Chad Wolf sworn in as Homeland Security chief, fifth under Trump

Chad Wolf was sworn in Wednesday as the new acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, becoming the fifth person to hold the top job under President Donald Trump, a period of unusually high leadership turnover at the nation’s largest domestic security agency.

Wolf replaces Kevin McAleenan, who assumed the acting DHS chief role when Trump removed Kirstjen Nielsen in April. McAleenan received the president’s praise but was never nominated for the job, and he submitted his resignation on Oct. 11.

The White House then struggled to find a candidate to replace McAleenan, as so many of the other top positions at DHS remain vacant or have interim leaders who lack Senate confirmation.

Wolf cleared a key hurdle earlier Wednesday when senators voted 54 to 41 to confirm him for a different job, DHS undersecretary for strategy, plans and policy. That vote, largely along party lines, allowed him to move into the top role at DHS, which has 240,000 employees and a $50 billion budget.

How long Wolf will be the acting chief is unclear. White House officials say Trump does not plan to nominate Wolf for the permanent position, and some of the immigration restrictionists who back the president have criticized Wolf’s prior lobbying work on behalf of foreign companies that sought employment visas.

Wolf, 43, began his DHS career with the Transportation Security Administration, then worked for the lobbying and consulting firm Wexler & Walker from 2005 to 2017. He was chief of staff to Nielsen during last year’s failed “Zero Tolerance” border crackdown that led to the separation of at least 2,700 children from their parents. Democrats who voted against Wolf cited his role in the episode.

Despite that record, and Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller’s support, some hard-liners view him as insufficiently committed to Trump’s border policies, urging the president to nominate a more aggressive figure.