White House Finds Way To Ignore Federal Law To Name New Homeland Security Secretary

To install the extremist Trump and Stephen Miller want as head of our Department of Homeland Security, they are seeking to bypass laws by naming someone as head of the "Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office", then elevating that person to be the acting secretary of homeland security.  

Trump's cronies can’t find a qualified person to be DHS secretary who would push his illegal and immoral policies and kiss his ass without using loopholes in the law.

The White House has found a way to bypass a federal statute that dictates who can fill secretary positions, potentially allowing  Trump to choose whomever he wants to lead the Department of Homeland Security.... The Trump administration has encountered legal and personnel challenges in its search for a candidate.... to carry out his hard-line immigration agenda and satisfy the legal credentials to be the acting secretary....

After Kevin K. McAleenan, the acting secretary.... announced this month that he would resign, it was widely believed.... Trump would tap someone who would not question his extreme policies.  But officials.... who echo Trump’s fiery language on immigration were initially deemed ineligible under the federal Vacancies Act.  The law states that acting officials who take over cabinet-level positions must be next in the line of succession, have the approval of the Senate or have served 90 days under the previous secretary.

Bypassing the law sounds... illegal....

White House, however, is exploring a loophole in the law.... the White House would tap someone to be the assistant secretary of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is vacant, and then elevate that person to be the acting secretary of homeland security.

This year the Trump administration has purged, installed and transferred leaders in the department, sowing chaos among its ranks and creating a legal maze on personnel matters. The latest dubious workaround would mean that Mr. Trump has found a way to use the many holes in the department to fill a void.

It would also allow the White House to choose a hard liner previously believed to be ineligible for the position.

Ken Cuccinelli, a nutjob who loves Steve King and EVEN MITCH MCCONNELL HATES, is the favorite for the positon.  He's an anti-immigrant crusader and frequent Fox News guest who has been leading the anti-immigration efforts at the Department of Homeland Security since May 2019.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/us/politics/white-house-homeland-security.html