Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to this administration's nomination of Chad Wolf to be Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans at the Department of Homeland Security. I stand here today opposed not only to Mr. Wolf's nomination but also to the way in which this administration is circumventing the constitutional requirement of advice and consent to make Mr. Wolf the head of the third largest Department in the Federal Government.

By the President's own admission, Mr. Wolf is slated to immediately be appointed to serve indefinitely in the position of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security. Thus, our votes tonight and tomorrow are effectively to confirm Chad Wolf to be Acting Secretary of the entire Department of Homeland Security, despite limited vetting, no committee vote, and no confirmation hearing for this position.

But this is about more than just an egregious attempt to bypass the Senate's role of advice and consent for Cabinet nominees. Rather, this evening's vote will advance a nominee who played an integral role in this administration's cruel family separation policy, and tonight's vote is about the refusal of this administration to address its treatment of detained children.

That is why I was so disappointed to see cloture filed on Chad Wolf's nomination. I placed a hold on Mr. Wolf's nomination to be Under Secretary as a result of the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the southern border, which began and grew during Mr. Wolf's tenure as chief of staff to DHS Secretary Nielsen.

Between July 2017 and June 2018, while Mr. Wolf held the position of chief of staff, 2,800 migrant children were separated from their parents and held in DHS custody under this administration's cruel, so- called ``zero tolerance'' immigration policy.

Even today, we don't know the extent of the damage. Just last week, reports identified 1,500 more children who were separated from their parents during that time. We do, however, know from emails that Chad Wolf played a leading role in developing, suggesting, and implementing this inhumane policy.

When I asked him if he had helped to develop the administration's family separation policy, he said: ``No, ma'am.'' When I asked him if he had concerns with the policy of indefinitely separating children from their parents, Mr. Wolf said: ``My job wasn't to determine if it was the right or wrong policy.''

When I asked him how he became aware of the policy, he stated that he learned about it in April of 2018. Emails now show that Mr. Wolf had been participating in meetings discussing family separation as far back as December of 2017. The emails showed that Mr. Wolf provided then- Secretary Nielsen a list of 16 options to limit immigration, one of which was to separate families.

Even before these emails came to light, I found Mr. Wolf's failure to take responsibility for his direct involvement in the administration's cruel family separation policy to be both misleading and disingenuous, which is why I voted against his nomination in committee.

I also placed a hold on both Mr. Wolf's nomination and that of DHS CFO nominee Troy Edgar until the inhumane and substandard conditions for children at CBP processing and detention facilities improved significantly. Reports from journalists, attorneys, and advocates detailed ongoing horrific conditions, making it clear that DHS was not taking the actions needed to care for and treat migrant children at the southern border.

I witnessed these conditions firsthand. When I toured detention facilities at the border earlier this year, what I saw was entirely consistent with the news and DHS inspector general reports about the horrific and inhumane conditions there: children freezing, scared, and unsure of what would happen to them next. The children didn't know if they would ever see their parents again. Even the parents didn't know when their next meal would be, when their next shower would be, and how long they would be there. The anxiety and despair was palpable.

Amidst this crisis at the border, I placed a hold on Mr. Wolf. My requests of the Department were simple--that every child under the care of the United States of America be treated humanely. I requested that DHS hire more pediatricians for CBP facilities, that they bring on child welfare professionals to care for and provide services to the children in CBP custody, and that they increase NGO access to CBP facilities.

Regarding these specific requests, DHS has not adequately addressed the concerns. This is why I maintain my hold on Mr. Wolf's nomination and why my hold on Mr. Edgar will remain until these conditions improve.

With this in mind, we cannot allow a nominee like Mr. Wolf to move forward, especially when we know he is going to be moved right up to Acting Secretary, a position where the President can keep him indefinitely without a confirmation hearing and without the advice and consent of the Senate.

It is an end run around our constitutional role, one of the most important checks we have on the executive branch. It is also not the process we should accept for filling a Cabinet-level position in the third largest Department in the Federal Government, one charged with the critical job of protecting our homeland.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote against cloture on Mr. Wolf's nomination tonight and against his confirmation tomorrow, and I pledge to work with all of you and the administration to identify nominees to lead the Department whom we can all support.

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