Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Homeland Security Chief
President Trump announced Sunday that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is resigning from her post in the Trump administration, bringing an end to the, at-times rocky, relationship between the president and her.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2019
Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will become Acting Secretary for Homeland.
The announcement came shortly after Nielsen met with Trump privately at the White House.
Trump and Nielsen have disagreed over the administration’s immigration policy and efforts to build a wall on the southern border. That tension reached its breaking point in the days after Trump abruptly pulled the nomination of Ronald Vitiello to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump said that he wanted to go with someone “tougher” for the position. Vitiello reportedly opposed Trump’s threats to close off the southern border.
Nielsen has been in the administration since Trump’s inauguration, first serving as chief of staff to John Kelly, the first homeland security secretary. Nielsen served as Kelly’s deputy when he joined the White House as chief of staff.
She was confirmed as DHS secretary on Dec. 6, 2017 and today thanked the president and the men and woman at DHS.
This afternoon I submitted my resignation to @POTUS and thanked him for the opportunity to serve in his administration.
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 7, 2019
To the brave and dedicated men and women of @DHSgov, I submitted my resignation to the President this evening. I am eternally grateful and proud of what you do each and everyday to protect our homeland- each of you are why I came back to serve my country.
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 7, 2019
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