• Homeland Security chief speaks out against mob.
WASHINGTON — When rioters overran police and attacked the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers into lockdown, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf was in Bahrain, meeting with U.S. Coast Guard personnel working in South Asia.
On Thursday, amid a spate of resignations in Washington and talk of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, Wolf — still in the Middle East — put out a stronger statement than his initial condemnation Wednesday. He called the violence from Trump’s supporters “tragic and sickening,” and urged the president to do the same. He also said he would stay on until the end of Trump’s term.
Less than 90 minutes later, the White House announced it had withdrawn Wolf’s nomination to lead the Homeland Security Department, throwing the government’s thirdlargest department, charged with protecting against domestic threats, into even more turmoil at a moment of unprecedented national insecurity.
Wolf had said Thursday he would remain until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration in less than two weeks to ensure an “orderly transition” at the Homeland Security Department.
“These violent actions are unconscionable, and I implore the President and all elected officials to strongly condemn the violence that took place yesterday,” Wolf said. “DHS takes the safety and security of all Americans very seriously — it’s at the core of our mission to defend our homeland. Any appearance of inciting violence by an elected official goes against who we are as Americans.”
The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the White House sent Congress the paperwork to formally withdraw Wolf ’s nomination on Wednesday, though the timing is unclear. Yet the White House said Thursday that Wolf remained at the helm of the department.
“The withdrawal occurred yesterday and was not related at all to Wednesday’s events or the acting secretary’s comments this morning,” Judd Deere, White House spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times.