of those children are still separated from their families.
Why it matters
The agency has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since April, when Nielsen stepped down. The chiefs of the agencies responsible for Trump’s immigration agenda — Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — are all serving in an acting capacity.
The tumult has extended to the White House’s search to find a leader for a sprawling agency of more than 240,000 employees, a search that does not appear to be over. Even when Wolf is officially named as acting secretary, he is not expected to be nominated to the position, according to two administration officials.
What’s next
McAleenan will step down from the position after Nov. 11, Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for the White House, said Friday. “As the president has said, Kevin McAleenan has done a tremendous job,” Gidley said. “After he departs, Chad Wolf will serve as acting capacity in the interim.”
He declined to say whom the president would nominate to lead the department on a permanent basis.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Maggie Haberman, ©2019 The New York Times