As President Trump prepared to board his Marine One helicopter Wednesday morning questions from reporters were flung at him about whether White House aide Stephen Miller is “in charge of homeland security” or if Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan will get the permanent appointment.
Mr. Trump made it clear who is in charge of homeland security: “[T]here’s only one person running it, and that’s me.”
Asked about the status of Acting Secretary McAleenan and whether he might nominate him for the permanent secretaryship, Trump said “I like [McAleenan] a lot and he’s doing a good job. [A permanent appointment] could happen. We’ll make the determination.”
Pressed about whether he might instead turn to others to head up Homeland Security such as Secretary of Energy Rick Perry or former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whittaker, the President said: “Right now, [McAleenan] is the man and doing a good job.”
In dismissing the claim that White House aide Miller runs homeland security, Trump nonetheless defended his embattled staffer.
“Stephen is an excellent guy,” he said, “He’s a wonderful person. People don’t know him…He’s a brilliant man.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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