How D.H.S. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Became One of Trump’s Fiercest Loyalists

Swim19 · 03-02-2018, 08:24 PM

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Over her first three months in the job, Nielsen has showcased her loyalty to the White House that elevated her. In early January, she cancelled the status of two hundred thousand Salvadorans who’ve lived legally in the U.S since 2001. A week later, in sworn testimony, she told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that she couldn’t recall whether the President had used the word “shitholes” to describe African countries during an Oval Office meeting on immigration. Then, in February, Nielsen issued a series of aggressive statements criticizing bipartisan immigration bills that appeared to be gaining support in the Senate. One of the proposals, according to D.H.S., “would effectively make the United States a Sanctuary Nation where ignoring the rule of law is encouraged.” Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, complained, “It sounded like something that came from a political hack, not D.H.S.”

I recently spoke to seven current and former officials at D.H.S. to understand what’s been driving Nielsen. All of them described her as more of an opportunist than an ideologue. She rose through the ranks of the department because she positioned herself close to key figures in the White House, the officials told me; each of them characterized Nielsen as a close ally of John Kelly, the White House chief of staff. The tough stance she has adopted on immigration is largely an extension of his. To improve her standing with the President, Nielsen coöperated with a cadre of White House staffers, led by Stephen Miller, the President’s senior adviser, who see D.H.S. as a tool to advance their hard-line agenda on immigration. The officials I spoke with conceded that the alternatives to Nielsen’s nomination could have been more extreme. But Nielsen, in their view, posed a special problem: because she was so pliant and inexperienced, they said, she risked turning D.H.S. into an overt political pawn of the Trump White House.

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Nielsen made the dynamic worse. Daily meetings among senior staff at D.H.S., which were routine in years past, were cancelled; in their place, Nielsen started inviting Hamilton and other political appointees to meet directly with Kelly. Meanwhile, other senior officials, including the deputy secretary of D.H.S., struggled to get one-on-one access to Kelly because Nielsen controlled his schedule and effectively shut them out. “She built a wall around him,” one former official told me. “She was with him constantly, even when he travelled. It was all about her getting face time with Kelly and also making the political appointees happy.” (A D.H.S. spokesperson denied that Nielsen did anything out of the ordinary.)

When Kelly was chosen as the White House chief of staff, in July, Nielsen initially went with him to serve as his deputy and as a special assistant to the President. She appealed to people at the White House because she had Kelly’s support, and Trump loyalists considered her unthreatening. “Nielsen doesn’t want to piss off the President,” one of the former officials told me. “She has zero independent political power base in Washington. She’s a hundred per cent this White House and John Kelly. They wanted someone who didn’t have a record speaking out against the President and who wouldn’t go in that direction.”

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Over the past month, as negotiations over immigration reform continued in Congress, D.H.S. joined the fray. On February 14th, during a week of intensive Senate talks on potential legislation, D.H.S. issued a statement slamming the bipartisan bills opposed by the White House. One of the bills “Would Increase Illegal Immigration, Surge Chain Migration, Continue Catch and Release, and Give a Pathway to Citizenship to Convicted Alien Felons,” the release stated. Early the next morning, as the White House lobbied against another bipartisan bill, D.H.S. released a second statement attacking it, too. (A senior D.H.S. official told me that the tone of the statement was necessary because there was little time between the release of the bill and a floor vote.)

Many, including Lindsey Graham, publicly speculated that Stephen Miller was behind the statements. I messaged a source within the Department to ask if there was any buzz about the statements among staffers. “The buck stops at the top,” the official responded. “Close coordination with the White House, clearly.”

That day, I received an exasperated call from one of Nielsen’s former colleagues at D.H.S. “This is highly abnormal,” the official said, of the statements. “Rarely, if ever, do you put out a press release on a bill like this,” adding, “You can’t be seen as the lapdog of the White House. That makes the department into a political football.” I asked the official if it really was so outrageous for a Presidential appointee to reiterate the White House line. It was, the former official replied. “It hurts your ability to influence legislation when it really matters. If you believe you represent the institution—D.H.S.—you care about the long term. At the White House, and for Nielsen, it’s all about the short term.”

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-...cest-loyalists

It's clear from this article that Neilsen being head of DHS only hurt the chances of DREAM Act compromise (though as the article points out any other nominee to the position would have been equally as bad or worse).

AleiaTheEnchanted · 03-02-2018, 08:30 PM

Of course she's loyal to the Cheeto man. He was the one who put her there anyway. One thing I'm sure worried about is if Trump actually gets impeached or step down, Pence will take over his position. I heard Pence is a much strict enforcer against immigration. If that is the case, then I'd be okay if Trump actually stays in office until 2020.

justjohnjustice1988 · 03-02-2018, 08:43 PM

From all my political geekiness type of obsession with anything politics, one thing that stood out to me was how she, as an Executive Department head, came out against active legislation.

The norm is that the "secretaries " in the executive do not advocate for bill in either chamber. That's the White House' job.

With that said, Trump doesn't play by any rules other than his own. And he makes them up as he goes.

Even if he supports DACA legislation, which I highly doubt, I still believe he will be and should be a first term President.

Can u say President Biden? ��

Swim19 · 03-02-2018, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AleiaTheEnchanted

Of course she's loyal to the Cheeto man. He was the one who put her there anyway. One thing I'm sure worried about is if Trump actually gets impeached or step down, Pence will take over his position. I heard Pence is a much strict enforcer against immigration. If that is the case, then I'd be okay if Trump actually stays in office until 2020.

With all the news this week of questionable actions by Kushner and Ivanka - Mueller's investigation is getting closer and closer to Trump.

DreamerSD23 · 03-02-2018, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AleiaTheEnchanted

Of course she's loyal to the Cheeto man. He was the one who put her there anyway. One thing I'm sure worried about is if Trump actually gets impeached or step down, Pence will take over his position. I heard Pence is a much strict enforcer against immigration. If that is the case, then I'd be okay if Trump actually stays in office until 2020.

Seriously, I can't see Pence doing anything besides loafing around until 2020.

jorgeag92 · 03-02-2018, 09:03 PM

Pence would be McConnel's and Ryan's bitch. Hes not a leader, but a follower.

AleiaTheEnchanted · 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swim19

With all the news this week of questionable actions by Kushner and Ivanka - Mueller's investigation is getting closer and closer to Trump.

Yes I've been actually watching it and little by little his side are dropping down like flies. Now it's his families. Soon it'll be him.
Pence is a hardliner because he proposed a compromise in Congress, a bill that reinforced the border and deported many illegal immigrants—but then let them quickly and legally return to America. But the thing is that it would accrue a 10 year ban. I mean would he tell Dreamers "Oh you guys need to go back and then apply back, etc"

CUSenior · 03-03-2018, 02:02 AM

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Originally Posted by jorgeag92

Pence would be McConnel's and Ryan's bitch. Hes not a leader, but a follower.

I would rather have that. Being Ryan’s bitch is better than being Miller’s bitch.

johnfreyan · 03-03-2018, 03:44 AM

In that wonderful scenario, Pence will have zero political currency and will be a Filler-in-chief. And if Trump goes down, Pence is coming with him to prison...

AleiaTheEnchanted · 03-03-2018, 03:42 PM

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Originally Posted by CUSenior

I would rather have that. Being Ryan’s bitch is better than being Miller’s bitch.

Lmaoo true dat!

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How D.H.S. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Became One of Trump’s Fiercest Loyalists