Some reports have indicated that the U.S President Donald Trump has planned to terminate the Secretary of U.S Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen. Some other reports talked about the replacement of the DHS Chief. 5 current and former White House officials informed The Washington Post that Trump had already informed advisers that he planned to remove Nielsen, with her departure from the administration likely to come within weeks if not sooner. The reports came after Trump canceled a scheduled trip with Nielsen this week. The plan was to visit U.S troops deployed at the southern border in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of migrants making their way to the U.S in several caravans.
It is noteworthy; the president has become increasingly vocal about his dissatisfaction with Nielsen’s “lackluster performance on immigration enforcement”. The Post also indicated that he will be looking for a replacement who would implement his hard-line immigration policies “with more alacrity”. The president and the DHS chief had reportedly clashed over the last several months as Nielsen struggled to explain the laws and regulations that prevented the U.S from making drastic changes to immigration policy or shutting down the southern border. If Nielsen is removed from her post, the Trump administration would be left with a key role to fill.
Who is Claire Grady?
If Trump declines to name someone else to serve as acting DHS secretary, the role would likely fall to Claire Grady. She is currently serving as undersecretary of DHS for management. Grady is third in command at DHS, overseeing the budget of the department and workforce in addition to all aspects of the management programs that support Homeland Security operations. Grady was recognized with the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive in 2010. She also served as the senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary, in addition to serving other roles within the DHS and Department of Defense for the U.S government.