Trump to nominate new DHS boss
Kirstjen Nielson is a cybersecurity expert
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate Kirstjen Nielsen, a cybersecurity expert and deputy White House chief of staff, to be secretary of homeland security, a job left vacant when John Kelly became White House chief of staff in July.
A White House statement described Nielsen as having “extensive professional experience in the areas of homeland security policy and strategy, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and emergency management.”
Nielsen is a longtime Department of Homeland Security official and Kelly’s chief of staff when he was DHS secretary and accompanied him to the White House as his deputy. She also worked at the DHS during the George W. Bush administration, and founded a consulting firm focused on risk and security management.
Other contenders for the Cabinet post included Tom Bossert, Trump’s homeland security adviser, and Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Nielsen had one crucial advantage — the absolute trust and support of Kelly.
At the White House, Nielsen quickly emerged as a controversial presence. Her detractors viewed her style as brusque and complained that she could be unresponsive as she worked with Kelly to streamline operations and instill discipline in a White House often lacking structure. But her supporters said she was simply helping to professionalize the West Wing.
Nielsen will inherit a massive and important portfolio. The DHS is considered a critical agency on counterterrorism and national security. For example, it informed states they had been targeted by Russian hackers during the 2016 election campaign, and would be responsible for monitoring and preventing such incidents in the future.
But it also bears primary responsibility for immigration enforcement and border protection — top priorities in the Trump administration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinated the government’s response to several recent hurricanes, the Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, and the Transportation Security Administration, which handles airport and other transportation-related security, are also part of the DHS.