Chad Wolf, new acting Homeland Security secretary, makes 1st visit to Borderland

EL PASO, Texas — Chad Wolf, now the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is making his first visit to the Borderland region with a three-day tour this week of Texas.

In addition to El Paso, Wolf’s trip is also taking him to McAllen and Austin. He’s participating in an operational tour of DHS facilities on the Southwest border, meeting with local DHS leadership, surveying new border wall construction, and meeting with state, local and community officials.

Wolf is the fifth person to lead the third-largest department in the federal government under President Donald Trump.

Wolf succeeded Kevin McAleenan, who helmed the Department of Homeland Security in an acting capacity since April. McAleenan, who took over after Kirstjen Nielsen’s ouster, submitted his resignation to the White House last month.

The White House had scrambled to find a replacement for McAleenan. The administration tried to elevate immigration hardliners Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Morgan, both of whom lead immigration agencies in an acting capacity. But the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that they were not eligible to succeed McAleenan because they had not served at least 90 days under the last Senate-confirmed Homeland Security secretary, Nielsen.

The legal hurdles drew out the process for finding a new acting secretary.

Cuccinelli has now been elevated to acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, according to an internal memo sent by Wolf.

Cuccinelli, who was serving as acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services chief, moved to the number two position at DHS once Wolf took over earlier this month.

DHS has a sprawling mission, ranging from cyber-security to disaster response to immigration enforcement.

In February, Wolf was nominated by Trump to serve as undersecretary for the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans at DHS. He had served in that role in an acting capacity until senators voted 54 to 41 erlier this month to confirm him for that position. The vote paved the way for Wolf to move into the acting Homeland Security secretary role.

Wolf has had limited public exposure, but he has been at DHS since the beginning of the Trump administration, serving at the Transportation Security Administration and as chief of staff to Secretary Nielsen. He also worked at TSA during the Bush administration.

Trump’s decision to tap Wolf came under scrutiny by some Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates who had criticized his role in the administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” policy that led to the separation of thousands of families at the border.

Republicans and Democrats have shared concern, however, over the consistent turnover in the DHS ranks.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, along with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, urged Trump in a letter recently to fill the vacancies at the department and address the absence of Senate-confirmed leadership.

“This widespread use of temporary leadership — individuals who, though perhaps qualified, do not serve with the imprimatur of having been confirmed by the Senate — makes it more difficult for the Department to achieve its long-term strategic objectives,” the senators wrote.

Johnson reiterated that call on the Senate floor earlier this month, saying, “I fully expect to nominate a permanent secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.”

It’s unclear whether Trump will formally nominate Wolf to be the secretary.