The Department of Homeland Security today is in search of either another acting secretary or, if possible, a permanent secretary to serve for the remainder of President Trump’s first term.
Acting secretary Kevin McAleenan announced in early October that he would leave the job by the end of the month. He later said he would remain on the job until a replacement is named. As I write this column, there is no likelihood that a permanent replacement will be found soon. It is, after all, a thankless job. Radical Democrats have hounded everyone who has held the job under Trump, including Gen. John Kelly and especially Kirstjen Nielsen, who was famously harassed out of a D.C. restaurant.
On Friday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that McAleenan will remain in his post until Veterans Day, at which time Chad Wolf will take over as acting secretary. Wolf previously served as chief of staff to Nielsen and is currently acting undersecretary for the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans at DHS.
It sounds like a bit of a mess, in part because Senate Democrats can hold up confirmation of any nominee they don’t like by using the filibuster. Too bad Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t dump the filibuster, but he won’t, so that leaves Trump behind the eight ball. Acting secretaries have to be already confirmed by the Senate for another position, and Trump has few options.
I’ve been dreaming of the ideal Homeland Security Secretary for some time and have a perfect candidate — Ryan Zinke, the former secretary of the interior and former Navy SEAL commander. I’ve already previously recommended him for secretary of defense. Too bad he won’t take either job, and if he did too bad the Democrats and their Resistance Media allies would never allow him to be confirmed.
Zinke has the perfect no-nonsense, take no prisoners personality that is needed for a job that is on the front lines of border security, counter-terrorism efforts and refugee resettlement. Of course, that’s why he pisses off liberal Democrats so much and was the subject of several fake scandals (here and here, for instance) during his tenure at Interior.
Back when he was running for Congress in 2014, he called Hillary Clinton the “Antichrist” at a campaign appearance in Bigfork, Montana. My old newspaper, the Daily Inter Lake covered the story, reporting:
At a Jan. 27 gathering at Marina Cay Resort, according to The Bigfork Eagle, Zinke told supporters: “We need to focus on the real enemy,” referring to the former Secretary of State. Zinke went on to call her the “anti-Christ.” …
Contacted by the Inter Lake on Monday, Zinke said he obviously doesn’t think Clinton is the actual “anti-Christ,” but he doesn’t think too highly of her largely because he knew the two former Navy SEALs who died at the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.
“I would say this: It was perhaps a little harsh,” said Zinke, a retired Navy SEAL and former state senator from Whitefish. “But I had two friends in Benghazi and the truth does matter.”
For me, that by itself qualifies Zinke to be secretary of homeland security. But there are other good reasons, including his support of a border wall and a sensible refugee policy.
Of course, Zinke has no desire to return to the muck and more of the Swamp. He’s currently engaged in lucrative work on cyber security and energy production. Why would he want to return to Washington, DC, which he recently characterized to Bloomberg as “angry and hateful”?
Of course he wouldn’t, but in my dream scenario, there is an explanation why this is the perfect time to put Zinke back in the Cabinet — to force the Democrats to live up to their own playbook! We learned last week that if someone in public life had previously served heroically in the military, they are beyond reproach and must be trusted categorically.
This new standard surfaced after the testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman before the secret impeachment court being run by Adam Schiff. I and others have raised the possibility that Vindman’s testimony against the president was tainted by his loyalty to the elusive “interagency” and to “bipartisan support” for funding weapons for Ukraine. No, no, we were told by the Dems and RINOs! Speak no ill of Vindman, for he served his country ably and well and has thus got a free pass.
Well, I propose that we give the same free pass to Zinke, which should assure him of a 100-0 vote of confirmation in the Senate! No one would dare to criticize war hero Zinke or bring up the “scandals” of him allowing his wife to fly with him to speaking engagements or calling Hillary Clinton names!
WHO WE ARE
Frank Miele has spent four decades in the news business and now offers conservative commentary to counter the left-wing bias in the national media. If you enjoy reading these daily essays, I hope you will consider purchasing one of my books. They are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. My new book — “The Media Matrix: What if everything you know is fake?” — shows that Fake News has been around for years. The “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy tackles the politics of the last two decades: Part 1 is subtitled “Bush’s Global Failure: Half Right.” Part 2 is “Obama’s Fundamental Transformation: Far Left.” Part 3 is “Trump’s American Vision: Just Right.” Also consider subscribing to Heartland Diary on YouTube by clicking here for News Every Conservative Can Use.
I agree about Zinke.
I always admired Ryan Zinke. Terrific career in the military. He does not need the devious swamp. Alexander Vindman did get a huge pass. How about the same for Mike Flynn and some of these military heroes who killed enemies while fighting in a wartorn setting? They are being judged by fireside chat people who are in a safe place. So unfair. I knew the hate squad would go after Zinke….. because he was SO good. Pelosi says no one is above the law. Well, Vindman and the whistleblower-mole appear to be. These clerks are doing everything to smear and bring down a President who was elected by 63 million people, yet the president is supposed to just take it? If they can’t look the President in the face and say their “truth,” then the whole issue is a non issue and they should be sued for slander. I would like to know if these holier than thou operatives, just like Christine Blasey Ford, are hugely rewarded for their volunteering to cast doubt and smear the President. I think they believe they are acting patriotically, but for which country?
Joe Morrisco
Bedminster, NJ 07921