Nobody's Home at
Homeland Security
The man running the inspector general's office
is under investigation; so is the man nominated to replace him.
By Michael McCaul in the Wall Street Journal
President Obama recently announced the long-overdue
nomination of Jeh Johnson, the former general counsel of the Defense
Department, as the fourth secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. If
confirmed, Mr. Johnson will immediately face a major obstacle: Over 40% of the
department's senior leadership positions are either vacant or have an
"acting" placeholder. This means that nearly half of the top
positions at the third-largest agency in the U.S. government aren't filled—a
problem that has impaired its operations and speaks volumes about this
administration's commitment to homeland security.
The positions didn't
become vacant all at once. The problem has snowballed as the Obama
administration has failed to fill open spots in various parts of the department
for many months, and in some cases for years.
Despite the
president's claims that the "border is secure," Customs and Border
Protection—the DHS agency responsible for securing the border, regulating international
trade and immigration—has not had a Senate-confirmed commissioner during the
entire Obama presidency. After a recess appointment expired at the end of 2011,
the president waited more than a year and a half before nominating someone in
August. Customs and Border Protection now has its fourth acting leader of the
Obama presidency.
The situation at
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not much better. When Director John
Morton resigned this summer, he was replaced by John Sandweg on an acting basis.
Mr. Sandweg is a former political operative with no law-enforcement experience.
Since his installment, the administration has not announced a nominee, leaving
one of the largest federal law-enforcement agencies without credible, confirmed
leadership.
Perhaps the most dire
leadership vacuum at DHS is the lack of steady, long-term management in cyber
and national security. While rogue nations continue to target everything from
Wall Street to our energy industry, and terrorist groups continue to plot against
the U.S., both the assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications and
the undersecretary for intelligence and analysis have been under acting
leadership for nearly a year.
The vacancies extend
to DHS financial management. Undersecretary for Management Rafael Borras, who
is now acting deputy secretary, is currently without a chief financial officer.
Earlier this month, Chief Financial Officer Peggy Sherry left DHS for the IRS.
The department's antiquated financial systems need modernization, and this
turnover will hamper progress and waste more money.
There is also no
watchdog on the premises, as Homeland Security has been without a confirmed
inspector general since February 2011. Deputy Inspector General Charles
Edwards, who is currently running the IG's office, faces allegations of
misconduct from a bipartisan Senate panel, including misusing official
resources and exerting undue influence on investigations. Sens. Claire
McCaskill and Ron
Johnson are currently
investigating these claims, raised by several whistleblowers.
To complicate matters
even further, the nominee for deputy secretary of DHS, Alejandro Mayorkas, is
being held up by Senate Republicans. They're doing so because the inspector
general's office is investigating Mr. Mayorkas for allegations of misusing the
Immigrant Investor Visa program, which he oversees and continues to lead, while
he continues to run U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In other words,
the nominee for the No. 2 position at DHS is currently under investigation by
the DHS Inspector General's office, which itself does not have anyone in its
top post and whose current leader is also under investigation. You read that
right.
Some claim that Senate
gridlock has played a role in delaying nominations, including the efforts of
some Republican senators to delay nominations until survivors of the 2012
Benghazi attack are allowed to appear before Congress. But this has not been a
major factor. For many of these positions, including the inspector general and
the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the president has taken many
months or years to nominate someone. Meanwhile, Mr. Obama has shown a complete
disregard for the Federal Vacancy Reform Act of 1998, a law passed by Congress
that limits the amount of time someone can be in an acting position.
Anyone who has ever
worked for a company knows that leadership deficits and turnover don't help an
organization run smoothly. For DHS to carry out its core mission of protecting
the American people, the department needs consistent management and a strong
leader who understands how to handle a sprawling agency, and who has a
commitment to enforcing the law and protecting the American people.
As Jeh Johnson goes
through the nomination process, he must commit to filling the gaping holes in
the department's top ranks. While DHS is the newest department in the executive
branch, it carries out arguably its most essential function. It deserves real
leadership, not empty chairs.
Mr. McCaul, a
Republican congressman from Texas, is the chairman of the House Committee on
Homeland Security.
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