Thread: Acting No. 2 at Homeland Security latest to leave department

Acting No. 2 at Homeland Security latest to leave department

By Kate Sullivan, CNN
Updated 11:08 PM ET, Tue April 9, 2019

Washington (CNN)The acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security is leaving the department, the latest top-ranking DHS official to exit.

Claire Grady's imminent resignation, announced Tuesday night by outgoing Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, paves the way for President Donald Trump's pick of Kevin McAleenan to lead DHS in an acting capacity. Following Nielsen's forced resignation Sunday night, Grady was statutorily next in line to become acting secretary.

"Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady has offered the President her resignation, effective tomorrow. For the last two years, Claire has served @DHSgov w excellence and distinction. She has been an invaluable asset to DHS -- a steady force and a knowledgeable voice," Nielsen tweeted.



Read: DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's letter on acting deputy secretary's resignation

With Grady's departure, DHS is redoing its succession plan, according to a department official who expects Transportation Security Administration Administrator David Pekoske to be named acting deputy secretary. The official expects the new succession order to be determined by Wednesday.

A former administration official told CNN that Grady "knew her fate was tied to Nielsen."

"She is one of the people who got stuff done at DHS. Someone everyone went to at the department when they were having a bad day," the former official said.

Grady was currently in her job as of Tuesday evening, a DHS official said. After Trump announced her resignation, Nielsen said on Twitter that she planned to stay on until Wednesday to help with the transition.

Grady's departure comes as Trump is cleaning house in the department. The day after Nielsen's resignation was announced, Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles was ousted, and at least two officials have been named as possibly heading out the door: US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Francis Cissna and Office of the General Counsel's John Mitnick.



Trump overseeing 'near-systematic purge' at Department of Homeland Security

"There is a near-systematic purge happening at the nation's second-largest national security agency," an official has told CNN.

At least some of the sudden personnel changes come at the urging of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who played a key role in Nielsen's ouster. The President in recent weeks empowered Miller to lead the administration's border policies "and he's executing his plan" with what amounts to a wholesale decapitation of the department's leadership, an official has told CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/09/politics/acting-deputy-secretary-dhs-resignation/index.html

Kevin McAleenan will replace Nielsen at DHS