United States Secretary of Homeland Security

The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the United States and the safety of U.S. citizens. The secretary is a member of the president's Cabinet. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11, 2001. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the Coast Guard, the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (which includes the Border Patrol), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (which includes Homeland Security Investigations), the Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It did not include either the Federal Bureau of Investigation or, the Central Intelligence Agency.[2]

United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Seal of the Department
Flag of the Secretary
Incumbent
Chad Wolf
Acting
since November 13, 2019
United States Department of Homeland Security
StyleMr. Secretary
Member ofCabinet
Homeland Security Council
Reports toPresident of the United States
SeatNebraska Avenue Complex
Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument6 U.S.C. § 112
FormationJanuary 24, 2003 (2003-01-24)
First holderTom Ridge
SuccessionEighteenth[1]
DeputyDeputy Secretary of Homeland Security
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level I
Websitewww.dhs.gov

The current acting secretary of Homeland Security is Chad Wolf, who began in that role on November 13, 2019.[3]

Inclusion in the presidential line of succession

Traditionally, the order of the presidential line of succession is determined (after the vice president, speaker of the House, and president pro tempore of the Senate) by the order of the creation of the cabinet positions, and the list as mandated under 3 U.S.C. § 19 follows this tradition.

On March 7, 2006, 43rd president George W. Bush signed H.R. 3199 as Pub.L. 109–177, which renewed the Patriot Act of 2001 and amended the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 to include the newly created presidential Cabinet position of Secretary of Homeland Security in the line of succession after the previously authorized Secretary of Veterans Affairs (§ 503) (which are listed and designated in the order that their departments were created). In the 109th Congress, legislation was introduced to place the secretary of homeland security into the line of succession after the attorney general but that bill expired at the end of the 109th Congress and was not re-introduced.

List of secretaries of homeland security

Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there existed an assistant to the president for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Parties

  Republican (2)   Democratic (2)   Independent (2)

Status

  Denotes Acting Homeland Security Secretary

No. Secretary of Homeland SecurityTook officeLeft officeTime in officePartyState of residencePresident
1
Ridge, TomTom Ridge
(born 1945)		January 24, 2003February 1, 20052 years, 8 daysRepublicanPennsylvaniaBush, GeorgeGeorge W. Bush (Rep)
-
Loy, JamesJames Loy[1]
(born 1942)
Acting		February 1, 2005February 15, 200514 daysIndependentPennsylvaniaBush, GeorgeGeorge W. Bush (Rep)
2
Chertoff, MichaelMichael Chertoff
(born 1953)		February 15, 2005January 21, 20093 years, 341 daysRepublicanNew JerseyBush, GeorgeGeorge W. Bush (Rep)
3
Napolitano, JanetJanet Napolitano
(born 1957)		January 21, 2009September 6, 20134 years, 228 daysDemocraticArizonaObama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
-
Beers, RandRand Beers[2]
(born 1942)
Acting		September 6, 2013December 16, 2013101 daysDemocraticDistrict of ColumbiaObama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
4
Johnson, JehJeh Johnson
(born 1957)		December 23, 2013January 20, 20173 years, 28 daysDemocraticNew JerseyObama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
5
Kelly, JohnJohn F. Kelly
(born 1950)		January 20, 2017July 31, 2017192 daysIndependentMassachusettsTrump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
-
Duke, ElaineElaine Duke[3]
(born 1958)
Acting		July 31, 2017December 6, 2017128 daysIndependentOhioTrump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
6
Nielsen, KirstjenKirstjen Nielsen
(born 1972)		December 6, 2017April 10, 20191 year, 125 daysIndependentFloridaTrump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
-
McAleenan, KevinKevin McAleenan[4]
(born 1971)
Acting		April 11, 2019November 13, 2019216 daysIndependentHawaiiTrump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
-
Wolf, ChadChad Wolf[5]
Acting		November 13, 2019Incumbent160 daysRepublicanVirginiaTrump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)

1 James Loy served as acting secretary in his capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.

2 Rand Beers served as acting secretary in his capacity as confirmed Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Beers was the highest ranking Senate-approved presidential appointee at the Department of Homeland Security.

3 Elaine Duke served as acting secretary in her capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.

4 Kevin McAleenan served as acting secretary in his capacity as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

5 Chad Wolf serves as acting secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

Order of succession

While appointment of acting officials is generally governed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), the Homeland Security Act of 2002 creates exceptions to FVRA, mandating that the under secretary of homeland security for management is third in the line of succession for Secretary of Homeland Security,[4] and establishes an alternate process by which the secretary can directly establish a line of succession outside the provisions of the FVRA.[5]

As a result of Executive Order 13753 in 2016, the order of succession for the secretary of homeland security was as follows:[6]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
  2. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management
  3. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
  4. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs
  5. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
  6. Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis
  7. Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  8. Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
  9. Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  10. Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  11. Assistant Secretary for Policy
  12. General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security
  13. Deputy Under Secretary for Management
  14. Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  15. Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
  16. Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  17. Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  18. Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

The April 10, 2019 update to the DHS Orders of Succession, made pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, provided a different order in the case of unavailability to act during a disaster or catastrophic emergency:[7]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
  2. Under Secretary for Management
  3. Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  4. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
  5. Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
  6. Under Secretary for Science and Technology
  7. Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis
  8. Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
  9. Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  10. Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  11. Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
  12. General Counsel
  13. Deputy Under Secretary for Management
  14. Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  15. Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
  16. Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  17. Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  18. Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers

A November 8, 2019 update replaced the above orders of succession with the following.[7] However, the legality of this update was challenged.[8][9][10]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
  2. Under Secretary for Management
  3. Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  4. Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
  5. Administrator and Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration
  6. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Administration-cited potential nominees

Bernard Kerik

George W. Bush nominated Bernard Kerik for the position in 2004. However a week later, Kerik withdrew his nomination, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.[11]

Raymond Kelly

By July 2013, Raymond Kelly had served as Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for nearly 12 straight years. Within days of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's announcement that she was resigning, Kelly was soon cited as an obvious potential successor by New York Senator Charles Schumer and others.[12]

During a July 16, 2013, interview, President Obama referred generally to the "bunch of strong candidates" for nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security, but singled out Kelly as "one of the best there is" and "very well qualified for the job".[13]

Later in July 2013, the online internet news website/magazine Huffington Post detailed "a growing campaign to quash the potential nomination of New York City Police commissioner Raymond Kelly as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security" amid claims of "divisive, harmful, and ineffective policing that promotes stereotypes and profiling".[14] Days after that article, Kelly penned a statistics-heavy Wall Street Journal opinion article defending the NYPD's programs, stating "the average number of stops we conduct is less than one per officer per week" and that this and other practices have led to "7,383 lives saved—and... they are largely the lives of young men of color."[15]

Kelly was also featured because of his NYPD retirement and unusually long tenure there in a long segment on the CBS News program Sunday Morning in December 2013, especially raising the question of the controversial "stop and frisk" policy in New York City and the long decline and drop of various types of crimes committed.

References
  1. "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". LII / Legal Information Institute.
  2. Homeland Security Act, Pub.L. 107–296
  3. Miroff, Nick (November 13, 2019). "Chad Wolf sworn in as acting Department of Homeland Security chief, fifth under Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. Yglesias, Matthew (April 8, 2019). "Trump's possibly illegal designation of a new acting homeland security secretary, explained". Vox. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  5. Cramer, Harrison; Cohen, Zach C. (November 11, 2019). "Inside Trump's Gambit To Install Another Acting DHS Secretary". National Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  6. "Executive Order -- Amending the Order of Succession in the Department of Homeland Security". whitehouse.gov. December 9, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  7. "Letter from House Committee on Homeland Security to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives. November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  8. Cramer, Harrison; Cohen, Zach C. (November 11, 2019). "Inside Trump's Gambit To Install Another Acting DHS Secretary". National Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  9. Bublé, Courtney (November 15, 2019). "Top Democrats Call for Emergency Review of DHS Appointments". Government Executive. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  10. Misra, Tanvi (November 15, 2019). "Legality of Wolf, Cuccinelli appointments to DHS questioned". Roll Call. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  11. Bernstein, Nina. "Mystery Woman in Kerik Case: Nanny". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  12. "Names already popping as possible Janet Napolitano replacements", by Kevin Robillard and Scott Wong, Politico, July 12, 2013, retrieved July 13, 2013.
  13. "Obama would consider Ray Kelly to replace Janet Napolitano", by Jennifer Epstein, Politico, July 16, 2013, retrieved July 17, 2013.
  14. "Muslims Oppose Raymond Kelly Bid For Homeland Security Secretary", by Omar Sacirbey, Huffington Post, August 1, 2013, retrieved August 4, 2013.
  15. "Ray Kelly: The NYPD: Guilty of Saving 7,383 Lives", by Ray Kelly, Opinion: The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2013, retrieved August 4, 2013.
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Robert Wilkie
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs		 Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Homeland Security		 Succeeded by
Mick Mulvaney
as Acting White House Chief of Staff
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Robert Wilkie		 18th in line Last
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