After having him serve in an acting capacity in the time following former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation last year, Donald Trump has finally bothered to officially nominate Chad Wolf to the position, claiming in a tweet on Tuesday that “Chad has done an outstanding job and we greatly appreciate his service!"
Sure. So maybe the impeached president finally realized that he has to go through the Senate … or maybe he was told by his underlings that the recent government watchdog report concluding that Acting Chad is in fact Unlawful Chad could legally risk a lot of anti-immigrant policies implemented under his watch, so we better get him confirmed soon, sir. You decide which is more likely.
It doesn’t even matter if his remaining at DHS may be dwindling down, Unlawful Chad certainly doesn’t deserve to get rewarded with a permanent title to tout, legislators who will be facing him in any confirmation hearings said in reaction to his official nomination.
“Chad Wolf played a direct role in implementing the Admin's cruel family separation policy, & now the President is nominating him to permanently be @DHSGov Secretary,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada. In fact, Wolf lied under oath to her last year, claiming that he had no part in developing the administration’s family separation policy. “Did you help develop that policy?" she asked. “No ma'am," he replied, claiming that he learned of the policy “through discussions with staff, leading up to the attorney general's announcement, I believe in April of 2018.” But that was a lie.
“In December 2017, Wolf sent an email to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ counsel in his capacity as then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen’s chief of staff that outlined 16 options for curbing undocumented immigration,” watchdog group Restore Public Trust said. “Among the list was ‘separate family units,’ as well as expediting the deportation of children and requiring migrants to seek asylum in Mexico.”
Lied under oath, is serving in an unlawful capacity, and still feels he’s entitled to keep his job, other outraged Democrats also echoed.
“Chad Wolf is utterly unfit to lead @DHSgov,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. “He’s led child separation at the border & secret police in Portland. These actions should be condemned, not rewarded. I oppose this nomination wholeheartedly & will do everything in my power to stop it.” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted that Unlawful Chad “has turned @DHSgov into President Trump’s personal militia to terrorize American citizens and immigrants, without regard for the Constitution. Wolf failed this illegal trial period. He should resign, and no senator should vote to confirm his undeserved nomination.”
Unlawful Chad has continued to show us all in just the past few days alone that he’s this authoritarian’s good little soldier by joining him to ignore the Supreme Court on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and helping him stage a naturalization stunt for his reelection campaign. That event filmed on the White House grounds for the purpose of the Republican Nation Convention was “horrifying in context,” tweeted Immigrant Defenders Law Center co-founder Lindsay Toczylowski. “1000s of asylum seekers in grave danger tonight at our border, children being sent to their deaths, families separated, communities ripped apart, babies held in ICE prisons.”
While Unlawful Chad’s nomination is up to the Senate, leading House Democrat Bennie Thompson said he also believed that “[t]his nomination is a clear admission that the administration is installed Mr. Wolf as Acting Secretary unlawfully. Since every policy decision Mr. Wolf made since November may be challenged because he lacked proper authority, this is also an attempt to limit the Administration's exposure to legal challenges." Chad needs to go. “Mr. Wolf must be held accountable, not rewarded,” Rosen continued.
