Executive Session

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to ask the Senate to confirm Mr. Chad Wolf to be the Under Secretary of the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans at the Department of Homeland Security.

The Under Secretary of the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans leads an office of over 150 employees with an annual budget of over $37 million to develop and implement DHS policy, long-term goals, and strategic plans. Chad Wolf has extensive experience in homeland security policy, starting in 2002 working as the chief of staff helping to stand up the new Transportation Security Administration after 9/11 and then as the Assistant Administrator for that agency.

He left government and spent over a decade working on homeland security policy issues as a consultant in the private sector. Mr. Wolf returned to public service and the Department of Homeland Security in 2017, serving as chief of staff at TSA, chief of staff to the Secretary, and now as the Assistant Secretary of Strategy, Plans, Analysis & Risk. Since February of this year, he has been the senior official performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, the office for which we are now considering his nomination.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved his nomination on a bipartisan basis on July 24. As we all know, the Department has a number of Senate-confirmed leadership positions vacant. Currently, 7 of the 18 DHS offices requiring Senate confirmation are vacant. Three of those vacant positions have nominees that have been languishing on the Senate floor for months after being approved by my committee with bipartisan support.

Mr. Wolf's nomination has been pending in the Senate for almost 9 months. Troy Edgar, the nominee to be the Department's Chief Financial Officer, has been pending in the Senate for 8 months, and William Bryan, the nominee to be Under Secretary for Science and Technology, has been pending for over 4 months. All three nominees were approved by my committee with bipartisan support. We are holding a hearing to consider Mr. Peter Gaynor as the President's nominee to head FEMA this week.

Dedicated Americans serving at DHS in acting positions are doing admirable jobs under oftentimes difficult circumstances. I trust that Chad Wolf will do the same if he is asked to step aside from his role as Under Secretary to serve temporarily as Acting Secretary upon Kevin McAleenan's departure.

I fully expect and I call upon the President to nominate a permanent Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. When he does, my committee will consider the nominee expeditiously. We need confirmed leadership at DHS to help direct the Department as it works to keep Americans safe.

We need confirmed leadership at DHS to help direct the Department as it works to keep Americans safe. I am grateful to Chad Wolf for his willingness to serve in this position, and I encourage my colleagues to support his confirmation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source