Katharine Gorka expected to take over as Customs and Border Protection press secretary



Jun 18, 2019, 5:35 PM ET

Katharine Gorka, who has been serving as an adviser for the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to take over as press secretary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, department officials confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday.

In her new role, Gorka will work more directly with federal immigration enforcement as a liaison between border agents and the public. The news was first reported by CNN.

"We look forward to her continued service with the Department in her new position at CBP as we work to secure the border and enforce our nation’s immigration laws," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told ABC News in a statement.

Gorka's husband is Sebastian Gorka, a controversial Trump adviser who was fired from the White House in August 2017.

(MORE: Controversial Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka leaves White House post)

The two Gorkas have contributed to Breitbart, a far-right opinion outlet, and are known for controversial remarks connecting Islamic religious beliefs to violent extremism.

“Presidents Bush and Obama both publicly declared Islam to be a religion of peace, which has struck a sour chord for many,” Katharine Gorka wrote in a 2014 post for Breitbart. “American and Western leaders have preemptively shut down any debate within Islam by declaring that Islam is the religion of peace and that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam."

When asked about her tenure as a DHS adviser, a department spokesperson said that her work was focused on national security and counterterrorism efforts "regardless of ideology."

In her role as an analyst for a group called the Westminster Institute, Katharine Gorka criticized the Department of Homeland Security for referring to Islam as "a religion of peace."

"This has driven many of today’s experts underground," she claimed. "They have had to learn to speak cautiously and in coded language."

(MORE: Trump denies he's purging Homeland Security officials)

Katharine Gorka was the subject of a lawsuit from a liberal watch dog group earlier this year after DHS did not respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for specifics about her role.

“We’re suing to find out whether her extreme and biased views are driving Homeland Security resources away from real threats," said Charisma Troiano, a spokesperson for Democracy Forward, in a statement at the time.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kath...ry?id=63792547