President Trump on Friday said he has tapped Chad Wolf as the fifth acting director of Homeland Security — but an agency spokesperson soon contradicted the president, saying no change had been made.
Before heading to a campaign rally in Mississippi, Trump had told reporters outside the White House that he’d named Wolf.
“I put in a very good man who’s highly respected, and he’s acting right now, and we’ll see where that goes,” Trump said of Wolf.
Later, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that Kevin McAleenan is still the acting director of the agency.
“McAleenan is the Acting Secretary. Wolf is the acting undersecretary for policy,” the spokesperson said.
Still later, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley clarified that both were essentially correct: McAleenan remains acting director, but will step down after Veterans’ Day, when Wolf will serve as acting director.
Wolf served as the chief of staff to former DHS director Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned in April. He’s worked in the agency off and on since it was created after Sept. 11.
If he is appointed, it’s not clear if Wolf will serve permanently in the position, or if he’ll be replaced by another pick.
Trump has used the agency to focus on immigration, shifting its role as an umbrella counter-terrorism operation.
If appointed, Wolf will be the fifth director of the agency in three years, following McAleenan, Nielsen, Elaine Duke and John Kelly.
With Post wires



