Kevin McAleenan, former acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the Trump administration, is lobbying senators to approve President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the agency, Alejandro Mayorkas.
In a letter leaked to CNN’s Jake Tapper, McAleenan writes to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asking members to quickly approve Mayorkas’s nomination.
“Ali Mayorkas is … committed to the success of the Department, the people who serve in it, and he understands the essential role it maintains in protecting our homeland and our values. … I urge the Committee to complete its work and the Senate to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as the next Secretary of Homeland Security,” McAleenan wrote.
The letter comes despite Mayorkas’s scandal-plagued background in the Obama administration where he was accused by the DHS inspector general of acting “improperly” for securing EB-5 visas for wealthy foreign investors.
During a hearing, Mayorkas defended his actions, saying he “fixed problems,” and promised to help Congress pass an amnesty for 11 to 22 million illegal aliens despite its potential to drive an uncontrollable mass migration to the United States-Mexico border.
McAleenan was one of a handful of Washington, DC, insiders from the national security establishment who was promoted to the top job at DHS while Donald Trump was president. Others included Gen. John Kelly, Kirstjen Nielsen, Elaine Duke, and Chad Wolf.
Days before resigning, McAleenan gave an interview where he attacked Trump’s policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. McAleenan claimed the Zero Tolerance policy “went too far” and repudiated the term “illegal alien.”
McAleenan had also been accused of leaking the details of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to the establishment media in order to stop the operation. About a month after his announced resignation, a report alleged that McAleenan had led a quiet front inside DHS to stoke opposition to Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who sits on the committee, has said he will oppose Mayorkas’s nomination.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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