On September 28, 2017, Andrew Restuccia and Eliana Johnson published a report at Politico on the White House’s search for a new Secretary of Homeland Security [link].1 Elaine C. Duke has been serving as acting Secretary of Homeland Security since the former Secretary, John F. Kelly, left his post to become the White House Chief of Staff at the beginning of July.
The new Politico story states that Texas U.S. Representative Michael McCaul is no longer in contention for the post. McCaul, the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, was believed to be a leading candidate for the post, as we discussed in our last update on the search [see blog]. According to the story, Kelly, who is playing a leading role in the search, “privately raised red flags about McCaul’s stance on immigration, which has at times diverged from that of President Donald Trump.” The story noted that in one key disagreement, McCaul was critical of President Trump’s travel restrictions on nationals of certain countries and refugees.
The story does not name any specific candidates who are under consideration. However, on September 1, 2017, Restuccia and Johnson reported that Thomas Homan, Rick Perry, James Loy, and Peter King were under consideration in addition to Michael McCaul. At the moment, it seems like the White House is taking a deliberative approach to determine who will be the nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security. We will update the blog with more information as it becomes available.
