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The resignation of DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen comes as President Donald Trump was frustrated by soaring border crossings. His departure could add difficulties for a president determined to implement his own radical immigration policy. (April 8)
AP, AP
WASHINGTON – Another senior official is leaving the Department of Homeland Security, paving the way for President Donald Trump to install his preferred choice of directing the agency.
Claire Grady, the department's under-secretary and second-in-command, resigned on Wednesday, according to DHS outgoing secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. The departure continues the purge of senior officials of Trump within the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition to demanding the resignation of Nielsen on Sunday, Trump and his associates have forced the dismissal of the director of the secret service, Randolph "Tex" Alles.
Grady's departure will remove a bureaucratic problem that appeared when Trump asked for Nielsen's resignation. In announcing the departure of Nielsen, Trump also said that Kevin McAleenan – the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection – would become the interim secretary of the ministry.
The law that governs DHS, however, stipulates that the Undersecretary for Management of the Department – Grady – will assume the duties of Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's departure.
Nielsen, who announced Grady's departure on Twitter On Tuesday night, Grady said he served the Department of Defense and Homeland Security for 28 years with "excellence and distinction."
"She has been a valuable asset to DHS – a constant force and a well-informed voice," said Nielsen. "His strong leadership and effective oversight have affected all DHS offices and staff and made us stronger as a department."
The Trump administration is also considering the removal of additional DHS officials as part of what many have called "purging" within the department. They are Lee Cissna, Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services of the United States, Kathy Nuebel Kovarik, Director of Policy, and John Mitnick, General Counsel of the Department.
Last week, Trump withdrew the candidacy of Ronald D. Vitiello, acting director of the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE), to do the full-time job.
"We are going in a slightly different direction," Trump said Friday. "Ron is a good man, but we are going in a more difficult direction."
A change of leadership: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns following the influx of migrants to the US-Mexico border
More: Who is Kevin McAleenan, Acting Homeland Security Chief of Trump after Kirstjen Nielsen leaves?
A number of media reports have said White House Councilor Stephen Miller is upsetting DHS and encouraging Trump's desire to appoint people who will enforce "harsher" immigration policies.
The Republic's highest-ranking Senate member has issued a rare public warning to Trump about the changes, saying the president could "pull the veil over the very ones who are trying to help him" to achieve his goals in terms of # 39; immigration.
The Iowa Senator, Chuck Grassley, told Fox News Monday that "it would be a real mistake" to "fire good people of this sort," referring to the list of additional officials who might be ousted. Grassley told The Washington Post that he was "very, very concerned."
Contributor: William Cummings, United States Today
More: Grassley warns that Trump could "pull the veil" of those who help him in immigration
White House Departures: Who was fired and who resigned
Kirstjen Nielsen says she still shares President Trump's goal of securing the border, a day after his resignation from his position as Secretary of Homeland Security. (April 8)
AP
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/09/homeland-security-shakeup-donald-trump/3402567002/
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