Kristien Nielsen is resigning as Secretary of Homeland Security. CBS News reports, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigning after clashes with Trump on immigration:
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is resigning, President Trump announced in a tweet Sunday, as the president continues to fume over continued illegal border crossings. CBS News first reported Nielsen’s impending departure, which Mr. Trump announced after a 5 p.m. meeting with Nielsen at the White House.
It is further reported that Kevin McAleenan, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will serve as the interim.
The following is not comforting:
Nielsen’s imminent departure is a part of a massive DHS overhaul engineered and directed by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, according to a senior U.S. official. It’s unclear whether Nielsen is deciding to leave voluntarily, or whether she has been pressured to resign.
A DHS more influenced by Miller’s view of immigration is quite concerning.
Nielsen’s announced exit comes two days after Mr. Trump announced he wants to go in a “tougher” direction in his nomination for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director, after originally announcing Ron Vitiello would head ICE.
Demonstrating what a well-oiled machine the Trump administration is, consider the following:
Nielsen’s departure also means acting heads will soon be running DHS, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
That is quite a stunning list.
I will shed no tears for her departure, given her behavior in the administration’s approach to asylum-seekers:
Nielsen became known for her vigorous defense of the “zero tolerance” policy resulting in family separations at the border, blaming Congress for a “loophole” in the laws that needs to be fixed. Nielsen claimed in a White House briefing last year that the administration was merely continuing a policy from “previous administrations” that mandates separating a child who is “in danger, there is no custodial relationship between ‘family’ members, or if the adult has broken the law.”
Unfortunately, I expect her replacement will be worse.
