S. Hrg. 115–392 

NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN TO BE SECRETARY, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov/ 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 
NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN—2017 
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

30–099 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018

S. Hrg. 115–392 

NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN TO BE SECRETARY, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov/ 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

JON TESTER, Montana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

DAVID N. BREWER, Chief Investigative Counsel 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

DONALD K. SHERMAN, Minority Senior Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

BONNI E. DINERSTEIN, Hearing Clerk 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statements: Page 

Senator Johnson ............................................................................................... 1 

Senator McCaskill ............................................................................................ 3 

Senator Tester .................................................................................................. 16 

Senator Heitkamp ............................................................................................ 18 

Senator Peters .................................................................................................. 20 

Senator Hassan ................................................................................................. 22 

Senator Harris .................................................................................................. 25 

Senator Lankford .............................................................................................. 27 

Senator Hoeven ................................................................................................. 30 

Senator Carper ................................................................................................. 33 

Senator Daines ................................................................................................. 36 

Prepared statements: 

Senator Johnson ............................................................................................... 49 

Senator McCaskill ............................................................................................ 51 

Senator Portman .............................................................................................. 55 

WITNESSES 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

Hon. Marco Rubio, a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida .............................. 5 

Hon. Rob Portman, a U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio ................................. 6 

Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 8 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 57 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 61 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics ................................................. 84 

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 87 

Addendum to pre-hearing questions ............................................................... 148 

Responses to post-hearing questions .............................................................. 149 

APPENDIX 

Newsweek Article .................................................................................................... 272 

DACA Information ................................................................................................... 275 

Statements for the Record from: 

American Hotel and Lodging Association ....................................................... 301 

Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies ................................... 302 

Arizona Department of Public Safety ............................................................. 303 

Frank Cilluffo, Director, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security ............ 304 

Former Cyber Officials ..................................................................................... 305 

Former DHS Officials ....................................................................................... 311 

Former National Security Officials ................................................................. 315 

Global Business Travel Association ................................................................ 318 

Keith Hennessey ............................................................................................... 319 

International Association of Fire Chiefs ......................................................... 320 

International Biometrics and Identity Association ........................................ 322 

John F. Kelly, Former Secretary of Homeland Security ............................... 324 

National Defense Industrial Association and Professional Services Council .................................................................................................................... 327 

National Fusion Center Association ............................................................... 328 

Maj. General Arnold Punaro, USMC (Ret.) .................................................... 329 

Philip R. Reitinger ............................................................................................ 330 

Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, Former Secretaries of Homeland Security .................................................................................................................. 331 
Page

IV 

Statements for the Record from—Continued 

Security Industry Association .......................................................................... 333 

Bennie Thompson, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security ................................................................................................. 334 

Women in Cyber ............................................................................................... 335 
(1) 

1The prepared statement of Senator Johnson appears in the Appendix on page 49. 

NOMINATION OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Hoeven, Daines, 

McCaskill, Carper, Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JOHNSON1

Chairman JOHNSON. This hearing will come to order. 

Good morning. We are meeting today to consider the nomination 

of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be the next Secretary of the United States 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I want to welcome Ms. 

Nielsen, her family, and our two distinguished Senators who will 

be making introductions a little bit later on. I certainly want to call 

out Mrs. Karen Kelly, General Kelly’s wife. She is here also showing her support for the nominee. I know Ms. Nielsen will introduce 

her family in her opening statement. 

America is facing enormous challenges. Our national debt exceeds $20 trillion, and there is no serious effort being made—by either party—to significantly reduce the 30-year projected deficits 

that are currently expected to exceed $100 trillion. 

Our enemies are on the rise. Russia continues to destabilize its 

neighbors and has partnered with Iran to increase both countries’ 

influence in the Middle East. The Iranian Nuclear Agreement did 

modify Iran’s behavior—for the worse. North Korea remains determined to develop the capability to target the United States with 

nuclear weapons. And the threat of Islamist terrorism has evolved, 

metastasized, and spread all over the world—including to our 

homeland. 

The challenges facing the next Secretary of the Department of 

Homeland Security are equally daunting. 

We have just experienced unprecedented destruction caused by 

three hurricanes and multiple wildfires. DHS and the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), together with their budgets, are already stretched thin responding to these disasters. 
2 

As the use of the Internet spreads and increases, so do the 

threats posed by social media-inspired acts of terrorism, hacking, 

and cyber attacks. 

This Committee has held more than 20 hearings laying out the 

sad reality that our borders are far from secure. As a result, illegal 

immigration persists, illicit drugs flow virtually unabated, and we 

are more vulnerable than we should be to external forces. 

Unfortunately, enemies from within may currently pose our 

greatest danger. Five years ago, on August 5, 2012, evil struck in 

Oak Creek, Wisconsin, when six worshipers were senselessly 

slaughtered at a Sikh temple. Since then, the list of mass killings 

has persistently and depressingly grown. I am going to read a list. 

December 14, 2012: 26 killed, 2 wounded at an elementary school 

in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. 

April 15, 2013: 3 killed, 264 wounded in a bombing at the Boston 

Marathon. 

September 16, 2013: 12 killed, 8 wounded at the Navy Yard here 

in Washington, DC. 

April 2, 2014: 3 killed, 12 wounded at Fort Hood, Texas, 5 years 

after an even deadlier shooting that took 13 lives and injured 30 

others. 

April 13, 2014: three killed at a Jewish community center in 

Overland Park, Kansas. 

May 23, 2014: 6 killed, 14 wounded near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

May 17, 2015: 9 killed, 18 wounded in a motorcycle gang fight 

at a restaurant in Waco, Texas. 

June 17, 2015: nine killed, one wounded at the Emanuel African 

Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. 

July 16, 2015: five killed, two wounded at a military recruiting 

center and a Naval Reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

October 1, 2015: nine killed, nine wounded at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. 

November 27, 2015: three killed, nine wounded outside a clinic 

in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

December 2, 2015: 14 killed, 24 wounded at a Christmas party 

in San Bernardino, California. 

June 12, 2016: 49 killed, at least 68 wounded at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 

July 7, 2016: 5 police officers killed, 11 wounded near a parking 

garage in Dallas, Texas. 

July 17, 2016: three police officers killed and three more officers 

wounded at a shopping plaza in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

January 6, 2017: five killed, six wounded at the airport in Fort 

Lauderdale, Florida. 

October 1, 2017: 58 killed, 546 wounded at a music concert in 

Las Vegas, Nevada. 

October 31, 2017: 8 killed, 12 wounded along a bicycle path in 

New York City. 

November 5, 2017, just last Sunday: 26 killed and at least 20 

wounded in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 

During that list, I just called out the deaths of 262 Americans, 

more than 1,000 wounded. I would like to just take a moment of 

silence to reflect and remember those victims and their families. 
3 

1The letter of General Kelly appear in the Appendix on page 324. 

2The letter of Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff appear in the Appendix on page 331. 

3The letter of former Federal officials appear in the Appendix on page 311. 

4The prepared statement of Senator McCaskill appears in the Appendix on page 51. 

[Moment of silence.] 

Later Sunday evening, my 34-year-old daughter asked me the 

questions we are all asking ourselves: ‘‘What is happening? Why is 

this happening? What can we do about it?’’ 

Those are the questions the next Department of Homeland Security Secretary will be asked to address. It will not be an easy task. 

The Department of Homeland Security employs approximately 

240,000 people and manages a budget of $66 billion. It is a Department created by fusing 22 separate agencies with diverse missions. 

The result has been a Department that has struggled to unify its 

efforts and manage a workforce with habitually low morale relative 

to other Federal agencies. 

Fortunately, when Ms. Nielsen served under Secretary Kelly, she 

witnessed firsthand how quickly and dramatically morale can be 

improved within DHS by providing its workforce the authority and 

support they need to perform the tasks they were hired to do. 

In my conversation with General Kelly, he called Ms. Nielsen a 

‘‘superstar.’’ He has sent this Committee a letter of endorsement.1

We have also received a letter of endorsement from former DHS 

Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff,2 as well as a letter 

from 40 former White House and homeland security Federal officials. I ask consent that these letters be entered in the record.3

Ms. Nielsen, I thank you for your past service and your willingness to serve again, and I look forward to your testimony. 

With that, I will turn it over to our Ranking Member, Senator 

McCaskill. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR McCASKILL4

Senator MCCASKILL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you 

holding this hearing, and I thank the nominee for her willingness 

to serve. 

Today we convene to perform one of our most important constitutional functions: to provide advice and consent for the President’s 

nominee for senior positions in our government. On October 16, 

2017, President Trump nominated Ms. Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Recent events have only reinforced the 

need for the Department to have strong, permanent leadership. 

American citizens in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other regions have had their lives and livelihoods upended by hurricanes. Out west, raging wildfires have forced thousands of families from their homes. Record-breaking floods have 

ravaged communities across my home State of Missouri. And last 

week, New York City suffered its most deadly terrorist attack since 

September 11, 2001 (9/11). 

In times of crisis, the American people come together, and they 

crave leadership that brings us together. DHS plays a critical role 

in ensuring that the Federal Government provides that leadership 

and supports that effort. 

If confirmed as Secretary, Ms. Nielsen will lead the third largest 

department in the Federal Government, oversee a workforce that 
4 

includes more than 240,000 employees and contractors, and coordinate 22 separate components, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 

Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. 

While I was already aware of Ms. Nielsen’s intellect and work 

ethic as well as her expertise in cybersecurity and preparedness, I 

appreciated the chance to discuss the other qualities she would 

bring to DHS in our meeting yesterday. My hope is that today’s 

hearing will explore some of the challenges currently facing DHS 

and that will confront her if she is confirmed. 

For example, I look forward to learning how Ms. Nielsen plans 

to improve the counterterrorism capabilities despite the dramatic 

cuts included in the President’s budget. 

I want to know what steps Ms. Nielsen will take to stop the illegal flow of drugs and contraband through our ports of entry (POEs) 

in spite of the failure of the budget to address the need for more 

Border Patrol officers that serve at our ports of entry. 

I would like to hear how Ms. Nielsen has and will apply lessons 

learned from Hurricane Katrina and recent disasters to improve 

the oversight of DHS contracting practices in crisis situations. 

I also hope that Ms. Nielsen will share her priorities for counteracting violent extremism and for protecting our cyber and election 

infrastructure from foreign actors. 

Perhaps most importantly, I want to learn about the management experience and philosophy that Ms. Nielsen plans to bring to 

DHS. It is, in fact, judgment, management experience, and philosophy that she will have the most important duties because, of 

course, she will try to surround herself with department heads and 

other high-ranking officials that will do the day-to-day operation of 

the Department. 

No one that has served as DHS Secretary has had perfect knowledge of the breadth and depth of issues facing the Department. I 

certainly think Ms. Nielsen is very knowledgeable and has great 

breadth and depth of the policies and issues facing the Department. But the Secretary must also have the leadership, management, and communication skills to lead a complex and sprawling 

enterprise on day one. I hope Ms. Nielsen will discuss her strategies for promoting collaboration and efficiency among the various 

components within the agency and other Federal partners. 

I also want to know how Ms. Nielsen will build employee morale 

and ensure that whistleblowers can come forward to management, 

Congress, and the Inspector General (IG) to report waste, fraud, 

and abuse without fear of retaliation. 

Finally, and maybe most importantly, I hope to receive the public 

commitment from Ms. Nielsen that DHS will comply with oversight 

requests from all Members of this Committee, including several of 

mine that remain outstanding. 

Ms. Nielsen’s predecessor, General John Kelly, was willing to 

speak frankly, even when his message was one that would not be 

particularly well received. It was the thing I found most qualifying 

of General Kelly for the position that he held and the position he 

currently holds. Under his leadership, DHS was willing to answer 
5 

requests for information from both the majority and the minority 

and, while not perfect, was far more responsive than many other 

departments. We have a constitutional duty to perform oversight of 

the Department, and I would like to continue the cooperation that 

General Kelly showed to the majority and minority Members of 

this Committee. 

The Department of Homeland Security is comprised of thousands 

of talented and dedicated Americans who work every day to keep 

us safe. They develop and implement counterterrorism and 

cybersecurity policy. They defend our border and ports of entry. 

They administer our immigration laws, protect our national leaders 

and critical infrastructure, and execute disaster preparedness and 

response. We must continue to ensure that these public servants 

have the support necessary to succeed in their mission, and I look 

forward to working with Ms. Nielsen in that effort should she be 

confirmed as our Nation’s sixth Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator McCaskill. 

Now we have two of our distinguished colleagues who will offer 

some words of introduction and support for Ms. Nielsen. Senator 

Portman. 

Senator PORTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am going to yield, if it is OK, 

to Senator Rubio, who has to go run and enhance the child tax 

credit because I need to stay here for the hearing in any case. 

Chairman JOHNSON. We will start with Senator Rubio then. Senator Portman. 

TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE MARCO RUBIO, A UNITED 

STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA 

Senator RUBIO. Thank you, Senator Portman. To Mr. Chairman, 

the Ranking Member and the Members of the Committee, I am 

honored to be here today to introduce a fellow Floridian, Kirstjen 

Nielsen, as the President’s nominee to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Ms. Nielsen grew up in Clearwater, which is in Pinellas County, 

Florida, and among her many professional experiences, began here 

in the U.S. Senate where she served on the staff of former Florida 

Senator Connie Mack. On that staff, she worked on defense, aviation, and foreign affairs issues, which are matters that are not only 

important to our home State of Florida but also critical matters for 

the national security of our country. 

She has a long and distinguished career in homeland security 

matters that spans more than two decades, earning a nationally respected reputation. She is an internationally recognized expert in 

resiliency and risk management, critical infrastructure, 

cybersecurity, and emergency management. 

We have before us a nominee to serve in this critical position 

who understands the extraordinary and wide range of homeland security-related challenges and the ever evolving threats we as Americans face, including hurricane preparedness and response, combating illicit international drug trafficking, and ensuring safe and 

efficient air travel. 

Ms. Nielsen recently served as the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief of Staff under then-Secretary Kelly, and during that 
6 

1The letter of Secretary Kelly appears in the Appendix on page 324. 

2The prepared statement of Senator Portman appears in the Appendix on page 55. 

time I had the opportunity to get to know her better while working 

with Secretary Kelly on a number of homeland security issues. I 

would like to read a short excerpt from a letter in support of 

Ms. Nielsen’s nomination from General Kelly, who could not be 

here with us to help introduce her because he is currently traveling 

with the President in Asia. He wrote in part the following to this 

Committee: 

‘‘You have read of Kirstjen’s accomplishments and her polished 

resume. You have heard the accolades of her success and devotion 

to duty. What truly sets Kirstjen apart is her integrity, sense of 

service to our Nation, and dedication to the men and women who 

risk their lives serving our great country every day. She is undoubtedly qualified to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland Security, and I implore the Committee to ensure a swift confirmation 

for the sake of our Nation.’’ 

Mr. Chairman, I would ask, if appropriate, that the full letter, 

which I have here, from former Secretary Kelly be entered into the 

hearing record.1

Chairman JOHNSON. Without objection. 

Senator RUBIO. Aside from Ms. Nielsen’s impressive qualifications, I know her to be prepared for challenges, devoted to finding 

solutions, and committed to working with us here in Congress to 

ensure a safe and secure homeland. 

I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to introduce this 

well-qualified nominee, and I truly hope that the Committee will 

quickly move forward with her nomination and that the Senate will 

soon confirm her as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. 

I thank you again. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Rubio. Senator 

Portman. 

TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE ROB PORTMAN,2 A UNITED 

STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF OHIO 

Senator PORTMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you 

and Senator McCaskill giving me the privilege of being able to introduce the nominee today. Kirstjen Nielsen is, as was just said by 

my colleague Senator Rubio, so qualified for this job. I must say, 

Mr. Chairman, when you laid out the challenges we face, it is sobering, and we need to have somebody with the experience and 

qualifications that she has, and we need that right now. 

Before commenting further on her distinguished career and 

qualifications, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge fellow 

Ohioan and Acting Secretary Elaine Duke for her service. She took 

over the Secretary duties at a challenging time and has displayed 

leadership and dignity. I know she has worked closely with you, 

Mr. Chairman, the Ranking Member, and others. 

Kirstjen is not a native Ohioan like Ms. Duke, but I am equally 

excited to introduce her this morning. We served concurrently at 

the White House in the George W. Bush Administration where she 

was a trusted hand in the formative years of the Homeland Secu-
7 

rity Council as Senior Director for Prevention, Preparedness, and 

Response. I saw a decade ago a professional dedicated to public 

service and the mission of securing the homeland, just as I see that 

today in her actions more recently at Homeland Security and at the 

White House. I am delighted again that she is stepping forward to 

take on this responsibility. 

I appreciated the opportunity to sit down with her a couple of 

weeks ago to hear about her priorities for the Department of Homeland Security. It sounds like you all have done the same thing, and 

it is exciting, I think, to have someone with her energy and enthusiasm, work ethic, as was mentioned by Senator McCaskill, and her 

qualifications to do this. 

She has this Hill experience we talked about a moment ago. She 

also have private sector experience in the area of homeland security. I think most importantly perhaps, she is the first Department 

of Homeland Security Secretary nominee with previous experience 

at DHS. I think that is important given the serious challenges 

again you described for us, Chairman Johnson. 

With this homeland security expertise and experience from those 

transformative years for the Department and at the White House, 

her industry and homeland security consulting experience, and her 

most recent role in the Administration, she will be the kind of experienced and capable leader we need now in this ever evolving 

threat environment we find ourselves in. 

Most recently, of course, she served as Chief of Staff to Secretary 

John Kelly. She proved herself in the early stages of the Administration transition and saw firsthand the challenges of managing 

this diverse and sprawling agency. Senator McCaskill is right, it is 

a management challenge. She has seen firsthand those challenges. 

Throughout her career in government and the private sector, she 

has developed expertise in homeland security strategy, 

cybersecurity, transportation security, and emergency resilience. 

She speaks regularly about the need for resilience in our homeland 

security posture. I think that is incredibly important for the next 

Secretary. 

Mr. Chairman, you noted in your opening comments that the 

Committee received written introductions for this hearing from 

former DHS Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff. I know 

both regret they could not be here today in person, as does Secretary Kelly, to endorse Kirstjen’s nomination. But these leaders 

know what this job entails, and if I may, I would like to just briefly 

read a couple of excerpts from their letters and what they said 

about Kirstjen. 

‘‘Kirstjen,’’ according to Secretary Ridge, ‘‘has been engaged in 

counterterrorism, all-hazard risk mitigation, critical infrastructure 

protection and response policy from the earliest days of what we 

now know as homeland security. She brings operational experience 

as well, having managed the day-to-day operations of the Department. She has since served as Principal Deputy Chief of Staff at 

the White House charged with coordinating the interagency policymaking process at the highest levels with the Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries. Simply put, she is ready to hit the ground running 

on day one.’’ That is from Secretary Ridge. 
8 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Nielsen appears in the Appendix on page 57. 

From Secretary Michael Chertoff, he said this: ‘‘She played a key 

role in helping lead the lessons learned effort post Hurricane 

Katrina, informing and changing the way we have dealt with disaster preparation and response ever since. Kirstjen is a homeland 

security leader for our times. More than any previous Secretary, 

she understands the 21st Century challenges of a borderless cyber 

domain and has worked in both the public and private sectors to 

address this deeply interconnected and consequential risk to America’s national security and economic stability. Kirstjen offers our 

Nation the credentials required of a Secretary in today’s environment, experience, expertise in homeland security policy and operations, national and international perspective, and public and private sector experience in the mission space.’’ 

Mr. Chairman, I echo those strong sentiments. I believe her work 

ethic, her experience, and her leadership is what is needed at 

Homeland Security, and needed now. I am sure we are going to 

have a fruitful discussion with the nominee today. I look forward 

to asking a few questions myself. I hope we can move this nomination very quickly out of Committee and through the Senate so we 

can get her to work as the next Secretary of Homeland Security at 

a critical time. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Portman. 

Ms. Nielsen, it is the tradition of this Committee to swear in witnesses, so if you would please stand and raise your right hand. Do 

you swear that the testimony you will give before this Committee 

will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so 

help you, God? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Please be seated. 

Kirstjen Nielsen is currently the Principal Deputy Chief of Staff 

to President Trump and prior to that was the Chief of Staff to 

then-Secretary John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Nielsen served in the Bush Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director in the White House 

Homeland Security Council from 2004 to 2007. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign 

Service and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. 

Ms. Nielsen. 

TESTIMONY OF KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN,1 TO BE SECRETARY, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member 

McCaskill, and distinguished Members of the Committee, it is an 

honor to appear before you today as you consider my nomination 

to lead the Department of Homeland Security. I am humbled and 

grateful to the President for the trust he has placed in me to lead 

the great men and women of the Department during such a critical 

time. 

I want to thank Senators Rubio and Portman for their kind 

words and introductions. Thank you also to former Secretaries 

Ridge and Chertoff for their statements. It was an honor to serve 
9 

and work with them, and I look forward to their continued partnership and stewardship of our homeland security enterprise. Finally, 

I want to thank former Secretary, now Chief of Staff, General Kelly 

for his leadership, example, and 46 years of steadfast service to our 

Nation. 

If I could, please allow me just a moment to introduce the members of my family who are here with me today: my father, James; 

my sister, Ashley; my aunt and uncle, Trevor and Mary Ellen Burton; and one of my cousins, Andrew Bragg, who managed to get 

here from Germany. I would also like to thank Mrs. Kelly for her 

support and for being here for me today. 

I was raised to believe in our country and its founding principles 

and ideals, to serve our country, and to appreciate and be thankful 

every day for the freedoms we hold dear as Americans. I am beyond grateful to my family for the values they have instilled in me 

and their unwavering love and support throughout my life. Thank 

you all for your continued encouragement and for traveling so far 

to be here today. 

If confirmed as the next Secretary of Homeland Security, it will 

be the greatest honor to again work with and support the remarkable men and women of the Department. I just simply cannot say 

enough about the incredible work of the people of DHS, many of 

whom put their lives on the line daily to ensure the safety and security of our Nation. 

Over more than two decades, I have dedicated my career to 

working on homeland security issues. After working on security 

issues for Senator Connie Mack, I practiced corporate transactional 

law during which time I learned how private sector operations are 

directly affected by organizational structures and delineation of 

roles and responsibilities. My service in the Executive Branch 

began in 2002 at the Transportation Security Administration. It 

was an honor to work alongside the countless public servants who 

stood up TSA and tackled the very tough security challenges that 

we faced after the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001 and who 

then later helped to stand up the Department of Homeland Security. 

I was subsequently commissioned by President Bush to serve as 

a Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and as 

Senior Director for Preparedness, Prevention, and Response. 

Charged with interagency policy development and coordination, I 

led the development of new national strategies and policies, articulating the roles of all levels of government and the private sector 

in protecting our Nation. During this time the Nation experienced 

the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina along the gulf coast. 

Based on the lessons identified from that response, I led the update 

and revisions to our disaster response planning and recovery planning to strengthen our efforts moving into the future. I worked 

with Congress to draft the Post Katrina Emergency Management 

Reform Act and co-authored the White House Katrina lessons 

learned report. As we have seen again during this year’s severe 

hurricane and wildfire season, DHS plays a crucial role in disaster 

preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery working closely 

with public and private sector partners. I have worked closely with 

all facets of our emergency preparedness community, and should I 
10 

be confirmed, I look forward to helping to ensure our Nation’s resilience to natural disasters, terrorist attacks. and other major emergencies. 

While each aspect of the Department’s mission is important—and 

as has been mentioned, there are many—I believe one of the most 

significant for our Nation’s future is cybersecurity and the overall 

security and resilience of our Nation’s critical infrastructure. The 

scope and pace of cyber attacks against our Federal networks and 

the control systems that run our critical infrastructure are continually increasing, with attacks growing ever more complex. Cyber 

criminals and nation-states are constantly looking for ways to exploit our hyperconnectivity and our reliance on information technology systems. My cybersecurity experience in both the private 

and public sector has prepared me well for the multifaceted challenge that is increasing our resilience to cyber attacks. I look forward to working with experts at the Department and within the 

interagency and the private sector to address threats, protect our 

networks and essential functions, and secure our Nation’s interests 

in cyberspace. 

At the start of the current Administration, I also had the honor 

of serving as Chief of Staff at DHS under then-Secretary Kelly. 

During that time I worked closely with State and local officials, 

Cabinet Secretaries, foreign partners, and Members of Congress on 

all of the issues that DHS faces. I had the opportunity to develop 

strong working relationships with DHS leadership and helped to 

develop many of the Department’s current key priorities and strategies. 

Our Nation today is facing a complex threat landscape that is 

constantly evolving. The threats we face are too many and too varied for one entity to address them successfully alone. I understand 

the risks and the resulting challenges the Department is tasked 

with resolving, and I am eager to get to work with all of DHS’s 

partners—domestic and international from all sectors—to find solutions. 

If confirmed, I pledge to continue the record of exceptional leadership that General Kelly and Acting Secretary Duke have established at DHS. I vow to the men and women of DHS, to you, and 

to the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on DHS every 

day to work tirelessly to effectively execute each mission at the Department. I will work every day to enforce our laws; secure our borders, coasts, and waterways; and protect Americans from dangerous criminals, terrorists, cyber attacks, and the other threats 

facing our homeland. Together we will continue such efforts as 

those initiated by Secretary Jeh Johnson through his Unity of Effort Initiative to unite the Department and remove unnecessary 

stovepipes. I also pledge to work every day to give the dedicated 

men and women of the Department the support, tools, and resources they need, and deserve, to carry out their difficult—and 

often dangerous—missions. 

Thank you all again for the opportunity to appear before you 

today. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to partnering with 

each of you, the Committee, and the full Congress to protect and 

secure our homeland. I look forward to answering any of the Committee’s questions. 
11 

1The questionnaire referenced by Senator McCaskill appears in the Appendix on page 148. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Ms. Nielsen. 

There are three questions the Committee asks of every nominee 

for the record. The first question is: Is there anything you are 

aware of in your background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to which you have been nominated? 

Ms. NIELSEN. No. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Do you know of anything, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably 

discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been 

nominated? 

Ms. NIELSEN. No. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Do you agree without reservation to comply 

with any request or summons to appear and testify before any duly 

constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Without reservation. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you. 

I will defer my questions until the very end, but we do have a 

request for a second round of questions, which I am happy to accommodate. 

I also want to make sure that those who do not stick around get 

a full hearing, so I will set the timer for 7 minutes, but I am going 

to be very mindful of that, and I am going to discipline that. 

Please, Members, do not be asking questions to the very end. If you 

do, I will just ask Ms. Nielsen to submit her answer for the record. 

With that, I will turn it over to Senator McCaskill. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will do my best 

to make the 7 minutes. You scared me to death just then. I feel 

like there is an electric shock that is going to run through my body 

if I go over 7 minutes. [Laughter.] 

I know that you revised your questionnaire last night, and I 

want to make sure we get that on the record.1 What you have done 

is you have gone through and clarified in the questionnaires both 

for the majority and the minority that you would comply without 

reservation for any request to appear and that you would without 

reservation make any subordinate official available to appear and 

testify. You agree without reservation to completely, fully, and 

promptly respond to any requests for documents from any duly constituted committee of the Congress if you are confirmed. You went 

on to do the same thing in the minority. I just want to get that 

on the record that there was some confusion in some of the answers to your previous questionnaire that you, like your predecessor, understand that you have a duty to respond to oversight requests, whether they come from the majority or the minority. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Thank you very much. 

I want to read a quote from your predecessor about the wall, and 

it was as follows: ‘‘It is unlikely that we will build a wall or physical barrier from sea to shining sea,’’ Kelly testified to this Committee. ‘‘We are not going to build a wall where it does not make 

sense, but we will do something across the Southwest Border.’’ 

Do you agree with General Kelly in that regard? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 
12 

Senator MCCASKILL. Whistleblowers. I am a big believer that 

there must be whistleblower protection. Can you briefly address 

how you feel about whistleblowers and protecting them from retaliation within the Department? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I would be happy to. I would do, should I be 

confirmed, everything in my power to ensure that there is no retaliation. I feel that whistleblowers are a very important part of the 

way that our democracy functions. I was very happy that recently 

the President signed into law another whistleblower act. Of course, 

it was greatly due to the Chairman’s efforts. But I believe within 

each department we need to ensure not only that there is an environment of trust and respect, but that there is a safe place for 

voices to be heard. It is vital that we understand any concerns of 

employees. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Let me also address contracting after disasters. We are all very worried about all the Americans. For the first 

time, I believe, in my lifetime, we have been unable to restore basic 

living necessities to thousands of Americans for weeks now. I am 

confident you will get other questions about Puerto Rico, but I 

want to specifically hone in on contracting. 

You have awarded more than $2 billion in contracts, twice the 

amount of contracting activity the agency typically conducts in an 

entire year, just since Hurricane Harvey struck. What circumstances do you think it is appropriate to award no-bid contracts? And what could you do to prepare the agency with contracts 

that have been competed that could slide into place in the aftermath of a disaster? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you for the question. This is an area, should 

I be confirmed, that I really would like to work with Congress on. 

We need flexibility, accountability, and agility in these contracts. In 

some cases, we need to adjust the rules such that we can get the 

needed mission assignments, needed supplies to the people. But we 

have to make sure there is accountability and that we have checks 

and balances and internal controls. I am not fully aware of every 

particular avenue that FEMA has perceived or pursued, but I think 

what we need to be aware of is the innovation needs to be balanced 

with accountability. 

Senator MCCASKILL. What I am looking to hear is that generally 

you have a bias against noncompete contracts. 

Ms. NIELSEN. I think it is a last resort, in my opinion. If it is 

life and death, there might be some circumstance that I—— 

Senator MCCASKILL. But that is my point. What I really hope 

happens is that you begin a comprehensive effort. We know these 

disasters are coming. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator MCCASKILL. We know that there are going to be natural 

disasters across our country. All we have to do is look what is going 

on, and I believe a lot of this is climate. That is for another day 

and another discussion. But in order to have standby contracts that 

can be competed, that takes leadership from DHS and FEMA. Of 

course, you have to do a no-bid contract if you have nothing prepared for the moment where you have to have thousands of people 

restoring electricity. 
13 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. I agree. I think we need to have better modeling, and based on that modeling and understanding of the potential consequences, we need to work with State, local, tribal, and 

territorial governments to have those contracts in place pre-disaster. That is a much more effective way to do that. 

Senator MCCASKILL. You and I discussed yesterday one of my 

biggest concerns is our ports. My colleague to the left here, Senator 

Portman, Senator Hassan and Senator Johnson, and many of the 

others, all of us are so concerned about the public health crisis that 

grips our Nation in terms of the death toll from opioids. We know 

that a lot of this is coming in fact, I think if we really did a close 

analysis, we would see more of it is coming in through the ports 

than across the border in terms of opioids, especially fentanyl. 

Meanwhile we are adding more Border Patrol officers on the border, agents on the border, when we cannot fill the positions we 

have, and we are cutting port officers where we desperately need 

more manpower. They are thousands of folks short. 

I am quickly approaching where I am going to get electric shock, 

but I would like you to address and make a commitment that you 

will look at this imbalance and address it, that we are actually potentially overloading the Border Patrol and ignoring the ports. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Senator, you have my commitment. I look forward, 

should I be confirmed, to working with the folks at CBP, understanding their operational needs on the border. As you know and 

we talked about, it is a combination of both personnel and technology. We also have to remember that technology can always 

serve also as a force multiplier if implemented and executed correctly. 

We need to move with the times, so we need to understand 

where and how the drugs are coming in, the best combination of 

resources, which includes personnel, to combat that. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. How did you like that? Look at that, 

3 seconds. 

Chairman JOHNSON. I appreciate it. But for the record, I only 

really threatened a light tap of the gavel. [Laughter.] 

Senator Portman. 

Senator PORTMAN. First, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your indulgence letting us have the opportunity to ask some questions before you because I know you are going to have a lot yourself. 

First, welcome, and, again, we are delighted that you are stepping up to take on this incredibly important role. One of the things 

that was mentioned earlier was congressional oversight. There has 

been frustration expressed in this Committee over my tenure on 

this Committee of the last several years that we do not get the 

kind of responses that we need to be able to do effective oversight. 

This is not a partisan issue, and it should not be. And as the Chair 

of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), we have 

worked on a totally bipartisan basis, and we have done some good 

work, but it requires the Administration to be responsive. 

I would say that it might be helpful for me to give you a specific 

example rather than just sort of talk generally about it, and it has 

to do with what Senator McCaskill talked about earlier, which is 

this ability for us to focus on the supply side with drugs coming 
14 

into our country. We are doing an investigation, and I am not going 

to get into detail about the investigation because we tend to keep 

those nonpublic at PSI. But we are trying to get information from 

the front lines as to what is happening with regard to looking at 

packages. 

We know fentanyl is the No. 1 killer now in my home State of 

Ohio. It is increasingly the drug that is even pushing out heroin 

and other opioids. It is a synthetic drug. It is inexpensive. Most of 

it comes from China. Most of it comes through the mail system. 

Private carriers, as you know, have to provide this advance electronic data, which we will talk about in a second. The Postal Service does not; therefore, traffickers use the Postal Service. 

We want to know: How can we stop this poison from coming into 

our communities? And we all on this Committee have focused on 

the demand side. That is important, prevention, education, treatment, and recovery. But we also know that if we can stop this poison from coming in, it will save lives and at a minimum raise costs 

for these street drugs. 

We want to interview the online people who are actually doing 

the inspection of packages at John F. Kennedy (JFK), at your other 

sites where you have the post office bringing in overseas packages. 

We were told by DHS, no, those are too low level people, you have 

to interview the supervisors. We persist, but they continue to say 

no. So we say, OK, we will interview the supervisors. We interviewed the supervisors. They do not have the information for us. 

In fact, I will tell you, even the supervisors—one of them, at least, 

refused to look at the emails to be able to provide us some responsive answers, which was frustrating. But you know what they told 

us? You need to talk to the online people. 

DHS refuses to allow us to talk to the online people. We go to 

the supervisors at their request. The supervisors say we really do 

not have the firsthand knowledge, you need to talk to the folks on 

the front line. 

I just wanted to give you that as a very specific, real-time concern that we have right now in the PSI Subcommittee, and I think 

if Senator Carper were here, he would echo my concerns. He is the 

ranking Democrat on that Subcommittee. We do not want to have 

to go to subpoenas, but we will. I would just like the commitment 

that you expressed to me in private in our meeting about this 

broad topic that you will work with us to enhance the responsiveness of the Department. It is a big, sprawling Department with a 

lot of management challenges and a lot of layers. We want the commitment that you will work with this Committee, which is the 

Committee vested with the responsibility for providing oversight 

over DHS to respond to congressional inquiries. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, Senator, for that question. You have 

my commitment. I think that, as we discussed, there is no more 

important partnership perhaps with a large Department with its 

large scope to be very clear with respect to the policies regarding 

oversight and transparency. I believe those are keys not only to 

leadership but to the effective partnership that is required to combat the threats today. You would have my commitment that any 

question that you have, we would be responsive and provide you 
15 

the information you need to do your job, which in turn helps us to 

do our job. 

Senator PORTMAN. I think sending a message from the top is 

very important, and I think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 

would appreciate that. 

On this issue of drugs coming into the country, let me ask you 

about a specific legislative initiative. Most Members of this Committee have been involved in what is called the STOP Act. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator PORTMAN. That simply says that with regard to private 

carriers, you have to have the advance electronic data as to what 

is in the package, where it is from, and where it is going. That 

helps law enforcement, CBP in particular, to be able to identify 

those packages and stop some of this poison coming in. I have seen 

this at facilities with these private carriers, UPS facilities, DHL facilities, or the same thing at FedEx facilities. 

At the post office there is not that requirement through the Postal Service. In 2002, this Congress required the private carriers to 

do it and said the post office should, too. We are going to give them 

some time. Let us have a report. That was 15 years ago. Even 

today, the post office is pushing back. 

What I would like to hear today from you is your commitment 

to getting this legislation through. It is very simple. It says the 

post office has to require the same advance electronic data so that 

your folks can actually identify this poison coming in. When we 

talk to CBP, of course, they are very interested in having this legislation passed. They need this tool. When we talk to the postal inspectors, same thing. When we talk to local law enforcement, same 

thing. 

The legislation has not moved, in part because the post office has 

pushed back. In the last 2 weeks, the Commission that the President formed on opioids specifically recommended passage of the 

STOP Act. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator PORTMAN. Now the Administration is sort of on record 

officially. Can you give us your commitment today that you will 

support the STOP Act and help us to get this legislative fix in this 

one area completed so that we can begin to make progress in keeping the supply of these drugs out of this country. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I also look forward, should I be confirmed, 

to providing any technical assistance that is necessary to make 

sure that we can implement it effectively, working with the U.S. 

Post Office and working with Customs and Border Patrol to ensure 

that they have the resources and personnel they need to play their 

part. 

Senator PORTMAN. Thank you. I have so many other questions. 

I will for the record ask some questions with regard to security in 

the faith community because this is one of the issues that we continue to struggle with. I will also be asking some questions on the 

management side per our discussion earlier about the complexity 

of the challenge that you have, and particularly workforce management. But, again, we appreciate the fact that you are here today 

as a nominee with your experience and your background to be able 

to help during a critical time. 
16 

And, Mr. Chairman, please note that I am yielding back 38 seconds. 

Chairman JOHNSON. I will note that I really appreciate that. 

Senator Tester. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TESTER 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Senator Portman, for yielding back, 

and I will utilize those 38 seconds. No, just kidding. 

First of all, thank you for being here, and thank you for your 

willingness to serve. I am assuming you will get confirmed. Hopefully, Montana will be on your docket for places to visit so we can 

look at a number of things that your agency impacts in rural America—border security, airport security, and the like. Along the lines 

of airport security, the Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement 

Grants, are you familiar with those at all? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I am sorry. Could you repeat it? 

Senator TESTER. Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement 

Grants. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Law enforcement, yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. OK. It is a program to help local law enforcement agencies to secure local airports. I think it is a really important program, just to let the cat out of the bag on what I believe 

about it. The Administration would have eliminated this program 

through their budget. I think it puts a whole bunch of things at 

risk by doing that because terrorists tend to go to the weakest link, 

and I think it provides opportunity for a lot of weak links. 

My crack staff tells me that the program is still at risk of elimination by the Administration. I want to know what your view is 

on those, and then I will have a follow-up. Go ahead. 

Ms. NIELSEN. OK. Thank you, sir. Should I be confirmed, it is 

certainly something I would want to look into because, as you 

know, there is a mix of ways in which the Department of Homeland Security can work with State and local officials. The areas 

surrounding the secure area at airports is particularly vulnerable. 

It is a soft target. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. NIELSEN. You can walk in without screening. There is more 

that we need to do. DHS can provide training. They can provide information. What I would say is, yes, you have my commitment. 

There is a combination of resources that DHS needs to provide and 

work with State and local officials. 

Senator TESTER. Good. I would tell you that I think that in the 

end, whether it is called a different program or not, but small-airport security is just as important as big-airport security. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. I would hope you would fight hard for that. 

REAL ID, it is an issue that the Senator from Oklahoma and I 

have in common. I will speak for myself. He will follow up later. 

But I have never been a big fan. There are a number of reasons 

why. I think we can get this pounded out, but it is going to require 

some visiting, some bipartisan visiting with a number of Senators 

to be able to make this work so that we do not end up doing things 

like in Montana, having a REAL ID that costs the citizenry additional dollars. 
17 

I just need your commitment that you would be willing to work 

with us on this issue to try to move it forward, and like I said, it 

would be in a bipartisan manner—— 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. Where we would come together to 

get the solution, because it has been around as long as I have been 

here. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. It is a problem. 

Border security, a big issue. I am sorry I was not here earlier, 

so if I am asking you questions that have been already been asked 

on this, forgive me. The President has been an advocate for a wall 

on the Southern Border. As you well know, I serve as Ranking 

Member on the Appropriations Homeland Security Committee also 

besides this Committee. The question I have is: From your perspective, No. 1, I assume you have been on the Southern Border? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. You have seen it. What is your view on a wall? 

And what is your view on technology? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. First of all, I just would like to, if I could, 

quote something Senator McCaskill said at the beginning. The 

President has stated, as have my predecessors at DHS—certainly 

something that I share—there is no need for a wall ‘‘from sea to 

shining sea.’’ What we need to do is work with the operators. 

Should I be confirmed, I would look forward to speaking with State 

and local officials, those on the ground, both law enforcement and 

Federal law enforcement, to include CBP, to understand where we 

need some sort of physical barrier. 

Technology, as you know, plays a key part, and we cannot forget 

it. There is a lot that we can do with technology to help secure our 

border. 

Senator TESTER. In a much more cost-effective way, too, I might 

add. There was a report that was due by your office August 3, I 

believe, on a comprehensive review of what the plan is for the border. Today I did not ask my staff this morning, but we have not 

received it. That may be one of the reasons we have not marked 

up that homeland security appropriations bill. 

I guess, could you see if you could—assuming you get confirmed—put the gas on the pedal to get that? Because I think it 

is really important that we have a plan that we do not back into 

the plan, that we actually have a plan moving forward for the 

Southern Border. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I do think the plan, which I look forward 

to seeing should I be confirmed, also needs to be linked in the appropriate way to any appropriation or any other—— 

Senator TESTER. Oh, absolutely. I agree with you 100 percent. 

Ms. NIELSEN. I understand the need for it. 

Senator TESTER. Do you have any plans off the top of your 

head—and you could use the last 2 minutes I have, but I do not 

want you to—on port security, what needs to be done there? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I think on port security what I would say is we just 

need to continue to evolve with the times, so everything from 

cybersecurity threats we now face to additional, perhaps more innovative ways in which the threats are being—— 
18 

Senator TESTER. Is there any technology that you know of right 

now that the ports do not have that they need? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I am aware of some additional screening equipment that we are looking at piloting and using at the borders. I am 

not aware of the constraints that a port environment might provide, but certainly we need the best and brightest both in terms of 

personnel and technology at the ports. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Thank you very much. I would like the 

Chairman to note that I yield back a minute and 13 seconds. 

Chairman JOHNSON. This is fabulous. [Laughter.] 

Senator Heitkamp. I think we all appreciate it, by the way. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HEITKAMP 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will not disappoint you. You know what is coming: a question on the Northern 

Border. 

Chairman JOHNSON. I know Senator Tester did. 

Senator HEITKAMP. The Northern Border Threat Analysis was 

released in July after our bipartisan legislation that Senator Kelly 

Ayotte and I cosponsored. Obviously, when we look at the Northern 

Border, it is 5,500 miles with a very historic and significant partner in terms of Canada. But that does not mean that we can ignore 

our Northern Border threat assessment. 

DHS has already committed to me that items such as improved 

facilities, better recruitment and retention, and better use of technology will be addressed in this strategy, but that strategy is only 

a first step. The implementation of the strategy must be prioritized 

during the budget process, and I am just going to ask you a series 

of yes or no questions. 

Will you, if confirmed, commit to pushing in the next DHS budget for sufficient funds to execute the Northern Border strategy, including funds to begin improving facilities, improving recruitment 

and retention at remote and rural locations, and smart investments 

in technology to improve domain awareness? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I will. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you. Will you commit to me that the 

Northern Border will be a priority of yours if you are confirmed? 

Ms. NIELSEN. It must be, yes. 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you. In order to fully understand, 

Montana and North Dakota share a border, so if you want to come 

to Montana, we will make it so that you come to Montana and 

North Dakota at the same time, and you will see that gap in border 

security that is particularly difficult in terms of recruitment and 

retention of staff and monitoring and securing the Northern Border 

facility. That would be that wide open space north of Minot all the 

way over through the Montana border. It is critically important 

that we get your commitment on the Northern Border issues. 

Another program within the Department of Homeland Security 

which I have taken a particular interest in is the countering violent 

extremism (CVE) section, and we have not heard a whole lot about 

it, but obviously, when the Chairman went through a number of 

those incidents, a number of those are really homemade, lone-wolf 

kinds of situations. We want to make sure that we have relationships within the organization and within the communities to avoid 
19 

radicalization. Will you commit to evaluating the CVE program at 

DHS and reporting back to us in 90 days on your initial plans regarding the program, its goals and its grants, and how you intend 

to prioritize the mission of this organization, which I think is a little at sea at the moment? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I do. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I think it is critically important, and I would 

just ask that you pay particular attention to that problem. 

I was struck by your opening statement where you announced, 

as we all do, that you believe in the principles of our founding documents and what constitutes our country. One of the great founding principles of our democracy is that we are a nation of laws. I 

think over the last couple of months we seem to find policies being 

announced in unconventional ways and policies being challenged in 

courts in ways that does not advance the goal of the Administration, in fact, just delays the goal of the Administration, but yet we 

are not sure who is doing the policy and how we can effect seamless integration and implementation if DHS is not involved. 

I want to give you an opportunity to respond to this question. If 

you are, in fact, confirmed and you determine that a policy announced from the White House, not DHS, is, in fact, potentially illegal and goes beyond what DHS is able to do within the confines 

of law or regulation, and is otherwise not in the best interest of 

DHS or the American public, will you take up and repeat the President’s statement of policy before Congress and the American people 

and bend the law or regulation to fit the policy that has been stated? Or will you tell the President and the White House that he has 

proposed limitations on his power and otherwise is outside the 

bounds of law and regulation and beyond what is good for, in fact, 

the Department? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you for the question, Senator. I fully intend 

in all cases and in all ways at all times to fully comply with all 

laws. I will expect the same of any employee or member of DHS. 

I also would answer your question yes, I would definitely tell the 

President if I thought a particular policy violated any laws of our 

country. But perhaps more importantly, it would be my intention 

at every instance to speak with him and other White House staff 

prior to any announcement of policy to make sure they understand 

both operational constraints, legal constraints, resource constraints, and the views and insights of other stakeholders that 

would need to be part of its implementation. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I think over the months we have had a suspicion that sometimes the right hand does not know what the left 

hand is doing. You come from roles that have been supportive, Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff kinds of roles. You are in a 

new role in this new job. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator HEITKAMP. That means that you have to represent the 

Constitution. You have to fulfill your constitutional obligations, and 

you have to be accountable to this Committee. I would appreciate 

ongoing dialogue and making sure that that commitment is actually carried forth. 

Thank you so much, and I would note that I have 48 seconds left 

on the clock. 
20 

Chairman JOHNSON. Duly noted. Senator Peters. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PETERS 

Senator PETERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Nielsen, thank 

you for being here before us today and for your willingness to serve 

in this capacity. I also wanted to thank you for the opportunity 

that we had to meet in my office to discuss a lot of very specific 

issues related to the State of Michigan, and I appreciate that opportunity. If confirmed, I would look forward to the opportunity to 

work with you on those going forward. 

But, Ms. Nielsen, we have seen an uptick in hate crimes across 

this country and in my State of Michigan recently. I am concerned 

that this Administration has failed to give these incidents the full 

weight and the attention that they certainly deserve. So I just have 

a few questions. 

First, do you condemn white nationalism and white supremacy? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Senator PETERS. Do you condemn anti-Semitism? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator PETERS. Do you condemn Islamophobia? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator PETERS. Ms. Nielsen, I ask because, if confirmed, your 

tone and rhetoric as the Secretary is, of course, going to be extremely important for the men and women that you lead as well 

as for all of the American people. Let me turn to an incident in 

Charlottesville, Virginia. Do you agree that the individual charged 

with the murder of Heather Heyer was a white nationalist or, at 

a minimum, guided by extremist ideology? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, as I understand it, that is the case. 

Senator PETERS. As the potential leader of a massive and diverse 

workforce, do you agree with the President’s comments related to 

the Charlottesville incident, namely, that there were some ‘‘fine 

people on both sides’’? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Sir, all I can say is what I believe and what I 

would do should I be confirmed, which is both that I disavow any 

form of violence—whether that is anti-Semitic, white supremacist, 

any kind of radicalization, anyone who chooses to espouse their 

views through violence—should I become the Secretary of Homeland Security, I would do all in my power to work with State and 

local governments and communities, both from an awareness perspective but also to provide that key information sharing that enables them to anticipate such threats. We cannot tolerate it as the 

United States. 

Senator PETERS. In the aftermath of Charlottesville, Americans 

are urging Congress to examine the threat of white nationalist violence and potentially broaden the scope of the current countering 

violent extremism programs. Nevertheless, many of our Nation’s 

leading civil rights and community groups, including the American 

Muslim communities, believe that the CVE program has been focused disproportionately on law enforcement-led outreach and it is 

flawed and counterproductive in many respect. 

Now, I want to be very clear. Law enforcement should, in my 

mind, continue to engage community leaders across the country. 

That is a very important element. However, this type of engage-
21 

ment should in some ways be decoupled, I think, from CVE efforts. 

Without adjustment, the current CVE approach often foments—and 

I have heard this from folks in my State—the perception of mistrust, perceptions that are routinely exacerbated, unfortunately, by 

divisive and very polarizing messaging coming out of the Trump 

Administration. 

My question is: What are your thoughts on reframing the DHS 

CVE mission to focus on engaging communities through a full 

range of government programs and Agencies, for example, integrating the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and others? If you could expand on your thoughts on dealing 

with this program, I would appreciate it. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I do believe it requires the full weight and 

strength of the U.S. Government. There are many different avenues in which we understand that individuals either become 

radicalized or find themselves on a path toward violence. The short 

answer is yes, should I be confirmed, I would work with the other 

Cabinets to utilize the tools and resources and information that 

they have. But I do believe the only way this works is to constructively and continually engage communities. We have to build that 

environment of trust and respect so that they feel that they can 

come forward in a safe way, not face retaliation, and have alternatives to an otherwise violent path. 

Senator PETERS. If confirmed, will you commit to studying this 

issue and include the perspective of America’s ethnic and religious 

minorities in that assessment as you are moving forward? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. Yes, sir. 

Senator PETERS. I appreciate that. 

As you know, Secretary Kelly visited my home State of Michigan 

very early in his tenure, which I appreciated that visit, particularly 

with the Arab American community, which is very large in the 

State of Michigan, and I would hope that you would commit to visiting Michigan as well given the concerns that have been expressed 

on a regular basis to me from that very large and vibrant and active community in the State of Michigan. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator PETERS. I appreciate that. 

Acting Secretary Duke said that she would provide this Committee with information related to the portion of the DHS budget 

that is spent on domestic terrorism versus international terrorism. 

Will you ensure that that happens, if confirmed? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I would. 

Senator PETERS. An Ohio man was charged with murder following the Charlottesville incident. The Department of Justice 

(DOJ), as you know, has also opened up an investigation. As you 

know, unlike international terrorism, there is currently no domestic terrorism statute on the books. Do you think legislation is required to address domestic terrorism? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Sir, it is a good question. As you know, I think 

many Americans in the wake of Charlottesville were surprised to 

learn that there is no such crime as domestic terrorism. That does 

not necessarily mean that the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

(FBI) and the Department of Justice and State and local law enforcement do not have laws and tools that they need. But should 
22 

I be confirmed, it would definitely be a conversation I would like 

to have early on with Director Wray and the Attorney General to 

ensure that we do have the tools that we need to prosecute such 

activity. 

Senator PETERS. Do you see any shortfalls now that you are concerned about? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Not that I am aware of now, no, sir, but I would 

intend to study them. 

Senator PETERS. But you do plan to have a thorough review of 

that? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator PETERS. Well, I would look forward to working with you 

on that as well to see what may potentially need to be done. 

Do you support laws and policies that allow police and other authorities to demand proof of citizenship or immigration status 

based on their perception that an individual might be undocumented? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do. I believe in enforcing the Federal immigration 

laws of the United States, and I defer to State and local laws, 

which I would also comply with and have any employee, should I 

be confirmed, who works with me comply with as well. 

Senator PETERS. In your support, just kind of a clarifying question, in your mind what would constitute reasonable suspicion? 

How would that differ from racial profiling? 

Ms. NIELSEN. It is a good question, and I would have to understand what the States would argue the difference would be. I would 

do that and be happy to report back to you after, should I be confirmed, or as a question for the record. 

Senator PETERS. Very good. Thank you. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Hassan. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Ms. 

Nielsen. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Good morning. 

Senator HASSAN. Congratulations on your nomination. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you very much for meeting with me in 

my office last week. I greatly appreciate it. 

Before I get to my first question, I will just add to the chorus of 

those of us who have States with a Northern Border that we are 

looking for real attention to the Northern Border report and the 

improvements we should be making on the Northern Border. 

But I wanted to start today just on the issue of our post caliphate strategy in combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 

(ISIS). As you have pointed out, as a former DHS Chief of Staff and 

as the current White House Chief of Staff, you are familiar with 

the current challenges of the Department and the nature of the terrorist threat to our homeland. For the past several years, DHS has 

been leading the effort to address foreign fighter flows from the 

United States and allied Western countries to ISIS battlefields in 

Iraq and Syria. 

Today the so-called caliphate is crumbling with the ISIS strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa having been retaken by allied forces. The 
23 

thousands of foreign fighters who joined ISIS’ ranks could form, as 

former FBI Director Comey put it, ‘‘a terrorist diaspora’’ that could 

seek to carry out attacks on Western countries. 

In your response to Committee questions, you alluded to steps 

that you would take, if confirmed, to address emergent threats and 

the next generation of terrorist threats. I would like you to specify 

what steps you will take, if confirmed, in the first 30 days to address the threat from our terrorism diaspora. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you. First, what I would do, of course, 

should I be confirmed, is to speak in detail with the leadership at 

DHS currently from intel and analysis and other parts of the Department. But, in general, I think what we have to realize is the 

threat has changed, as you have described. What we see now are 

more of an inspiration. There is less directed attacks, but they are 

no more dangerous when they are inspired. 

The other challenge we face with inspired attacks is we are seeing throughout the world, particularly in Europe but, unfortunately, here as well, as recent events in New York indicated, that 

terrorists or would-be terrorists and people inspired by terrorism 

use very common items to—— 

Senator HASSAN. I understand that. Just because of our time 

constraints, what concrete actions would you take? One of the reasons you have broad support is because you have been there recently and you are ready to lead. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. I would say awareness, outreach, ensuring that our intel is requirements-based, moving toward a different model, making sure that we use a Joint Task Force like 

mentality within the Department, to make sure that we are 

leveraging all the different parts, and to be very clear and 

prioritize what the threat is, making sure that we are addressing 

today’s threat and not yesterday’s or the month before. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you, and I will likely follow up with you 

on that a bit. 

I also wanted to follow up on a couple of the questions you have 

heard about countering violent extremism. You referenced in your 

answers to Committee questions that DHS must increase its capabilities to address terrorists’ exploitation of the Internet and social 

media for radicalization. You talked just now about the need to 

constructively and continually build up relationships, but can you 

tell us a little bit more about how you would actually do that? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. As I understand it, DHS, amongst other partners, has been working with the providers, social media providers, 

Internet providers. That is something that I would commit to continue. We need to, in partnership, find the terrorist substance on 

the Internet and remove it. We know they are using it to inspire, 

to instill propaganda, perhaps to cause confusion, as we have seen 

in other circumstances. But the Internet and social media are particularly vulnerable to such manipulations of information, so we 

need to work in partnership to remove them. 

Senator HASSAN. You also mentioned in our meeting in my office 

the need to partner moms and imams, and I just am really trying 

to get at what you mean by that. 

Ms. NIELSEN. We have heard—and I think what my reference 

was to, some of the different associations, nonprofit organizations, 
24 

NGO’s, and international partners that we spoke to when I was at 

DHS suggested that they found in their experiences of best practice 

the best way to do the community outreach and to increase awareness was to work in particular with those two groups of participants in those lives. 

Senator HASSAN. I am sorry for interrupting, but, again, time is 

short. DHS has a unique office called the Office of Community 

Partnerships (OCP) that does exactly what you are talking about 

and what you have referenced in answers to a couple of questions 

now. But while you were at DHS as Chief of Staff, the number of 

personnel in that office was cut in half, the grants program was 

eliminated, and the Director of the office resigned. 

What is more, in your first few days at DHS, you rescinded previously awarded grants made to several organizations. Among the 

groups that had their grants rescinded was a group of reformed 

white supremacists who were working to pull others out of violent 

white supremacist groups and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, 

which has a track record of engaging the Muslim American community throughout the country on this kind of issue. 

Can you tell me the reason why you took these actions at DHS? 

Specifically, why did you rescind grants that had been carefully 

vetted? How does this harmonize with your desire to increase 

DHS’s capability to address terrorist exploitation of the Internet? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. I think the short answer is it was an 

attempt to ensure that any grants that were distributed would, in 

fact, be effective. As you know, the awards were pre-awarded, if 

you will, just prior to the new Administration. What then-Secretary 

Kelly did was put a hold on the award, the final announcement of 

those grants, and asked the Office of Community Partnership to 

relook at the metrics so that we could build the metrics in at the 

front end to ensure that any taxpayer money was successful. Track 

record was one of the considerations, as well—I am sorry. 

Senator HASSAN. No. Go ahead. Track record—so the question is: 

What has been done since? Because I would assume that those 

metrics and that vetting could have happened by now. It is not my 

understanding that we have issued more grants, and meanwhile 

the personnel has been cut in half. It does not speak to a real desire or sense of urgency about this. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I look forward, should I be confirmed, but just 

in general, I look forward to hearing about the results of the 

grants. They have been awarded, as you know, but it has been 4, 

5, or 6 months, depending on the grant. So the metrics are in place. 

The assessment and measurement will continue. I am very hopeful 

that we will find best practices that we can then scale and that we 

can then work with this Committee to ask for any additional resources, personnel, et cetera, that we would need to do just that. 

It is a vital part of what DHS does. We just need to make sure we 

do it in a very effective way. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you. Thank you for your answer. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Harris. 
25 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HARRIS 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

On September 5, the Administration announced that it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Prior to 

that date, were you part of any decisionmaking process to terminate DACA? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Prior to that, it sounds a little bit esoteric, but I 

was instrumental in putting together the policy process at the 

White House, so there were a series of meetings within the interagency at various levels of government that I either helped coordinate in terms of establishing a process. In some cases I participated as one of the Deputy Chiefs of Staff. 

Senator HARRIS. You were a part of the meeting that was held 

in the White House in the Roosevelt Room in late August that involved Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House Senior Adviser 

Stephen Miller, and DHS Acting Secretary at the time, Elaine 

Duke? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I believe so. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HARRIS. As you know, more than 2 months have passed 

since the Administration decided to end the DACA program for 

nearly 700,000 young people. During our meeting last week, when 

the issue of DACA was raised, I was encouraged to hear you say 

that you want to work on this. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Senator HARRIS. DACA recipients include, as you know, hundreds of thousands of individuals who are enrolled in colleges. They 

are working in Fortune 100 companies. They are serving in our 

military. Every day since that announcement was made, and even 

before, they wake up terrified. Every night they are afraid that 

there is going to be a knock on their door at midnight, removing 

them from their home and tearing apart their family. 

Under these circumstances do you agree that legislation must be 

passed to protect these young people before the end of this calendar 

year? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I believe that we must and we owe it to them to 

find a permanent solution. It is no way to expect anyone to live a 

month or 2 months at a time. 

Senator HARRIS. While Congress works on this issue—and hopefully we will be working in a bipartisan way, and I have every hope 

that that is, in fact, what is going to happen. If confirmed, will you 

commit that these young people will not be an enforcement priority 

while Congress is working to fix this problem? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HARRIS. In order to participate in the DACA program, 

the government asked these applicants to share personal information about themselves and their families so that they could qualify 

for DACA. A Frequently Asked Questions document that was available on the DHS website stated that their personal information 

would not be used for enforcement purposes. Two weeks ago, I sent 

a letter with 38 other United States Senators to DHS asking the 

agency to keep its promise by not sharing the information it demanded from these young people in order to deport them. We have 

not received a response. 
26 

1The information from Ms. Nielsen appears in the Appendix on page 246. 

If confirmed, do you commit that this information will not be 

shared for enforcement purposes? 

Ms. NIELSEN. First, I commit to you that we will get you a response.1

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Secondarily, yes, as I understand it, there are extraordinarily limited circumstances that involve very specifically 

national or public safety. To my knowledge, there are no other reasons or exceptions to enable that information to be shared for any 

enforcement purpose. If there are any, I will commit to you to immediately come and talk to you about it and work out a solution 

together. 

Senator HARRIS. Will you commit to this Committee, if confirmed, that you will make that interpretation, which is that that 

information will not be shared for enforcement purposes, that you 

will make that policy position clear to all members and employees 

of DHS? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

At a September 27th hearing, I asked Acting Secretary Duke to 

extend the October 5th renewal deadline for DACA recipients. It 

did not happen. It has been reported that roughly 21,000 recipients 

were not able to gather the documentation and the $495 that was 

required as part of the filing before the deadline. 

If confirmed, will you reopen the application process and allow 

these individuals the opportunity to renew their status? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would commit to you to look into it. I am not familiar with the specific numbers. But if there are extenuating circumstances that we should take into consideration, I would look 

into those and talk with you further. 

Senator HARRIS. I would urge you that part of the extenuating 

circumstances that should be taken into account is a national survey that found 57 percent of Americans say that right now they do 

not have the ability to pay $500 of an unexpected bill. Additionally, 

there have been a number of natural disasters around the country, 

including my own home State, where Americans have lost their entire belongings, their paperwork, and they are barely getting 

through the day, much less have the ability to compile extensive 

documentation and come up with $495. I would urge you to 

prioritize that fact when you think of the extenuating circumstances. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

On February 20th, DHS released a memo that included seven 

factors for immigration enforcement. During a ‘‘Meet the Press’’ 

interview on April 16th, former Secretary Kelly stated, ‘‘Just because you are in the United States illegally does not necessarily get 

you targeted.’’ I am quoting him. ‘‘It’s gotta be something else. And 

we are operating more or less at the other end of the spectrum, and 

that is criminals, multiple convictions.’’ 

Do you agree with that assessment? 
27 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I agree that we should prioritize criminals and 

any others that in any way are concerning from a national security 

perspective. 

Senator HARRIS. And the definition of ‘‘criminals’’ is what? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would defer to you, but I would follow the law. 

Whatever the law tells me a criminal is, that is what we would target, and nothing less than that. 

Senator HARRIS. In deference to me—and I appreciate 

that—I would urge you to consider the definition of ‘‘criminals’’ to 

be people who have violated the law in terms of violations of the 

Penal Code, and those are criminals, as opposed to people who are 

undocumented and in this country because of situations such as 

the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAMers), which is that they were brought here as young children and 

know no other home except for this. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. The criminality that I would be talking about 

with respect to an enforcement priority is above and beyond the 

original illegal entry. 

Senator HARRIS. It has been widely reported that between January and September of this year, ICE arrested nearly 3 times the 

number of individuals with no criminal history as compared to the 

same period last year. If DHS is, in fact, focused—as you have indicated and, if confirmed, under your leadership—on true criminals, 

it is clear that the front-line officers have a different impression. 

If confirmed, will you issue a written directive to the agents that 

they prioritize enforcement activities in a way that targets criminals who pose a public safety threat and not DREAMers or DACA 

recipients? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, although I will say I understand that to be the 

current policy. But if there is any question about it, we will clarify. 

Senator HARRIS. OK. In particular, will you agree to issuing a 

written directive to the agents that that is the policy of the agency? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I would or, if appropriate, Acting Director 

Thomas Homan would. 

Senator HARRIS. Great. Thank you. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Lankford. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANKFORD 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Ms. Nielsen, thanks for being here and for your leadership in the 

past, what you are doing currently right now to be able to serve 

the Nation, and your willingness to be able to go through this process. This is not a fun process to be able to go through, and all the 

paperwork and everything that you have to be able to do. Thanks 

for stepping up to be able to take that leadership for it. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir. 

Senator LANKFORD. Let me ask you a whole series of questions. 

One of them is a hiring issue. In Customs and Border Patrol and 

several other entities within DHS, it takes well over the standard 

100 days for hiring, which is, again, way too long for the Federal 

hiring process. In Customs and Border Patrol, there are around 

450 days to be able to hire one agent. 

There was a request put in in the past for an additional $100 

million to be able to help fix that process. That is on top of the $65 
28 

million that was put in place last year to be able to help in the 

process. That is $165 million to be able to improve a very broken 

process. 

My question for you is: How do we get this fixed so that it does 

not take 450 days to be able to hire a person to be able to help us 

in Customs and Border Patrol? Why does it take $165 million to 

fix the process? 

Ms. NIELSEN. That is a very good question. I think that hiring 

is something that would be at the top of my priority list, should 

I be confirmed. Senator Heitkamp earlier mentioned very specific, 

for example, concerns and difficulties we have in hiring for the 

Northern Border. Cybersecurity is another area, as you know, 

where we have difficulty in not only hiring but retaining qualified 

people within the Department. 

We need to look at it holistically. The system needs to keep up 

with the times. Whether that is the way in which we are advertising, the way in which we are allowing those to apply, as I understand it, unfortunately, some of the websites, for example, where 

jobs are listed, the links are bad. Some of this is something that 

we can—low-hanging fruit, if you will. But from a holistic perspective, we have to have the internal controls in place to ensure that 

not only on the hiring side but then all the way through the cycle 

of retention and professional development. 

As to cost, should I be confirmed, that is certainly something that 

I would look into. I am not familiar with that particular—— 

Senator LANKFORD. OK. Let us walk through that. I serve on the 

Appropriations Committee, as well as Homeland Security here, so 

I am on both the authorizing and the appropriating side of this. 

This is something I track very carefully, and it is something I think 

we can do for less than $165 million to be able to fix the broken 

process. But at the end of the day, we have to be able to reform 

how we are doing hiring and what happens with hiring. 

Senator Tester brought up to you earlier a request that had been 

put in already to the Administration by August the 1st to get a 

comprehensive plan for border security. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator LANKFORD. That is something that has been mentioned 

by multiple entities. It needs to be Northern and Southern Border. 

Obviously, the first part of this is a discussion of the Southern Border. You have already mentioned that we are not talking about a 

wall from sea to shining sea. We are talking about technology in 

some places, clear markings in other places, and walls and others. 

We need to be able to know not only the costs but the strategy for 

that on the Southern Border, and we are going to want to know 

the same thing for the Northern Border. 

For instance, there is a much higher number of unmanned aerial 

systems (UAS) on the Southern Border than there is on the Northern Border, though the Northern Border is more open, quite frankly, than the Southern Border is, and it is 2,000 miles longer. We 

are going to need to get some greater attention to the Northern 

Border and a plan and to be able to figure out costs. The initial 

cost estimate that came to us in the Appropriations Committee was 

about $20 million a mile for the construction of the wall. Ten years 

ago, when we were building 650 miles of fence that exists cur-
29 

rently, that was about $2.5 million a mile. I am trying to figure out 

why the cost estimate has gone up 10 times in 10 years. We do 

have inflation, but it is not that great. 

That is an area that we are just going to need to get greater clarity on to be able to determine how we are actually securing the border, but doing it was the taxpayers’ dollars in mind as well. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I look forward to working with you, should 

I be confirmed. 

Senator LANKFORD. I appreciate that very much. 

We have spoken as well before about the election security issues 

and what we are facing with foreign actors trying to interfere not 

only in our free speech but in our election process itself. One of the 

things that I raised at that time when we spoke last was about the 

length of time it took to be able to notify States that they were currently being probed by foreign actors. That is a length that is much 

too long. It is around 14 months from when a State was probed by 

a foreign actor to they actually were notified, hey, you are being 

probed. We have to notify them. 

The two main questions that I will have for you to be able to 

work together on is: One is clearances for State elected officials so 

we could have a more rapid communication. The second one is, at 

the end of an election time, that it is an auditable election, that 

we will work with States not to determine what their election system is. That is the role of the State. Their equipment, all of those 

things, that is the role of the State. But to be able to make sure 

a State at the end of an election can actually audit their election 

would be helpful to be able to help in that process. 

What I am looking for is just cooperation on trying to deal with 

some things that I would assume the American people will assume 

of us will be done a year from now when there is a large-scale Federal election again. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir, you have my commitment. In fact, when 

I went to vote this week in the Virginia election, I was quite concerned with the scanning machine and started asking a variety of 

questions on what the security on the scanning machine was for 

the ballot. I think we all have to be very aware and work with the 

State and local officials. The role of DHS, as you know, is to respond to requests from those officials, ensure that they have the 

clearance so that they can receive the information, and then offer 

a variety of tools to ensure, from supply chain all the way through 

to that dissemination of the voter rolls, that it is protected. 

I also would just offer that redundancy is very important on the 

back end with the audit, so whether it is paper ballots or whether 

it is physically moving the ballots, as they do in California, as 

chaperoned by the Highway Patrol, we need to ensure the integrity 

of our electoral system. 

Senator LANKFORD. I completely agree. 

Let me bring up a couple more things rapidly to you. One I 

brought up to several folks, both with FEMA and now in your leadership with DHS, that we have a longstanding issue where Congress determined in the 1990s that nonprofits were eligible for disaster aid. That in the 1990s was redefined to say it does not include houses of worship, so churches, synagogues, and mosques are 

not allowed to get FEMA disaster aid, though often those houses 
30 

of worship are the location for distribution of food, supplies, clothing, everything else in the area, but they have been pulled out and 

defined as not nonprofits, which I think is an overstatement of 

what the law is. That is something that we can try to help clarify, 

but it is something I also believe the Administration already has 

the authority to be able to help clarify: when it says nonprofits, 

that does not exclude faith-based nonprofits, especially after the 

Trinity Lutheran case earlier this year, clarifying from the Supreme Court that we cannot ever go to a house of worship and tell 

them you cannot participate in your government if you are faithbased. That gives an unfair decision for any house of worship to 

say, yes, you can participate with your government as long as you 

give up your faith first. That is not something that we are going 

to do. That is an area we will just be able to maintain that conversation. 

Along with Senator Tester, I want to be able to bring up the 

REAL ID issue, and the main point for me is waivers and decisions 

on waivers and how we are going to actually settle the issues for 

the States that are still in that zone right now of making decisions. 

They need to be made as early as possible—— 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir, I look forward to—— 

Senator LANKFORD [continuing]. The longer it takes, the more 

difficult it is for actually trying to be able to arrange things around 

that. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thanks again for your service. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Hoeven. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HOEVEN 

Senator HOEVEN. Thanks for being here today. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Good morning, Senator. 

Senator HOEVEN. Congratulations on your nomination. I certainly look forward to working with you. 

Ms. Nielsen, what are the key steps in your opinion to securing 

the border and to enforcing immigration law? What are the key 

metrics that you will use to evaluate performance? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would just say at the start that metrics are vital. 

I just do not think that we can effectively and efficiently spend taxpayer money without them. We need to work with stakeholders. 

We need to work with this Committee and others to ensure that 

we do have metrics that actually are indicative of performance. 

sometimes metrics can be designed in such a way to be a compliance exercise. That is not what we need. We need something that 

actually demonstrates the performance. 

Having said that, the steps that I need to take, that we need to 

take, I think we need to look at it as a very integrated system. I 

believe you and I spent a little time talking about it is not just 

physical barriers. It is personnel, it is training, it is technology. It 

is working with State and locals. It is understanding a variety of 

things that might be needed in special circumstances, such as 

surge control or if there is a natural disaster. 

I look forward to reading the border strategies that I know DHS 

is finalizing, and certainly, should I be confirmed, at that time 
31 

would look forward to working with you in more detail. But I do 

not think this can work either from an appropriations perspective 

or a true goal of security without those metrics. I do think they 

should be transparent, ones that can be measured, ones that are 

repeatable, and ones that we have the ability to update if, in fact, 

they prove not to be as useful. 

Senator HOEVEN. That also includes making sure that you are 

enforcing immigration law within the country as well as security 

on the border—— 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, interior, of course, as well. 

Senator HOEVEN [continuing]. When you talk about those 

metrics. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator HOEVEN. That needs to be measured and understood. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Correct. 

Senator HOEVEN. Not only by DHS, but the general public as 

well, right? 

Ms. NIELSEN. They should be transparent, yes. 

Senator HOEVEN. For the formulation of good policy. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Agreed. 

Senator HOEVEN. UAS, I think some of my colleagues have 

talked about the Northern Border, and I certainly want to emphasize the Northern Border as well as the Southern Border. I want 

to ask for your opinion in regard to the use of unmanned aircraft 

technology for border security. 

Ms. NIELSEN. I think it provides us a very interesting capability 

as a force multiplier. The ability to have that not only situational 

awareness but the sensors that we now have available to us enable 

us to detect a variety of threats that could be coming across our 

border, anything from something in the CBRNE perspective 

through to people through to illicit goods. It is a force multiplier, 

so we absolutely should be looking at it, the ways in which to integrate it. As any new technology, we also need to look at the 

vulnerabilities and make sure that we are securing it up front, not 

trying to add security on the back end. 

Senator HOEVEN. You would support the use of unmanned aircraft technology as a piece of border security on both the Northern 

and the Southern Border? 

Ms. NIELSEN. If the operators and the folks on the ground believe 

in any way it can be useful, absolutely. 

Senator HOEVEN. What about defending against unmanned aircraft, whether that be at the border or even address it in terms of 

potential threats within the country? 

Ms. NIELSEN. That is the flip side. 

Senator HOEVEN. Right, exactly. 

Ms. NIELSEN. That is where in our use we would have to at the 

front end think about the vulnerabilities that they could provide or 

how they could be use to do us harm. As you know, we have seen 

unmanned vehicles, small ones, everything from improvised explosive devices through to, unfortunately, dispersal devices for chemical or bio attacks. We have to take that seriously. As I understand 

it, there is some work that DHS is undertaking today on that. But 

that is one that we have to watch very carefully and include in our 

planning and our resourcing to be able to combat. 
32 

Senator HOEVEN. Right. It raises everything from privacy 

issues—— 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator HOEVEN [continuing]. All the way to a potential threat, 

as you said. In Grand Forks, North Dakota, at the Grand Sky 

Technology Park, which is part of the Northern Plains test site, one 

of six test sites in the Nation for UAS, we are already working on 

some of those issues. We have a partnership between not only the 

test site but also the University of North Dakota School of Aviation, one of the premier schools of aviation in the world, with the 

U.S. Air Force, with Customs and Border Protection, which has responsibility for 900 miles of border security all from the Great 

Lakes all the way out west through most of the Montana border, 

900 miles. Then we have companies like Northrop Grumman and 

General Atomics out with Predator, Reaper, and Global Hawk. 

This is an opportunity for us to work with DHS on developing 

all these things UAS. You and I talked about this in my office. I 

appreciate that. But, again, I ask for your attention to looking at 

how we can partner to accomplish exactly what we are talking 

about with UAS technology. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir, you have my commitment. 

Senator HOEVEN. OK. The other thing I wanted to ask about is, 

we saw this attack in New York City and in this case the use of 

a truck. Talk to me about not only how we prevent or do more to 

prevent those types of attacks, respond to them, but also how in 

your opinion we can address this radicalization of people either 

who are radicalized overseas or here in this country, so all three. 

How do we prevent? How do we respond? How do we address the 

radicalization? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. On the protection front, as you know, DHS 

offers a variety of tools and resources with respect to any soft target attack. It is vital that, in my opinion, they continue to do so. 

Should I be confirmed, it would certainly be something I would 

want to work with State and local law enforcement to ensure that 

they are receiving what they need. But this is everything from information sharing to vulnerability assessments of soft targets 

through to active shooter drills and exercises. The JTTFs that form 

with the FBI are crucial, ensuring that they have the tools that 

they need. I would be working closely with the Department of Justice to ensure that we are offering everything we can from a Federal Government perspective. 

As to the radicalization issue, in my mind we have to look at it 

at almost two different points, the first point being, why and how 

does an individual become radicalized within our country. What are 

they reading, what are they accessing, what are they hearing, what 

are they not reading, accessing, or hearing that enables them to become radicalized? 

The second point is once they are radicalized, what can we do to 

off-ramp them, if you will, to help them see that there is a better, 

more productive way to express their views that are protected in 

this country, but to do so in a nonviolent manner? 

Should I be confirmed, I really look forward to working with 

DHS, but also to the many organizations, law enforcement communities, and, frankly, international partners who have looked at 
33 

these issues to determine the best practices that we can use to 

raise awareness and eliminate this threat. 

Senator HOEVEN. That ability to network, to really network with 

all the other law enforcement agencies, security agencies, not only 

at local, State, and Federal level, not only in this country but other 

countries, is such a huge part of what you do. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator HOEVEN. You referenced that, and I think that is absolutely right. 

Thank you for your willingness to step up and serve in a very 

challenging and demanding position, a very important position. We 

appreciate it. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Hoeven. 

Before I throw it to Senator Carper, as long as you raise this 

issue, I want to kind of follow down the same path for continuity. 

One thing I was struck by in the recent New York terrorist attack 

using a truck, apparently he read the how-to manual on the Internet that showed what kind of truck gives you better maneuverability, two wheels on the back axle so you have a greater chance 

of running over people. What is your understanding—I am not a 

lawyer—of the current state of the law of the lawfulness of that 

type of how-to manual on the Internet? What do you think we 

ought to do in terms of explore—for example, we do not allow child 

pornography on the Internet. It is illegal to download it. What 

should we do in terms of that type of how-to manual, that kind of 

incitement to violence on the Internet? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would offer that I think we need to have a serious discussion, frankly, in conjunction with the Executive Branch 

and the Legislative Branch to really look at this issue of content. 

Obviously, our rules and the values that we hold dear enable each 

one of us to speak freely within this country. 

Having said that, there is a point at which certain very specific 

descriptions of weapons, how to conduct attacks, we often jump 

right into terrorists’ use of the Internet, but there is something before that. I do think we have to have that conversation and then 

work with those who provide and enable that information on the 

Internet to find a way to identify it and remove it should we determine that it is not appropriate. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Well, I will want to work very closely with 

you as you explore that because this is a different kind of enemy. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Chairman JOHNSON. The old ways, the old tools just are not 

working. Senator Carper. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER 

Senator CARPER. Thanks very much. Thank you for visiting with 

me earlier this month, and thank you for being here today. 

I want to just say to Senator McCaskill, it is nice to have you 

back, and we are glad to hear that Joe is on the mend. 

A number of us on this Committee like to focus on root causes, 

not just addressing the symptoms of problems, but what are the 

root causes. I will just take a very short time. What would you say 

are the root causes of hundreds of thousands of people trying to get 
34 

out Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to get into the United 

States? What are the root causes of that? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I think it is push and pull, as we often 

say in common parlance, but generally to me what that means is 

the conditions on the ground unfortunately in some of these countries are such that the citizens there believe they have a better opportunity if they go elsewhere. On that note, what I would do, 

should I be Governor—should I be confirmed—— 

Senator CARPER. Governor—that is a good job, I can assure you. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. NIELSEN. We could throw that in here, should I be confirmed 

is to continue to work in partnership with those governments. We 

have to increase the prosperity there. There is a variety of programs you and I have discussed, including the Alliance for Prosperity. But to really help the community find jobs, track the private 

sector, enable the community to be resilient in such a way that it 

in and of itself provides the type of environment that citizens 

would want to stay. 

I also, as you know, feel very strongly that our drug demand in 

this country is also an underlying factor of that push, if you will. 

Our drug demand is like no others. Americans, unfortunately, we 

have a higher drug rate—not only death rate from it, but use of 

illegal drugs—than any other country. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you. That is good. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator CARPER. As you know, the Comptroller General’s Office 

produces every other year at the beginning of a new Congress 

something called the ‘‘High-Risk List’’ and high-risk ways of wasting money. One of the things they raised for the first time on the 

High-Risk List about 4 years ago was the fact that we are spending 

a lot of money in this country trying to prepare for and fight 

against the rising level of the oceans. Delaware is the lowest-lying 

State in America. We see the vestiges of climate change and sea 

level rise every day in my State. Our State is sinking. The oceans 

are going higher. 

Do you believe that climate change is occurring that has caused 

temperatures to rise over the past 30 years or so and that it is primarily caused by human beings? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do absolutely believe that the climate is changing. I cannot unequivocally state it is only caused by human—— 

Senator CARPER. That was not my question. 

Ms. NIELSEN. There are many contributions to it, yes. sir. 

Senator CARPER. My question was: Do you believe that it is primarily caused by human beings? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I believe that climate change exists. I am not prepared to determine causation. 

Senator CARPER. Really? Why not? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Because I believe—— 

Senator CARPER. There are people from almost 200 nations gathered today in Bonn focused on this issue, on this issue alone. Ninety-eight percent of our scientists that have said anything about this 

say this is a problem and we are the root cause, we as humans. 

For you to sit there and say, well, it is not really clear, something 

is happening here, and I think it is clear. 
35 

I will go on to my next question. I enjoyed meeting with you. I 

think you are smart. I think you are well spoken. I worry a lot 

about your leadership and your experience as a leader and your 

lack of experience. I have been privileged to have a chance to provide some leadership in 23 years in the Navy. I have been privileged to be Governor of Delaware for 8 years, and hopefully I provided decent leadership there. The idea of me taking on an agency 

that has 240,000 employees scattered all over the world and leading them in the right direction, it would be daunting for me. Tom 

Ridge, one of my closest friends, it was daunting for him. Janet 

Napolitano, a close friend, daunting for her. Jeh Johnson, close 

friend, daunting for him. 

Why should we believe that as smart as you are and as well spoken as you are that someone who, as far as I know, never led an 

organization of even 100 people much less 240,000 is ready to take 

on this responsibility this large now? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I would like to offer that I have been privileged to have opportunities throughout my life, both professionally, 

volunteer, and in other endeavors to lead, and to me a big part of 

managing is to be very clear about mission, to be very clear about 

roles and responsibilities, to empower those that I work with, ensure that they have the tools and resources they need. 

I think many of the leadership skills that have brought me to 

this place are scalable. What I would do, should I be confirmed, is 

work with the operational components, and ensure that my expectations of them are very clear. I believe in accountability. Just as 

I would hope that you would hold me accountable, I will hold others accountable. But I also believe that we need to acknowledge 

successes. 

What I would be led by are my principles of leadership: integrity, 

transparency, teamwork, and unity of effort. I would work with the 

men and women of DHS to ensure not only that they have the tools 

that they need, but that we consistently have the opportunity to 

audit, have internal controls, and hold them accountable. 

Senator CARPER. Do you pledge to respond to all reasonable requests for information from Democrat and Republican, majority 

and minority Members of this Committee? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, you have my commitment. 

Senator CARPER. Good. Talk to us about the reorganization or 

possible reorganization of the National Protection and Programs 

Directorate? I think there is a fair amount of agreement between 

you and me. Just talk about what your views are. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. I know it has been said many times, so 

I will just say it quickly I do think that, should I be confirmed, I 

would very much appreciate an opportunity to work with you to 

change the name. It truly does confuse stakeholders. It eliminates 

some of the positive morale that comes from having a very clear 

mission statement, so I will leave it at that. I know we have talked 

about that and others have talked with you about it extensively. 

Cyber is an operational mission. Other parts of critical infrastructure security and resilience today are operational missions. 

Any reorganization should take that in consideration and find the 

best way to balance those who should be at headquarters, if you 

will, in the National Capital Region and those who should be in the 
36 

field working directly with the owners and operators of critical infrastructure, the private sector, and, of course, our State, local, 

tribal, and territorial partners. 

There is more that we can do. I do not know that we need to do 

it for any other reason than driven by the mission. 

Senator CARPER. Good. Thank you. 

I think I am the only Democrat I know that quotes Richard 

Nixon. Richard Nixon once said that the only people who do not 

make mistakes are people who do not do anything. I make a lot of 

mistakes. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. I have learned 

probably as much from my mistakes as I have learned from the 

things that I have done well. Talk to us about a couple of your biggest mistakes and how you learned from them. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. A couple of my biggest mistakes are, in 

general, I have learned to speak quickly, clearly, and repeatedly 

when I disagree with something that is being proposed as the best 

cause of action, the most effective way. 

I also have learned repeatedly through a variety of experiences 

that policy cannot be made in a vacuum. It must be informed by 

those operators and by operational environments. There are many 

times when we all have had great ideas with policy hats on, but 

they are just not going to be implemented in a way that reaches 

the original intent. 

I would also say that resources go hand in hand with any policies 

and strategies. Authorities must be looked at in terms of the best 

way to leverage them. There have been times when I have perhaps 

suggested that a new authority was needed from a policy perspective, only to find out upon further examination that there was authority, it just needed to be differently leveraged. I think doing that 

complete review before looking for additional authority is very important. 

Senator CARPER. Richard Nixon would be pleased. Thank you. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Daines. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DAINES 

Senator DAINES. It is nice to hear you quoting Richard Nixon 

there, Senator Carper. 

Senator CARPER. I have other Nixon quotes you would not be 

quite as fond of. [Laughter.] 

Chairman JOHNSON. Can you do an imitation? 

Senator DAINES. Well, I was quoting John F. Kennedy this week, 

too, so that is good. Good bipartisan quotes. 

Ms. Nielsen, it is great to see you again. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir. 

Senator DAINES. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your 

willingness to continue serving our Nation as our Secretary of 

Homeland Security. 

Regarding leadership, I think it is a fair question from Senator 

Carper. I will note that two prior Secretaries of Homeland Security 

both have Stated that you are a leader for our times in the letter 

that was submitted to the Committee, as well as a son of a fourstar Marine that sat right there not too long ago, the fact that he 

put his full confidence in you to lead that organization working 

with him tells me a lot about his confidence in your leadership, and 
37 

I have a lot of confidence in Chief of Staff Kelly here, of picking 

great people to lead organizations. I am confident in your leadership abilities. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir. 

Senator DAINES. Ms. Nielsen, one of the greatest and under-told 

successes of this Administration has been the result of President 

Trump’s signaling that the United States will enforce its laws. This 

has led to quantifiable improvements at DHS under the leadership 

of General John Kelly and then Secretary Kelly with you as his 

Chief of Staff. Apprehension rates for illegal Southwest Border 

crossings have dropped nearly 30 percent year to date compared to 

last year, and some months have seen over a 60-percent reduction. 

Drug seizures have increased by many measures, and morale has 

improved as well. 

In your prehearing questionnaire, you stated border security was 

the highest priority from a risk perspective. As Secretary, how will 

you maintain this positive trajectory we have already seen, mitigating the risk and further securing our borders? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir, thank you. I would just offer I think deterrence plays a key part here, deterrence and partnership. When I 

was at DHS as Chief of Staff under then-Secretary Kelly, we had 

the opportunity to travel and meet with government officials in our 

southern neighbors and to tell them very publicly and to speak directly to their people in some cases, ‘‘Please do not take this dangerous journey. It is dangerous to you. It is dangerous to your children. You are putting your life in the hands of those who have no 

other concern for you than the money that they can take from you 

trying to smuggle you or traffic you across the border.’’ 

I think the constant communication with our partners is important. Deterrence is important, and the part of deterrence that I 

think General Kelly was very successful at is making very clear we 

will enforce our laws. It is vital that we do so. We will do so; should 

I be confirmed, I intend to do so. 

We also need that mix on the border that you and I have talked 

about. It is not just people. It is not just physical barriers. But it 

is that technology, and it is the policies and procedures that enable 

us to sense and quickly respond. Something as seemingly as simple 

as a road along the piece of physical barrier enables us to actually 

monitor it and respond should a threat be able to get past. 

There are a variety of things we can do in conjunction with State 

and local governments that I would plan on continuing. 

Senator DAINES. I appreciate, too, your comments on the humanitarian side as it relates to what is going on as we are enforcing 

the law, what impact that is having on children, on vulnerable 

young men and young women, those coyotes that you mentioned. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator DAINES. When we see a four-legged coyote in Montana, 

we have a certain response that I will not talk about here. But let 

us just say I am grateful to see both the hard number results we 

are seeing coming off the Southern Border now through your leadership but, importantly, the softer area of helping these women and 

children and young people who would otherwise be very vulnerable 

to what happens when they are trying to make the crossing. 
38 

Ms. Nielsen, as we discussed, I spent 28 years in the private sector before I put a suit and tie up and came up to this Hill, 12 years 

with a global cloud computing company. We faced cyber threats 

daily, and we were delivering security for customers, many of 

which were Fortune 500 clients. 

You also have an extensive background in cybersecurity. Recently, in Columbia Falls, Montana, the school district was hacked 

from overseas. They were using the stolen data of children and faculty to make very violent and very direct threats. Crimes of this 

nature surpass the authorities and the resources of State and local 

law enforcement, and we were very grateful for and dependent 

upon resources coming from the Federal Government to get to the 

bottom of this threat. 

As the Secretary of Homeland Security, if confirmed, you will 

lead the whole of the government’s cyber efforts. How will you 

work to make our citizens and their personal information safer 

from these worldwide attacks? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir, and I did enjoy our extensive cyber 

conversation. Thank you for having that with me. 

I think when we look at information, the threat has changed. I 

would, if I were sitting here, maybe even 10 years ago, talk a lot 

about confidentiality. Data breaches continue to this day, as you 

know, but what is perhaps more concerning is the ability of those 

who would do us harm through the Internet to change the integrity 

of that information or through ransomware and other tacks to 

make it not available. 

What happened in the example that you gave was they both were 

able to get in, take the information, and then use it for a nefarious 

purpose. That is different than the more traditional criminal data 

breaches that we had been dealing with over the last 15 years, 

which still exist, but we have morphed now into a perhaps more 

dangerous area. 

In particular, the integrity of information, whether we are talking about control systems or your blood type, my blood type, I 

would like it to be correct should I have a need to go to the hospital. Ensuring that we have integrity of information, we have the 

resilience built in, redundancy for key assets to include information 

becomes vital. 

When I look at the way in which we have worked at the Department over the last 13 years, I think it has served us well to develop 

and create partnerships within the private sector, State and local 

governments. But what we need to do perhaps as the next step, the 

next evolution, is to look across sectors, across regions, and to really look at those critical assets and critical pieces of information 

that we need to ensure that we are protected. In my view, there 

is an enhanced Federal role in that protection. 

Senator DAINES. Thank you. I am out of time. Another concern 

I have about where this is all headed is in the area actually of 

quantum computing and the fact that our Nation very likely may 

not be in the leadership position anymore in terms of that cuttingedge technology and the ability for perhaps others to break 

encryption. That threat that is over the next hill here is looming 

even closer as we speak. 

I look forward to seeing you in Montana. 
39 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. 

Senator DAINES. I did not get a chance to talk about the Northern Border, but we have one, and we would love to take you up to 

the northern part of our State and take a look at what is going on 

there with our Northern Border. Thank you. 

Ms. NIELSEN. It would be my pleasure. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Daines. By the way, I 

share your concern that we are not potentially in the leadership position on quantum computing. It represents a real threat. That is 

something we need to keep our eye on. 

We will start a second round. Senator McCaskill? I will continue 

to defer my questions until the end. 

Senator MCCASKILL. I know that you were very involved in an 

after-action report on Hurricane Katrina when you worked in the 

Bush Administration. If confirmed, will you commit to a public 

after-action review of the Federal Government’s response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator MCCASKILL. I want to talk just briefly about counterterrorism and the budget. There are pretty aggressive cuts in the 

budget. While we are dramatically increasing the funding for a border wall for immigrant detention and interior enforcement, it is severely cutting programs like the Visible Intermodal Prevention and 

Response (VIPR) teams, which are essential in our airports, cutting 

those teams from 31 down to 8; also, the Urban Area Security Initiative, which is very important in cities like New York, where we 

saw the terrorist attack recently; the State Homeland Security Program; the State Emergency Management Performance Grants; 

completely zeroes out the Law Enforcement Reimbursement Program that also serves our Nation’s airports; completely zeroes out 

the Countering Violent Extremism Program; completely zeroes out 

the Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack Program. 

The total is $582 million that have been taken out of these programs, and let me ask you first: Are you aware at this point whether New York City relied on any of these grant programs in their 

response to the deadly attack that occurred there recently? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do not have any doubt that they did. 

Senator MCCASKILL. I would love for this Committee to get information, if you are confirmed, as to how many attacks in New York 

City have been prevented—because they have prevented a bunch of 

them—because of this funding and what role this funding played 

in their response to the recent attack. 

Do you know of any rationale for cutting the VIPR teams so significantly knowing what has gone on in airports across the world? 

Ms. NIELSEN. As I understand it, the determination was simple 

balancing of risk. There are a variety of threats, as you know, that 

TSA faces not just in aviation but also in maritime and mass transit land. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Do you think there are metrics that have 

evaluated the risk on more wall versus the VIPR teams? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I am not aware if that particular cost-benefit analysis has been conducted, but—— 

Senator MCCASKILL. Well, your predecessor admitted to us there 

has been no cost-benefit for the wall, none done. We are getting 
40 

ready to try to spend a gajillion dollars on something that there 

has been no cost-benefit done. 

You are really good at metrics. I like you talking about metrics. 

We were discussing it informally up here. I would really like you 

to take a swing at the metrics of the programs that are being increased in terms of real risk to our country, in terms of homeland 

security, versus the programs that are being cut, because that is 

what the analysis should be. It should not be based on politics. It 

should be based on the metrics of risk. If that has occurred, frankly, it is going to surprise me. But if it has, I will be the first to 

admit, what you were willing to admit a moment ago, that I am 

making a mistake by asserting this has been done on the basis of 

politics rather than risk, and I will look forward to you getting 

back to me on that. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. If I could just offer quickly, I think it 

has to be risk-based. I think that we fail when we do not look at 

risk across the Department—frankly, across the interagency, because there are other departments that play a role in homeland security. I could not agree more. It has to be risk-based, and it cannot be done in a stovepiped way. 

Senator MCCASKILL. Yes, and it kind of dovetails with some of 

the questioning of my colleague in that we all—no one here wants 

you to do anything but prioritize people who are in this country illegally that are committing crimes. There is no argument there. 

There is no red shirt/blue shirt. There is no divide on that. But 

that is not what a lot of these resources are being used for right 

now. There are resources that are being expended that I do not 

think that analysis has occurred, and I am particularly worried as 

it relates to some of the funding that has really joined State and 

local law enforcement with the Federal responsibility of homeland 

security. The more we abandon those programs that knit us together, the more vulnerable we are going to be to an attack. I will 

look forward to you getting back to me on that. 

I will yield the rest of my time. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thanks, Senator McCaskill. 

Let me just chime in a little bit on risk-based because I think 

there is another component to that. It has to be risk-based, but also 

combined with are there effective solutions. If there is an easy solution for something that is a little bit lower risk, we also have to 

concentrate on that as well. It is kind of a two-part formula. Senator Harris. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you, and I join the issue with Senator 

McCaskill on those points about resources. Just as a point of emphasis on enforcement priorities, we discussed this earlier. But the 

previous Administration prioritized violent and serious crimes and 

any conduct that would pose a risk to national security. Do you 

agree that that should be the highest priority and with limited resources, certainly that is where the resources should go in terms 

of deportation and enforcement actions? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. You may be familiar with this case, 

but on October 24th, a 10-year-old girl by the name of Rosa Maria 

Hernandez was being rushed to a hospital in Corpus Christi for an 

emergency gall bladder surgery. Customs and Border Patrol offi-
41 

cers stopped the ambulance and then followed it to the hospital. 

Immediately after Rosa Maria’s surgery was over, she was arrested 

and taken away from her family. Current DHS policy prohibits enforcement actions at or near sensitive locations such as hospitals, 

schools, and churches unless prior approval is given or exigent circumstances exist. Despite this, Rosa Maria was apprehended at a 

hospital after her surgery was over. 

If confirmed, do you commit to maintaining DHS’s policy as it relates to sensitive locations? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do, and should any further clarification be needed, I would ensure that that occurs. 

Senator HARRIS. In fact, I appreciate you making that point—I 

would urge you to actually issue guidance to the agents, if confirmed, that this policy exists and this type of thing should not 

happen again. 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would, and in conjunction with the Commissioner 

and Director. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

In your questionnaire you stated that as DHS Chief of Staff, you 

had the job of overseeing 240,000 DHS staff and had resource-and 

budget-related decisionmaking authority and responsibility for the 

Office of the Secretary. Last week, the DHS Office of Inspector 

General issued its annual report on major management and performance challenges facing the Department. The report reads, 

‘‘DHS often fails to update and clarify guidance and policies, ensure 

full and open communications between employees and management, offer sufficient training, and reduce administrative burdens. 

Our reports are replete with examples of insufficient training to enable and enhance job performance.’’ 

Have you read this report? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, I have. 

Senator HARRIS. You are probably aware that the Inspector General issued a similar report last year? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator HARRIS. The obvious point there is that there seems to 

have been no improvement since last year. If confirmed, will you 

agree to report back to this Committee within the first 3 months 

on what you have put in place to correct course and, in particular, 

emphasize the importance of training the employees of DHS and 

clearly communicating policies with them? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I will, and also, my other two big takeaways from 

that report were the needed continued focus on unity of effort and 

ensuring that we have internal controls as set by leadership. And, 

yes, I would be happy to. 

Senator HARRIS. Having had the experience of running a law enforcement agency of almost 5,000 people as Attorney General of 

California, it is clear to me, based on my experience, that when you 

are running a large agency, you cannot run it just from the top 

down. It also has to be from the bottom up. That means clearly giving guidance and training in particular to the good men and 

women who have the authority, the power, and the responsibility 

to enforce our laws. There have been many nominees who have sat 

in that chair who have had varying levels of appreciation of that 

point. But I would like you to commit to this Committee that you 
42 

will prioritize training and clear communication and guidance to an 

agency of hundreds of thousands of people. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Absolutely. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

At a June Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, the DHS Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications asserted 

that DHS was developing a policy to help States secure their election systems. Just yesterday, as you know and you have mentioned, 

Virginia and New Jersey had elections. If confirmed, what is the 

timeline, particularly the deadline—and you and I talked about 

this in our meeting—for establishing and implementing a DHS policy? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, as you are aware, then-Secretary Johnson 

clarified that, in fact, election infrastructure is considered critical 

infrastructure under our partnership model. The Government Coordinating Council (GCC) has been created. Since we spoke, I have 

verified that it, in fact, is in existence today. It works closely with 

the Election Commission. It uses third-party certifiers of the requested State to certify the election infrastructure and then 

also provides a variety of other vulnerability assessments and 

other—so should I be confirmed, I would absolutely very soon upon 

confirmation ensure that we have reached out to all States and territories to ensure that they have what they need for local and State 

and Federal elections. 

Senator HARRIS. Are you giving yourself a timeline or a deadline 

to accomplish that? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I will give myself one, but I will also say to you 

I would like to make that deadline in conjunction with the State 

and local officials and would be happy to report to you what that 

is. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. It has been reported that the Administration is moving forward on a policy that would lead to expedited removal of unaccompanied children who are arriving at the 

border, having fled incredible violence. If confirmed, will you please 

share with my office any policy memos that the Department is 

planning to implement affecting the processing of unaccompanied 

minors? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes. 

Senator HARRIS. Are you aware of the Administration’s policy 

shift in that regard? 

Ms. NIELSEN. What I am aware of is that expedited removal, as 

you know, is limited in most cases to those who are from, rather, 

Canada and Mexico. I understand there is an attempt to work with 

Congress to ensure that, when appropriate, anybody who comes 

with an illegal entry can be—if they are appropriately in a situation where they need to be deported, to do so in an expedited way 

to save them from being detained in our country. But I am not familiar with any particular policy papers or other descriptions. 

Senator HARRIS. You are aware, though, that the unaccompanied 

minor issue, as it has been playing out in the last few years, is not 

about the children of Mexico or Canada; it is about Central American countries and, in fact, the five top murder capitals of the 

world. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 
43 

Senator HARRIS. OK. Are you aware of a shift in the Administration’s policy as it relates to those children? 

Ms. NIELSEN. To anybody from other countries that illegally 

enter, including those children, yes. 

Senator HARRIS. What is the shift of the policy? 

Ms. NIELSEN. The shift in policy, as I understand it—and, again, 

should I be confirmed, I would definitely dive into the policy papers 

and descriptions. But as I understand it, the concern is that right 

now the system is such, due to a variety of other factors, that when 

somebody does come in illegally, they are detained, and sometimes 

they are detained for quite a long period of time, as you know. 

Senator HARRIS. I am running out of time, so I just want to ask 

you one more question. Do you agree with a policy that would expedite deportation of unaccompanied minors who are coming from 

those Central American countries? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I believe in reuniting children with their families. 

If their families are not here—— 

Senator HARRIS. Then are you saying you would deport those 

children to reunite them with their families who have actually put 

those children in a process of fleeing violence and they want those 

children to be safe and in the United States? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Well, in that case I would certainly want to work 

with you to understand more about the implications. 

Senator HARRIS. Thank you. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Senator Hassan. Again, I will apologize for 

getting out of order. 

Senator HASSAN. It is all fine, and I appreciate it very much. I 

appreciate the chance to have a second round of questions. 

Ms. Nielsen, I just wanted to start by expressing my concern 

about your answer to one of Senator Carper’s questions about climate change. When you are in charge of our country’s security, 

when you are in charge of our response to natural disasters, you 

need to be able to rely on science and technology and consider and 

assess the science and technology that you are being advised with 

objectively and put it well before politics. What I heard in your answer was politics before science, and that concerns me very much. 

As Governor of the State of New Hampshire, when we were dealing with natural disasters, one of the first things we did was have 

the National Weather Service from Gray, Maine, on the phone advising us as to what we were going to see, what we were going to 

be dealing with. In dealing with security measures, I had to rely 

on engineers and technologists about the power of certain kinds of 

responses to possible threats. 

Just consider this a concern expressed by me that if you are willing to dodge a question when 99 percent of the world’s scientists 

agree that the primary cause of climate change is human activity, 

that concerns me about your qualifications to take on this role. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Could I just answer that, if I could? 

Senator HASSAN. Of course, yes. 

Ms. NIELSEN. Unfortunately, I was cutoff from Senator Carper as 

well. What I would have said is that not only do I think the climate 

is changing, but I think it is vital that we in response change our 

modeling, our preparedness, and responses. Climate has a direct effect on natural disasters. 
44 

Senator HASSAN. Of course it does. But if you are unwilling to 

acknowledge that the primary cause of it is human behavior, then 

you are not going to be able to change the modeling appropriately. 

What we are looking for is people who are willing to acknowledge 

that there is a huge and incredibly well vetted peer-reviewed 

science that tells us that climate change is primarily caused by 

human activity. One of my concerns, as many, should you be confirmed, of your fellow Cabinet members are also people who will 

not acknowledge the primary cause of climate change, and they are 

often the people who would be advising you in times of considerable 

natural disaster and threat. They are not willing to listen to 

science either. 

I am going to move on to the question that I wanted to ask in 

this second round, but just hope that you might educate yourself 

about what science says about climate change and the primary 

cause of it. 

Ms. NIELSEN. You have my commitment, should I be confirmed, 

to review the science. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HASSAN. Our country’s safety really does depend on that. 

Now, on to election security, I wanted to follow up on Senator 

Harris’ line of questioning, because according to a Newsweek report 

from early October entitled, ‘‘Russians still have an open path to 

U.S. election subversion,’’ DHS’s high-level outreach teams, known 

as the Government Coordinating Council, which I think is what 

you were just referring to, are only just now reaching out to States 

to assess their election cyber needs. Mr. Chairman, I would like to 

submit this article for the record,1 without objection. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Without objection. 

Senator HASSAN. It seems that you just confirmed what this article said, which is that DHS has only started to reach out to States’ 

chief election officials within the past few weeks. 

We are more than a year past Russia’s hack of our election. We 

just had gubernatorial elections in two States yesterday, and we 

are just months away from the 2018 election cycle. Why did it take 

so long for DHS to establish this Government Coordinating Council? What actions did you take as DHS Chief of Staff to help accelerate the establishment of this Council? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you for the question and for the opportunity 

to clarify. DHS, as I understand it, has been working with States 

for many months, 14 or 15—— 

Senator HASSAN. My understanding is they have just started now 

to reach out to the chief election officers, which is an absolutely 

critical step. 

Ms. NIELSEN. I do not believe that is correct, respectfully, in my 

understanding. When I was at DHS, we ensured that, following on 

the work that Secretary Johnson did, we established what is called 

a subsector, sub-tech Sector Coordinating Council, which is primarily the private sector side, if you will, also has some government folks on it. The GCC is a very specific sister part of that partnership model. That was recently stood up in conjunction with a 

commission that is really focused on third-party certification of the 

infrastructure, not the vulnerability, not the monitoring, not the 

threat and information sharing, which has been occurring since at 

least prior to January. 
45 

Senator HASSAN. OK. Then I hope you will read this article, and 

we will have further discussions about it. My concern is whether, 

in fact, election security is really a priority for this President, 

and—— 

Ms. NIELSEN. It must be. 

Senator HASSAN. Did you do anything in the White House to accelerate preparations to make sure that our election cyber systems 

were secure? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Only from a policy perspective. Again, I did not 

have any command or control or any assets at my disposal in my 

White House job. But, yes, ensure that the policy process addressed 

any risk that we face today. 

Senator HASSAN. Are you comfortable that our States will be able 

to defend against Russia’s hacking efforts in the 2018 cycle? 

Ms. NIELSEN. I would like to be in a place where I can answer 

that in the affirmative, should I be confirmed. I cannot answer that 

now. I do not know. I certainly hope so. That should be the goal. 

We should work and use everything we can to ensure that that 

does not occur. 

Senator HASSAN. It is a priority of yours to ensure that the absolute bedrock of our democracy is protected before our 2018 elections 

take place? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, ma’am. 

Senator HASSAN. We have your commitment, if necessary, to ask 

for additional funding, to ask for additional resources, to work with 

the States to ensure that when people go to the polls—and remember that there is early voting in many States—they can be confident again that the election systems in each and every State are 

secure. 

Ms. NIELSEN. We must do it in partnership, yes. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you. I yield my time. 

Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Senator Hassan. By the way, I 

would love to work with you and other Members, because the issue 

has been raised a number of times, in terms of the resiliency models we are using, to design a hearing to look at that. One question 

I would certainly want to have on the table during that hearing, 

though, is if we spend literally billions if not hundreds of billions 

of dollars trying to address this science and this problem, what 

kind of bang for the buck do we get? Again, I would love to work 

with you on designing a hearing to elicit that kind of information. 

But let me start, Ms. Nielsen, with my questions kind of down 

that same path. Last week we held a hearing with FEMA Director 

Brock Long, who I really do believe acquitted himself well, I think, 

throughout this process, including the hearing, with the unprecedented disasters he was faced with after 172 days on the job. Obviously, government has learned a lot of lessons from Hurricane 

Katrina, but one of my concerns—and I had a poster out there, produced, I believe, by the Heritage Foundation, showing the dramatic 

increase in the number of FEMA-declared disasters. 

I am concerned about the moral hazard, the reliance of State and 

local officials on the Federal Government to not only respond but 

also to understand exactly what the risks are when I think that is 

primarily a State and local responsibility. I think this is the question I have for you. You talked about the partnership model. Who 
46 

really is primarily responsible for the response to natural disasters? What is FEMA’s and DHS’s role from that standpoint? What 

is your understanding of that? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Thank you, sir. I would like to answer two different ways. 

First, I believe that the primary responsibility is of the State, 

local, tribal, and territorial governments. They are there. They are 

on the ground. They know their community. They know their 

vulnerabilities the best. 

Upon request, however, it is the role of the Federal Government 

to provide assistance. That can be in the form of funding from the 

Disaster Relief Fund. That can be in the form of personnel and additional surge capacity, if you will. It can also be in training and 

exercises and other preparedness activities pre-hazard. 

In terms of the bang for the buck part of the question, I think 

we really need to relook at it. It is not really a question of eliminating or limiting what it is that we are providing overall, but ensuring that we are doing it in the right way in partnership with 

State and local governments. 

Perhaps there are some grants on the front end that can help 

them capacity-build. Perhaps there are other ways in which we can 

distribute money after an event to ensure that it is spent effectively and efficiently. 

Chairman JOHNSON. It seems to me, after Hurricane Katrina and 

following other disasters, we have certainly learned that different 

State and local governments are better prepared than others. I 

think that is a pretty important assessment, quite honestly, that 

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security go through to try 

and identify and maybe point out to States there are some best 

practices in other States that you might want to follow. 

Having been involved with Hurricane Katrina and certainly the 

after-action report on that, what were the lessons, what were the 

primary lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina? What lessons 

have been learned from previous disasters that I really do believe 

set us up to respond and pre-plan from the last round of hurricanes? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Overall, what I would say is I think all of these 

major disasters have shown us, given their size and scope, that our 

plans have to be scalable and they have to be agile. Unfortunately, 

as you always hear in a DOD and military construct, a plan rarely 

survives first contact, and the reason for that is because it is always contextual in terms of the given consequences of any given 

storm. The unity of effort concept I believe in strongly. It needs to 

be presented in a way that all parties understand their roles and 

responsibilities, but also understand those roles and responsibilities could be different given the size and scope of the storm. 

Certainly, in Hurricane Katrina what we saw is we needed to do 

more ahead of time. We need to pre-position more. We needed to 

ensure that those contracts that Senator McCaskill mentioned before were in place prior to an event so that we were not trying to 

contract last minute. The roles and responsibilities needed to be 

very clear. When was it appropriate for the National Guard to be 

included? When was it appropriate for active-duty forces to be utilized as part of a mission assignment? 
47 

A lot of it was just learning the lesson that, when something is 

that big and the scope is that complete and the local government, 

as you mentioned, in that case was incapacitated, what is the additional Federal role and how best can we support? 

Chairman JOHNSON. Ms. Nielsen, we have had a number of questions about the wall. I would refer you, by the way, as we are designing the prototypes—I was in Israel, and they responded with, 

I think, about a 140-, 150-mile wall, built it at $2.9 million per 

mile. Pretty effective, a number of the components of that, but that 

would be a pretty good model just to take a look at as a prototype. 

We were together at the Southern Border in San Diego. One of 

the things I was struck by was the almost unanimous viewpoint of 

immigration judges about how over time, based on precedents, 

often precedents decided by the Ninth Circuit, we really have 

picked holes in our immigration laws that create the incentive for 

illegal immigration. I am all for better barriers where they are 

needed, but I think we really do need to address the incentives created in our laws, in our precedents. 

Can you speak to that issue? 

Ms. NIELSEN. Yes, sir. It is something that I have actually had 

the pleasure of speaking about in various capacities with the Attorney General and other State and local law officials such as those 

in San Diego. The law has to be clear not only for us to be able 

to enforce it, but to serve as a deterrent. The more that, unfortunately, there are picking-aways, if you will, either through discretion or through application or through backlogs or through the lack 

of immigration judges, we disable ourselves from not only enforcing 

the law, but to getting the effect that the law was meant to provide 

to begin with. 

Certainly should I be confirmed, I look forward to having those 

conversations with the Attorney General, understanding the need 

for immigration judges to quickly and competently enforce our laws 

on that part of the system, and to work with State and locals to 

see what is working and not working at their level. 

Chairman JOHNSON. I look forward to working with you. I know 

as we are trying to solve the whole issue of DREAMers, from my 

standpoint the humane thing is to stop the flow of children coming 

in, stop incentivizing them to take that very dangerous journey on 

a train they call ‘‘The Beast’’ and subject themselves to all types 

of horrors. 

Again, I want to thank you for your past service and for your 

willingness to serve. As Senator Lankford pointed out, this confirmation process is not particularly fun, and as former Secretaries 

as well as I said in my opening statement, you are agreeing to step 

into the position with a very daunting task. But I think at this 

hearing you have shown yourself to be very knowledgeable. You 

have a great deal of relevant experience, and as a result, I think 

you are very well qualified for this position. Again, I thank you for 

your willingness to serve. 

The nominee has made some financial disclosures and provided 

responses to the biographical and prehearing questions submitted 

by the Committee. Without objection, this information will be made 

part of the hearing record,1 with the exception of the financial 
48 

data, which are on file and available for public inspection in the 

Committee’s offices. 

Chairman JOHNSON. The hearing record will remain open until 

noon tomorrow, November 9th, for the submission of statements 

and questions for the record. However, if Members wish to receive 

responses to their questions from Ms. Nielsen prior to an anticipated Committee vote on this nomination tomorrow, they must 

submit questions for the record by 5 p.m. today. 

This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 
(49) 

A P P E N D I X 
50 

July 16, 20 I 5: Five killed, two wounded at a military recruiting center and a Naval Reserve center in 

Chattanooga, 'I'ellncssec. 

Oct. 1, 2015: Nine killed, nine wounded at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. 

Nov. 27, 20 I 5: Three killed, nine wounded outside a clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Dec. 2, 2015: 14 killed, 24 wounded at a Christmas pa11y in San Bernardino, California. 

June I 2, 2016: 49 killed, at least 68 wounded at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 

July 7, 2016: Five police of1icers killed, eleven wounded near a parking garage in Dallas, Texas. 

July 17, 2016: Three police officers killed, and three more officers wounded at a shopping plaza in Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana. 

Jan. 6, 2017: Five killed, six wounded at the airport in F01i Lauderdale, Florida. 

Oct. 1. 2017: 58 killed, 546 wounded at a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Oct. 31, 2017: Eight killed, 12 wounded along a bicycle path in New York City. 

Nov. 5, 2017, last Sunday: 26 killed, at least 20 wounded in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland 

Springs, Texas. 

That evening, my 34 year-old daughter asked me the questions we arc all asking ourselves: "What's 

happening') Why? What can we do about it0 " 

Those are the questions the next DHS Secretary will be asked to address. It is not an easy task. The 

Department of Homeland Security employs approximately 240,000 people and manages a budget of $66 

billion. It's a department created by fusing 22 separate agencies with diverse missions. The result has 

been a department that has struggled to unify its efforts and manage a workforce with habitually low 

morale relative to other federal agencies. 

Fortunately, when Ms. Nielsen served under Secretary Kelly, she witnessed firsthand how quickly and 

dramatically morale can be improved within DHS by providing its workforce the authority and support 

they need to perform the tasks they were hired to do. 

In my conversation with General Kelly, he called Ms. Nielsen a superstar. I have received a letter of 

endorsement from former DHS Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chetiolf, as well as a letter from 40 

former White 1 louse and homeland security federal officials. I ask consent that these letters be entered in 

the record. 

Ms. Nielsen, I thank you for your past service and your willingness to serve in the future. 

I look forward to your testimony. 
51 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security 

November 8, 2017 

Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 

Opening Statement 

Thank you Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you holding this hearing and I want 

to thank the nominee for her willingness to serve. 

Today we convene to perform one of our most important constitutional 

functions to provide advice and consent for the President's nominees for senior 

positions in our government. On October 16, 2017, President Trump nominated 

Ms. Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The agency's mission 

is to ensure that our homeland is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism, 

natural disasters, and other hazards facing the nation. 

Recent events have only reinforced the need for the Department of 

Homeland Security to have strong permanent leadership. American citizens in 

Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other regions have had their 

lives and livelihoods upended by hurricanes. Out west, raging wildfires have 

forced thousands of families from their homes. Record-breaking floods have 

ravaged communities across my home state of Missouri. And just last week, New 

York City suffered its most deadly terrorist attack since 9/11. In times of crisis, the 
52 

American people come together. DHS plays a critical role in ensuring that the 

federal govemment supports that effort. 

If confirmed as Secretary, Ms. Nielsen will lead the third largest department 

in the federal govemment, oversee a workforce that includes more than 240,000 

employees and contractors, and coordinate 22 separate components including 

Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the 

Secret Service. 

While I was already aware of Ms. Nielsen's intellect and work ethic as well 

as her expe1tise in cyber security and preparedness, I appreciated the chance to 

discuss the other qualities she would bring to DHS in our meeting yesterday. My 

hope is that today's hearing will explore some ofthe challenges currently facing 

DHS and that will confront her if confirmed. For example, I look forward to 

learning how Ms. Nielsen plans to improve the Department's counterterrorism 

capabilities despite the dramatic cuts included in the President's budget. I want to 

know what steps Ms. Nielsen will take to stop the illegal flow of drugs and 

contraband through our pmis of entry. I would like to hear how Ms. Nielsen has 

and will apply lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and recent disasters to 

improve oversight ofDHS contracting practices in crisis situations. I also hope 

2 
53 

that Ms. Nielsen will share her priorities for counteracting violent extremism and 

for protecting our cyber and election infrastructure from foreign actors. 

Perhaps most importantly, I want to learn about the management experience 

and philosophy that Ms. Nielsen plans to bring to DHS. No one that's served as 

DHS Secretary has had perfect knowledge of the breadth and depth of issues facing 

the department. But the DHS Secretary must have the leadership and management 

skills to lead a complex and sprawling enterprise on day one. I hope that Ms. 

Nielsen will discuss her strategies for promoting collaboration and efficiency 

among the various components within the agency and with other tederal partners. 

I also want know how Ms. Nielsen will build employee morale and ensure that 

whistleblowers can come forward to management, Congress and the Inspector 

General to report waste, fraud and abuse, without fear of retaliation. 

Finally, I hope to receive a public commitment from Ms. Nielsen that DHS 

will comply with oversight requests from all members of this Committee, 

including several of mine that remain outstanding. Ms. Nielsen's predecessor, 

General John Kelly, was willing to speak frankly, even if his message was not one 

that would be particularly well received. Under his leadership DHS was willing to 

answer requests for information from both the majority and the minority-and, 

while not perfect, was far more responsive than other Departments. We have a 

constitutional duty to perform oversight of the Department, and I would like to 

3 
54 

continue and improve upon the cooperation that General Kelly showed to the 

majority and minority members of this Committee. 

The Department of Homeland Security is comprised ofthousands of talented 

and dedicated Americans who \Vork every day to keep us safe. They develop and 

implement countertenorism and cybersecurity policy. They defend our border and 

ports of entry. They administer our immigration laws, protect of our national 

leaders and critical infrastructure, and execute disaster preparedness and response. 

We must continue to ensure that these public servants have the support 

necessary to succeed in their mission and 1 look forward to working with Ms. 

Nielsen in that effmi should she be confirmed as our nation's sixth Secretary of 

Homeland Security. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

4 
55 

Senator Rob Portman 

Opening Statement 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you and Senator McCaskill giving me the 

privilege of being able to introduce the nominee today. Kirstjen Nielsen, as was just said by 

my colleague Senator Rubio, is so qualified for this job. I must say, Mr. Chairman, that when 

you laid out the challenges we face-it's sobering, and we need to have somebody with the 

experience and the qualifications that she has, and we need that right now. 

Before commenting further on her distinguished career and qualifications, I do want 

to take a moment to acknowledge fellow Ohioan and Acting Secretary Elaine Duke for her 

service. She took over the secretary duties at a challenging time and has displayed 

leadership and dignity. I know she has worked closely with you, Mr. Chairman, the Ranking 

Member, and others. 

Kirstjen is not a native Ohioan like Ms. Duke, but I am equally excited to introduce 

her this morning. We served concurrently at the White House in the George W. Bush 

administration where she was a trusted hand in the formative years of the Homeland 

Security Council as senior director for prevention, preparedness, and response. I saw a 

decade ago a professional dedicated to public service and the mission of securing the 

homeland, just as I see that today in her actions more recently at Homeland Security and at 

the White House. I'm delighted again that she is stepping forward to take on this 

responsibility. 

I appreciated the opportunity to sit down with her a couple of weeks ago to hear 

about her priorities for the Department of Homeland Security. It sounds like you all have 

done the same thing. It's exciting to have someone with her energy and enthusiasm, work 

ethic was mentioned by Senator McCaskill, and again her qualifications to do this. She has 

this Hill experience we talked about a moment ago, and she also has private sector 

experience in the area of homeland security. I think most importantly, perhaps, she is the 

first Department of Homeland Security nominee with previous experience at DHS. I think 

that is important given the serious challenges you just described for us, Chairman 

johnson. 

With this homeland security expertise and experience from those transformative 

years for the Department and at the White House, her industry and homeland security 

consulting experience, and her most recent roles in this administration, she will be the kind 

of experienced and capable leader we need now in this ever-evolving threat environment 

that we find ourselves in. 

Most recently, of course, she served as the Chief of Staff to former-Secretary john 

Kelly. She proved herself in the early stages of the administration transition and saw firsthand the challenges of managing this diverse and sprawling agency. Senator McCaskill is 

right, it's a management challenge. She has seen firsthand those challenges. 
56 

Throughout her career in government and the private sector, she has developed 

extensive experience in homeland security strategy, cybersecurity, transportation security, 

and emergency resilience. She speaks regularly about the need for resilience in our 

homeland security posture, and I think that is incredibly important for the next secretary. 

Mr. Chairman, you noted in your opening comments that the committee received 

written introductions for this hearing from former DHS Secretaries Torn Ridge and Michael 

Chertoff. I know both regret that they could not be here today in person, as does General 

Kelly, to endorse Kirstjen's nomination. These leaders know what this job entails. If I may, 

I'd like to just briefly read a couple of excerpts from their letters about what they said 

about Kirstjen. 

Kirstjen, according to Secretary Ridge, "has been engaged in counter-terrorism, allhazard risk mitigation, critical infrastructure protection and response policy from the 

earliest days of what we now know as Homeland Security. She brings operational 

experience as well, having managed the day-to-day operations of the Department. She has 

since served as the Principal Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House charged with 

coordinating the interagency policy making process at the highest levels with the 

secretaries and deputy secretaries. Simply put, she is ready to hit the ground running day 

one." That's from Secretary Ridge. 

From Secretary Michael Chertoff, he said this: "she played a key role then helping 

lead the lessons learned efforts post-Katrina informing and changing the way we have dealt 

with disaster preparation and response ever since. Kirstjen is a homeland security leader 

for our times. More than any previous secretary, she understands the 21st Century 

challenges of the borderless cyber domain and has worked in both the public and private 

sectors to address this deeply interconnected and consequential risk to America's national 

security and economic stability. Kirstjen Nielsen offers our nation the credentials required 

of the Secretary of Homeland Security in to day's environment: expertise in homeland 

security policy and operations; national and international perspective, and; public and 

private sector experience in the mission space." 

Mr. Chairman, I echo those strong sentiments about Kirstjen myself. I believe that 

her work ethic, her experience, and her leadership is what's needed at Homeland Security, 

and needed now. 

I am sure we will have a fruitful discussion with the nominee today. !look forward 

to asking her a few questions myself. 

I hope we can move this nomination quickly out of the committee and through the 

Senate so we can get her to work as the next Secretary of Homeland Security at a critical 

time. 
57 

Statement of Ms. Kirstjen Nielsen 

Before the 

U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Committee 

On Her Nomination to Serve as 

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

November 8, 2017 

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member McCaskill, and distinguished Members 

of the Committee: it is an honor to appear before you today as you 

consider my nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security. I 

am humbled and grateful to the President for the trust he has placed in 

me to lead DHS during such a critical time. 

I also want to thank Senators Rubio and Portman for their kind words 

and introductions. Thank you to former Secretaries Ridge and Chertoff 

for their statements- it was an honor to serve and work with you and I 

look forward to your continued leadership and stewardship of our 

homeland security enterprise. Finally, I want to thank former Secretary, 

now Chief of Staff, General Kelly for his leadership, example and 46 

years of steadfast service to our nation. 

Please allow me to take a moment to introduce the members of my 

family who are here with me today. My dad, James, my brother, 

Fletcher, my sister, Ashley, my aunt and uncle, Mary Ellen and Trevor 

Burton and my cousin Andrew Bragg. I was raised to believe in our 

country and its founding principles and ideals; to serve our country; and 

to appreciate and be thankful every day for the freedoms we hold dear as 

Americans. I am beyond grateful for the values they have instilled in me 

and their unwavering love and support throughout my life. Thank you 

for your continued encouragement and for traveling so far to be here. 

If confirmed as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security, it will be the 

greatest honor of my life to again work with and support the remarkable 

men and women ofthe Department of Homeland Security who put it all 
58 

on the line every day to secure the Homeland. I can't say enough about 

the incredible work of the people ofDHS many of whom put their lives 

on the line daily to ensure the safety and security of our nation. 

Over more than two decades, I have dedicated my career to working on 

homeland security issues. In both the public (legislative and executive 

branches) and private sectors, I have utilized my knowledge of 

homeland security policy, strategy, and operations, as well as my 

expertise in risk and resilience, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure 

protection, and emergency management to help make our nation more 

secure. 

After working on transportation, defense, and government affairs issues 

and legislation for Senator Connie Mack, I practiced corporate 

transactional law during which time I learned how private sector 

company operations are directly affected by organizational structures 

and delineation of roles and responsibilities. My service in the executive 

branch began in 2002 at the Transportation Security Administration. At 

that time, TSA was still part of the Department of Transportation and the 

formation ofDHS was being contemplated. It was an honor to work 

alongside the countless public servants who stood up TSA and tackled 

the tough security challenges we faced after the attacks on September 

11th and who later helped to stand up the Department of Homeland 

Security. 

I was subsequently commissioned by President Bush to serve as a 

Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior 

Director for Prevention, Preparedness, and Response. Charged with 

interagency policy development and coordination, I led the development 

of new national strategies and policies, articulating the roles of all levels 

of government and the private sector in protecting our nation's critical 

infrastructure and in strengthening our information sharing. During this 

time the Nation experienced the devastation ofthe Gulf Coast that 

resulted from Hurricane Katrina. Based on the lessons identified from 

the response to Hurricane Katrina, I led the update and revisions to our 
59 

disaster response plans to strengthen our efforts moving into the future. I 

worked with Congress to draft the Post Katrina Emergency Management 

Reform Act, and co-authored the White House Katrina lessons learned 

report. As we've seen again during this year's devastating hurricane 

season, DHS plays a crucial role in disaster preparedness, mitigation, 

response and recovery working closely with public and private sector 

partners. I have worked closely with all facets of our emergency 

preparedness community, and should I be confirmed, look forward to 

helping to ensure our nation's resilience to natural disasters, terrorist 

attacks and other major emergencies. 

While each aspect ofthe Department's mission is important, I believe 

one of the most significant for our nation's future is cybersecurity and 

the overall security and resilience of our nation's critical infrastructure. 

The scope and pace of cyberattacks against our federal networks and the 

control systems that run our critical infrastructure are continually 

increasing, with attacks growing evermore complex and each more 

sophisticated than the last. Cyber criminals and nation states are 

continually looking for ways to exploit our hyperconnectivity and 

reliance on IT systems. My cybersecurity experience in both the public 

sector, having chaired the first White House Policy Coordination 

Committee on cybersecurity, and the private sector, advising 

government and non-government officials on the development and 

execution of strategies to mitigate risks and enhance the resilience of our 

critical infrastructure has prepared me well for the multi-faceted 

challenge that is increasing our resilience to cyberattacks. I look forward 

to working with experts at the Department, and within the interagency 

and the private sector to thwart threats, protect our networks and 

essential functions and secure our nation's interests in cyberspace. 

At the start of the current administration, I also had the honor of serving 

as Chief of Staff at DHS under then-Secretary Kelly. During that time, I 

worked closely with state and local officials, cabinet secretaries, foreign 

partners, and members of Congress on all of the issues that DHS faces. I 

had the opportunity to develop strong working relationships with current 
60 

DHS leadership, and helped to develop many of the Department's 

current key priorities and strategies. 

Our nation is facing a complex threat landscape that is constantly 

evolving. The threats we face are too many and too varied for any one 

entity to address them successfully alone. I understand the risks and the 

resulting challenges the Department is tasked with resolving and I am 

eager to get to work with all of DHS' partners - domestic and 

international from all sectors- to find solutions. From my experience at 

TSA in the early 2000s, to my time in the private sector supporting the 

homeland security enterprise, I have gained a vast understanding of the 

Department, its components, and the many challenges it faces. 

If confirmed I pledge to continue the record of exceptional leadership 

that General Kelly and Acting Secretary Duke have established at DHS. 

I vow to the men and women ofDHS, to you, and to the hundreds of 

millions of Americans who rely on DHS every day, to work tirelessly to 

effectively execute each mission at the Department of Homeland 

Security. I will work every day to enforce our laws; secure our borders, 

coasts, and waterways; and protect Americans from dangerous 

criminals, terrorists, cyberattacks, and the other threats facing our 

homeland. I also pledge to work every day to give the dedicated men 

and women of the Department the support, tools and resources they 

need, and deserve, to carry out their difficult- and often dangerousmissions. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. Should 

I be confirmed, I look forward to partnering with the Committee and the 

full Congress to protect and secure our homeland. 

I look forward to answering the Committee's questions. 
61 

REDACTED 

HSGAC BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS FOR 

EXECUTIVE NOMINEES 

1. Basic Biographical Information 

Please provide the following information. 

Est Est 
62 

Never Married Married Separated 

0 0 

2 

Annulled 

0 

Divorced Widowed 

0 
63 

2. Education 

List all post-secondary schools attended. 

University of Summer classes at East West institute E•t Est Prc:s~nt none 

Hawaii 0511992 07/1992 

Nanzan Center for Japanese Studies (study E" E•t none 

University abroad) 09/1991 lZ/1992 

University of School of Law Est Est Presl.'nt JD 0511999 J Virginia 08/1996 O!'i/1999 
64 

3. Employment 

(A) List all of your employment activities, including unemployment and self-employment. 

If the employment activity was military duty, list separate employment activity periods to 

show each change of military duty station. Do not list employment before your 18th 

birthday unless to provide a minimum of two years of employment history. 

The Limited 1 Inc. Salesperson Clearwat 

er,FL 01/1990 0711990 

Non-Government Margus Enterprises Staff Clearwat Est 

Em lo ment 06/1990 07/1990 

Est 

cr, FL 

Non-Government Washing! Est ---~Est 

Em lo ment Boogie's Diner Waitress on, DC JO!t990 J0/19911 

Non-Government Campus Computers, Campus Washing! l~st Est 

Em lo ment Inc. director on, DC 09/1991 11/1991 

Non-Government Political l~st EM 

DCMGroup research McLean, 02/1991 X 05/1991 X 

Employment anal st VA 

Non-Government u.s. Est Esi 

Telecommunications Intern Washing! 0111992 05/1992 

Employment Trainin fnstitute on1 DC 

Moose Waitress Honolulu E>t Rsl 

McGill>'cuddts HI 05!1992 0711992 

Mcijio Junior School English Nagoya, I<:5t Est 

teacher Ja an 09/1992 1211992 

American Bar Est E!>t 

Non-Government Association (ABA) Washing! 05/1993 08/19.93 

Employment lnternational Law & [ntcm on, DC 

Practice Section 

Non-Government ABA Standing Rst Rst 

Committee on Law Intern Washing! 05/1993 08/1993 

Employment and National Securit on, DC 

Non-Government Jamie Wilson for Clearwat Est E•t 

Em lo ment Florida State Senate er, FL 08/1994 J0/1994 

Non-Government Friends of Charlie St. E" E" I0/1994 ll/1994 

Employment Crist 

Non-Government Fish Market E•t Est 

Em lo ment 11/1994 Olfl995 

Non-Governmen-t -- ~----.. - _" ____ Powell Tate Est E't 

Em lo ment lntem 01/1995 OIIJ995 

4 
65 

Federal employment U.S. Senate- Senator Legislative Washing! "'' F..s.t 

Connie Mack Correspondent on, DC OII19?5 0 08/J996 0 

Non~Government Washing! .,, Est 

Employment Pasta Place Waitress on, DC 04!1995 0 O!l/1995 0 

Non-Government Washing! Est Est 

Employment Pasta Place waitress on, DC 04119% 0 07/1996 0 

Non-Government Mannatech, Inc, Associate Grand Est .,. 

Employment (multi-level glycol- Prairie~ 01/1997 D 0512005 X 

nutritional marketing TX 

company; homebased businesslocation listed is the 

comoanv hQ.) 

Federal employment Depm1ment of Honors Legal Washingt Est Est 

Defense (General Intern on, DC 01/1997 0 01!1997 0 

CounselInternational Affairs) 

Dallas, Est F.st 

Unemployment N/A N/A TX 06/1999 0 08/1999 0 

Non-Government Haynes and Boone, Associate Dallas, Est Est 

Employment LLP TX 0Wl999 D 0512001 0 

Unemployment N/A N/A Arlingto Est Est 

n, VA 06!2002 0 07/l002 0 

Federal employment Transportation Director, Arlingto Est Est 

Security Office of Leg. n, VA 08/2002 D 04/2004 X 

Administt·ation Policy 

Federal employment Executive Office of Special Asst to Washing! Est "'' the President·· the President on, DC 0411004 X 04/2007 a 

Homeland Security and Senior 

Council Director 

Federal contractor Civitas Group LLC President and Washing! Est F" 

General on, DC 04/2007 X 07/1012 X 

Counsel 

Federal contractor McNeill Managing Springfie Est E<t 

Technologies, Inc./ Director ld, VA 05/2007 n 05/2010 0 

Civitas Group LLC 

Non-Government Mannatech, Inc. Associate Grand Est E<t 

Employment (multi-level glycol- Prairie, 05/2007 X {15J20ll X 

nutritional marketing TX 

company; homew 

based business--

location listed is the 

comoanv ho.l 

Federal Contractor Sunesis Consulting, President Alexandr E<t E<t 

LLC ia, VA 0:'11012 0 0111017 0 

~-..,.- Federal Contractor Obsidian, A Cadmus Consultant/! 09 Washingt Est Est 

Company 9 on, DC 0712016 0 01!1.017 0 

Federal employment Department of Chief of Staff Washing! Est E<t 

Homeland Security on, DC OJ/2017 0 07/l017 0 

5 
66 

Federal employment Executive Office of 

the President- The 

White !louse Office 

(B) List any advisory, consultative, honorary or other part-time service or positions with 

federal, state, or local governments, not listed elsewhere. 

E" Est I' resent 

Est Est Present 

0 

Est Kst Present 

4. Potential Conflict of Interest 

(A) Describe any business relationship, dealing or financial transaction which you have had 

during the last 10 years, whether for yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, 

that could in any way constitute or result in a possible conflict of interest in the position to 

which you have been nominated. 

N/A 

(B) Describe any activity dul'ing the past 10 years in which you have engaged for the 

purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat or modification of any 

legislation or affecting the administration or execution oflaw or public policy, other than 

while in a federal government capacity. 

N/A 

5. Honors and Awards 

List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees, civilian service citations, military 

medals, academic or professional honors, honorary society memberships and any other 

special recognition for outstanding service or achievement. 

6 
67 

Named one of"The Most 1nfluential People Security"} 2016. Security ~~lagazine 

Appointed a Civil Expert to NATO, 2015 

Selected and credentialed as risk expert, Risk Assistance Network+ Exchange, 2015 

Commissioned as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security by President George W. Bush, 

2004-2007 

Certificate of Appreciation, DHS Office oflnfrastructure Protection, 2007 

Certificate DHS Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 2004 

Outstanding on Behalf ofTSA Award, 2004 

Silver Medal Award for Transportation Security, 2003 

Phillip C. Jessup lntematkmal Law Moot Court, second place oralist at regional competition, 1998 

Bracewell and Patterson Oral Advocate Award, !997 

Dean's List and Pi Sigma Alpha Political Honors Society at Georgetown University 

List all me,mtler!<hios 

scholarly, civic, or 

6. 

have held in social, lmsiness, fraternal, 

organizations the last 10 years. 

Unless relevant to your nomination, you do NOT need to include memberships in 

charitable organizations available to the public as a result of a tnx deductible donation of 

$1,000 or less, Parent-Teacher Associations or other ot·ganizations connected to sdwols 

attended your children, athletic clubs or teams, automobile organizations (such 

as AAA), clubs (such as or Sam's Club), or 

memberships/consumer clubs (snclt as memberships), 

U.S Chamber of Commerce 

World Economic Forum GlobalRisks Council 

!l/2015 -Ol/2017 

7 
68 

RES/CON, Greater New Orleans, 2015-01/2017 Advisory Board Member 

Inc. 

World Economic Forum's Global 2014-2016 Chair 

Agenda Council on Risk and 

Resilience 

Center for Naval Analysis Safely 2013-2016 Board Member 

and Security Advisory Board 

U.S. Women's Chamber of 05/2012-0112017 Member 

Commerce 

Homeland Security Advisory 2011-2014 Member 

Council for Strategic and Global 

Security Programs at Penn State 

World Economic Forum's Global 2010-2013 Member 

Agenda Council on Catastrophic 

Risks 

Homeland Security Policy Institute 2010 . 2014 Senior Fellow 

at the George Washington 

University 

7. Political Activity 

(A) Have you ever been a candidate for or been elected or appointed to a political office? 

(B) List any offices held in or services rendered to a political party or election committee 

during the last ten years that you have not listed elsewhere. 

8 
69 

(C) Itemize all individual political contributions of $200 or more that you have made in the 

past five years to any individual, campaign organization, political party, political action 

committee, or similar entity. Please list each individual contribution and not the total 

amount contributed to the person or entity during the year. 

Right To Rise USA (Gov. Jeb Bush) $2,500 20!5 

Romney Victory (Gov. Mitt Romney) $!,500 2012 

9 
70 

8. Publications and Speeches 

(A) List the titles, publishers and dates of books, ar1icles, reports or other published materials that you have written, 

including articles published on the Internet. Please provide the Committee with copies of aU listed publications. In lieu of 

hard copies, electronic copies can be provided via e-mail or other digital format. 

Methods and Application 

in En'Vironment, Cyber llnd 

SociaiDomams." 

Contributor to Chapter 14: 

"Bridging the Gap from 

CyberSecurityto 

Resilience" 

"Resilience Insights." a World Economic Forum 

companion document to 

the Global Risks Report. http:f/wvrw3.wefmum.org!docs/GRRJ\VEF_ GACJ6_Risk __ Resilience __ ln~1ghts.pdf 

Co-author and Editor. 

"Syst~;:mic Cyber R1sk: Buffington Post 

Prepare Individually, 

Fail Co llective!y _" https:l/www.huffingtonpost.com/kirstjen-nielsen/systemic-cyber-risk-prepa_b _ 9029180 html 

Author. 

"Building Resilience in World Economic Forum 

Nepal through PublicPrivate Partnerships_" Co- http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC15 _Building_ Resi!ienc('__in _Nepal_report _151 O.pdf 

author and ed!!or. 

hrtp;//www3.wdorum.org/docs!WEF_Managing_Risk_Epidemics_report_2015.pdf 

10 

January2016 

January22, 20!6 

October2Dl5 
71 

https:!/v.'WW,csis.org/ana!ysis/mMaging-next~domestic-catastrophe 

11 
72 

(B) List any formal speeches you have delivered during the last five years and provide the Committee with copies of 

those speeches re1eYant to the position for which you have been nominated. Include any testimony to Congress or any 

other legislative or administrative body. These items can be provided electronically via e-mail or other digital format. 

12 
73 

13 
74 

Moderated Panel Critir:al Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (Note: this is a Federal Advisory Council} 

Public-Private Partne-rships American Bar Association, 9'h Annual IIome:and SecuritY -Law Institute _____ _ 

for Security and Resilience 

-Legal & Policy Issues. 

Moderated Panel 

Building Resilience to The National Academie;-and. World Economic Forum 

Catastrophic Risks through 

Pub lie-Private Partnerships hnp:/ I nas-s ites .org!resil ience/files/20 12/12/Resi HeJtce-W orkshop-B iosketches-090313. pdf 

Cyber Security and its World Economic Forum- Organi7..ation of Amen can States 

Implications for the 

Economy and the Financial http://wv.w.oas.org/ei1/media _ center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-25ll I 3 

Sector 

2014 

August 22,2014 

September 5, 2013 

June2013 

(C) List all speeches and testimony you have delivered in the past ten years, except for those the text of which you are 

providing to the Committee . 

.. 

2011lntelligence and Homeland 

Security Symposium 

Homeland Defcnse--!'.Jationa! 

Preparedness Framework panel 

5th Homeland Defense and Security 

Symposinm 

https:/h.vww.eventbrite.com/e/20 I 1-inte!ligenceand-homeland-security-symposiunJ-tickets· 

1718902283 

September 22, 2011 

The Center for Strategic Leadership and the November 2010 

Consortium for Homeland Defense and Security 

in America. 

h ttps:/!cchs .g;vu .eduJbo meland-securiry-layereddefense-ready-response 

video: 

https:/lwww_youtube.com/watch?V"'hxu GOuFk8o 

14 
75 
76 

9. Criminal History 

Since (and including) your 18'" birthday, has any of the following happened? 

Have you been issued a summons, citation, or ticket to appear in court in a criminal proceeding against you'? 

(Exclude citations involving trafTic infractions where the fine was less than $300 and did not include alcohol or 

drugs.) 

No 

Have you been arrested by any police officer, sheriff, marshal or any other type of law enforcement official? 

No 

Have you been charged, convicted, or sentenced of a crime in any court? 

No 

Have you been or are you emTcnt!y on probation or parole? 

No 

Are you currently on triat or awaiting a trial on criminal charges? 

No 

To your knowledge, have you ever been the subject or target of a federal, state or local criminal investigation? 

No 

If the answer to any of the questions above is yes, please answer the questions below for 

each criminal event (citation, arrest, investigation, etc.). If the event was an investigation, 

where the question below asks for information about the offense, please offer information 

about the offense under investigation (if known). 

A) Date of offense: 

a. Is this an estimate (Yes/No): 

B) Description of the specific nature of the offense: 

C) Did the offense involve any of the following? 

I) Domestic violence or a crime of violence (such as battery or assault) against your child, dependent, 

cohabitant, spouse, former spouscl or someone with whom you share a child in common: Yes I No 

2) Firearms or explosives: Yes I No 

3) Alcohol or drugs: Yes I No 

D) Location where the offense occurred (city, county, slate, zip code, country): 

16 
77 

E) Were you arrested, summoned, cited or did you receive a ticket to appear as a result of this offense by any 

police officer, sheriff, marshal or any other type oflaw enforcement official: Yes I No 

I) Name ofthc law enforcement agency that arrested/cited/summoned you: 

2) Location of the law enforcement agency (city, county, state, zip code, country): 

F) As a result of this offense were you charged, convicted, currently awaiting trial, and/or ordered to appear in 

court in a criminal proceeding against you: Yes I No 

!) If yes, provide the name of the court and the location of the court (city, county, state, zip code, 

country): 

2) If yes, provide all the charges brought against you for this offense, and the outcome of each charged 

offense (such as found guilty, found not-guilty, charge dropped or "nolle pros," etc). If you were found 

guilty of or pleaded guilty to a lesser offense, list separately both the original charge and the Jesser 

offense: 

3) If no, provide explanation: 

G) Were you sentenced as a result of this offense: Yes /No 

H) Provide a description of the sentence: 

I) Were you sentenced to imprisonment for a term exceeding one year: Yes I No 

J) Were you incarcerated as a result of that sentence for not Jess than one year: Yes I No 

K) If the conviction resulted in imprisonment, provide the dates that you actually were incarcerated: 

L) lf conviction resulted in probation or parole, provide the dates of probation or parole: 

M) Are you currently on trial, awaiting a trial, or awaiting sentencing on criminal charges fur this offense: Yes I 

No 

N) Provide explaration: 

10. Civil Litigation and Administrative or Legislative Proceedings 

(A)Since (and including) your 18th birthday, have you been a party to any public record 

civil court action or administrative or legislative proceeding of any kind that resulted in (1) 

a finding of wrongdoing against you, or (2) a settlement agreement for you, or some other 

person or entity, to make a payment to settle allegations against you, or for you to take, or 

refrain from taking, some action. Do NOT include small claims proceedings. 

No 

17 
78 

(B) In addition to those listed above, have you or any business of which you were an officer, 

director or owner ever been involved as a party of interest in any administrative agency 

proceeding or civil litigation? Please identify and provide details for any proceedings or 

civil litigation that involve actions taken or omitted by you, or alleged to have been taken or 

omitted by you, while serving in your official capacity. 

No 

(C) For responses to the previous question, please identify and provide details fm· any 

proceedings or civil litigation that involve actions taken or omitted by you, or alleged to 

have been taken or omitted by you, while serving in your official capacity. 

18 
79 

11. Breach of Professional Ethics 

(A) Have you ever been disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct 

by, or been the subject of a complaint to, any court, administrative agency, professional 

association, disciplinary committee, or other professional group? Exclude cases and 

proceedings already listed. 

No 

Name of Date Describe Citation/DisciJJlinan: Ai!CD£:!:1 Association/ Citation/DisciJJlinan: Action/Complaint Results of Disciplinan: 

Committee/Group Action/Coml!laint Action/Complaint 

Issued/Initiated ----- --

' 

(B) Have you ever been fired from a job, quit a job after being told you would be fired, left 

a job by mutual agreement following charges or allegations of misconduct, left a job by 

mutual agreement following notice of unsatisfactory performance, or received a written 

warning, been officially reprimanded, suspended, or disciplined for misconduct in the 

workplace, such as violation of a security policy? 

No 

12. Tax Compliance 

(This information will not be published in the record of the hearing on your nomination, 

but it will be retained in the Committee's files and will be available for public inspection.) 

REDACTED 
80 

REDACTED 

13. Lobbying 

In the past ten years, have you registered as a lobbyist? If so, please indicate the state, 

federal, or local bodies with which you have registered (e.g., House, Senate, California 

Secretary of State). 

No 

14. Outside Positions 

-.J See OGE Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Form 278 

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to 

complete this section and then proceed to the next section.) 

For the preceding ten calendar years and the current calendar year, report any positions 

held, whether compensated or not. Positions include but are not limited to those of an 

officer, director, trustee, general partner, proprietor, representative, employee, or 

consultant of any corporation, firm, partnership, or other business enterprise or any non21 
81 

profit organization or educational institution. Exclude positions with religious, social, 

fraternal, or political entities and those solely of an honorary nature. 

15. Agreements or Arrangements 

-Y See OGE Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Fonn 278 

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to 

complete this section and then proceed to the next section.) 

As of the date of filing your OGE Form 278, report your agreements or arrangements for: 

(1) continuing participation in an employee benefit plan (e.g. pension, 401k, deferred 

compensation); (2) continuation of payment by a former employer (including severance 

payments); (3) leaves of absence; and (4) future employment. 

Provide information regarding any agreements or arrangements you have concerning (1) 

future employment; (2) a leave of absence during your period of Government service; (3) 

continuation of payments by a former employer other than the United States Government; 

and (4) continuing participation in an employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a 

former employer other than United States Government retirement benefits. 

22 
82 

16. Additional Financial Data 

All information requested under this heading must be provided for yourself, your spouse, 

and your dependents. (fhis information will not be published in the record of the hearing 

on your nomination, but it will be retained in the Committee's files and will be available for 

public inspection.) 

REDACTED 
83 

REDACTED 

SIGNATURE AND DATE 

I hereby state that I have read the forcgofng Statement on Di?graphical and }""inancia] l11fonnation and that the inrormation 

provided therein is, to the best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

ft:,i:~ 

This / ?-ti- day of O<Jl>h<~ 201-1 

29 
84 

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF 

GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

* 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chainnan 

Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

REDACTED 

October 24, 20 17 

In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, I enclose a copy of the 

financial disclosure report filed by Kirs~jen Nielsen, who has been nominated by 

President Trump for the position or Secretary, Department of Homeland Security. 

We have reviewed the report and have obtained advice from the agency concerning any 

possible conflict in light of its functions and the nominee's proposed duties. Also enclosed is an 

ethics agreement outlining the actions that the nominee wHI undertake to avoid conflicts of 

interest. Unless a date for compliance is indicated in the ethics agreement, the nominee must 

fully comply within three months of confirmation with any action specified in the ethics 

agreement. 

Based thereon, we believe that this nominee is in compliance with applicable laws and 

regulations governing conflicts of interest. 

Sincerely, 

DAVID 

APOL 

David J. Apol 

Acting Director and General Counsel 

Enclosures REDACTED 

1201 NEW YORK AVE NW•SU!TE Sllll•WASHINGTON DC•2000S * * * * 
85 

Joseph B. Maher 

Designated Agency Ethics Official 

Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, D.C. 20528-0485 

Dear Mr. Maher: 

October 23, 2017 

The purpose of this letter is to describe the steps that I will take to avoid any actual or 

apparent conflict of interest in the event that I am confirmed for the position of Secretary, 

Department of Homeland Security. 

As required by 18 U.S.C. § 208(a), I will not participate personally and substantially in 

any particular matter in which I know that I have a financial interest directly and predictably 

affected by the matter, or in which I know that a person whose interests are imputed to me has a 

financial interest directly and predictably affected by the matter, unless I first obtain a written 

waiver, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1 ), or qualify for a regulatory exemption, pursuant to 

18 U.S.C. § 208{b)(2). I understand that the interests of the following persons are imputed to 

me: any spouse or minor child of mine; any general partner of a partnership in which I am a 

limited or general partner; any organization in which I serve as officer, director, trustee, general 

partner or employee; and any person or organization with which l am negotiating or have an 

arrangement concerning prospective employment. 

I am the principal and owner of my consulting limited liability corporation, which does 

business as Sunesis Consulting, LLC (the "LLC"). The LLC ceased engaging in any business on 

January 20, 2017. During my appointment to the position of Secretary, the LLC will remain 

dormant and will not advertise. l will not perform any services for the LLC, except that I will 

comply with any requirements involving legal filings, taxes and fees that are necessary to 

maintain the LLC while it is in an inactive status. As Secretary, I will not participate personally 

and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct and predictable 

effect on the financial interests of the LLC. The LLC has no outstanding client fees. In addition, 

I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specific 

parties in which I know a former client of mine is a party or represents a party for a period of one 

year after I last provided service to that client, unless I am first authorized to participate, pursuant 

to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502(d). Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502(d), I will seek written authorization 

to participate in particular matters involving specific parties in which my former client, the 

World Bank, is a party or represents a party. I also will seek a waiver of the provisions of 

paragraph 6 of the Ethics Pledge under Executive Order 13770 with regard to the World Bank. 

I resigned from my positions with the following entities in January 2017: Res/CON, 

Greater New Orleans, Inc.; World Economic Forum; Cyber Institute, National Cybersecurity 

Center; George Washington University, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security; and the North 
86 

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). For n period or one year after my resignation from each 

of these entities. l will not participate pers01mlly and substantially in any particular matter 

involving specilic parties in which I know that entity is a party or represents a party, unless I am 

tirst authorized to participate, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502(d). Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 

§ 2635.502( d), l will seek written authorization lD participate in particular matters involVing 

specilic parties in which NATO is a party or represents a party. I also will seek u waiver of the 

provisions of paragraph 6oft he Ethics Pledge under Executive Order 13 770 with regard to 

NATO. 

If I have a managed HCCotutt or otherwise use the services of an investment pt'Ofessional 

during my appointment, l will ensure that the account manuger or investment professional 

obtains my prior approval on a case-by-case basis for the purchase of any ussets other than cash, 

cash equivalents, investment funds that qualify for the exemption at 5 C.F.R. ~ 2640.20 I (a), or 

obligations of the United Stales. 

l will meet in person with you (luring the J1rs1 week of my service in the position of 

Secretary in order to complete the initial ethics briefing required under 5 C.F.R, § 2638.305. 

Within 90 days of my confirmation, I will document my compliance with this ethics agreement 

by notifying you in writing when l huvc con1pletcd the steps described in this ethics ugreement. 

I understand that as an appointee I must continue to abide by the Ethics Pledge (Exec. 

Order No. 13770) that I previously signed and that l will be bound by the requirements and 

restrictions therein in addition to the commitments l have made in this ethics agreement. 

l have been advised that this ethics agreement will be posted publicly, consistent with 

5 U.S.C. § 552, on the website of the U.S. 0!11ce of Government Ethics with ethics agreements 

of other Presidential nominees who tile public !inancial disclosure reports. 

2 
87 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Pre-hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Kirstjcn Nielsen to be 

Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

I. Nomination Process and Conflicts oflnterest 

1. Did the President give you specific reasons why he nominated you to be the next Secretary of 

the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or "the Department"), and if so, what were 

they? 

The President Indicated to me that he was looking for a leader who can make tough 

decisions, who would be dedicated in supporting the men and women of DHS and who 

has an in depth understanding of the homeland security enterprise and environment to 

Include evolving threats, policy and operations. Citing my experiences, knowledge, skill 

sets, devotion to the mission and conversations with those who have worked with me, he 

conveyed that he believed I am such a leader. 

2. Were any conditions, expressed or implied, attached to your nomination? If so, please 

explain. 

No, other than to fulfill my duties with dedication, determination and resolve and never 

waver in fulfilling my obligations to our citizens, laws and country. 

3. Have you made any commitments with respect to the policies and principles you will attempt 

to implement as Secretary? If so, what are they, and to whom were the conunitments made? 

No. I am committed only to leading with integrity and by example, to obey and enforce 

the laws of our country and to honor and support the men and women who work every 

day to keep our country secure. 

4. Are you aware of any business relationship, dealing, or financial transaction that can result in 

a possible conflict of interest for you or the appearance of a conflict of interest? If so, please 

explain what procedures you will use to recuse yourself or otherwise address the conflict. 

And if you will recuse yourself, explain how you will ensure your responsibilities are not 

affected by your recusal. 

I have consulted with the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Homeland 

Security's Designated Agency Ethics Official to identify any potential conflicts of interest. 

My resulting ethics agreement has been provided to the Committee. I am not aware of 

any actual or any other potential conflicts of interest. Should I need to recuse myself from 

a particular matter in the future, I will follow policies and accepted practices in ensuring 

that the appropriate senior official(s) at the Department executes any responsibilities that 

may be covered by the recusal. 

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II. Background of the Nominee 

5. What specific background, experience, and attributes affirmatively qualify you to be 

Secretary? 

My homeland security subject matter expertise, experience in government and the 

private sector, and my leadership, communication and outreach skills make me uniquely 

qualified to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. 

I have worked In the homeland and national security sectors for more than two decades 

with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, critical infrastructure owners 

and operators, private sector entities, international partners, think tanks, universities, 

non-governmental organizations and non-profits. Having worked at the crossroads of 

policy, strategy, risk, and operational environments, I have a unique blend of operational 

and enterprise perspective on policy and strategy development, organizational 

optimization and management, mission execution, the importance of stakeholder 

outreach and communication, and the role of technology as an enabler and force 

multiplier. As a government employee, consultant and thought leader/subject matter 

expert, I have advised government and private sector entities in identifying and 

understanding emerging threat and risk trends and provided a global perspective to 

support the development and adoption of best practices to ensure resilience in the face of 

evolving risk, increasing digitization, and multi stakeholder environments. 

Having worked at the Transportation Security Administration prior to the creation of DHS, 

on the staff of the Homeland Security Council and as the Chief of Staff of the Department, 

I have witnessed first-hand and contributed to the maturation of the organization and 

have an understanding of what the men and women of DHS do every day- and need to 

do-to secure our homeland. 

I have contributed to or supported the execution of nearly every homeland security policy 

document and major national plan and strategy since the Department of Homeland 

Security was created in 2003. I have run interagency policy processes and have worked 

with Congressional Committees to ensure that DHS has the tools, authorities and 

organization it needs to successfully execute its mission. 

Having worked in the U.S. Senate, the executive branch and the private sector enables me 

to appreciate the different perspectives of homeland security stakeholders. I have a 

proven ability to bring stakeholders with diverse viewpoints and motivations together in a 

unity of effort towards the common goal of homeland security. The threats we face are 

too many and too varied for any one entity to address them successfully alone. 

Partnership is key and I have created and effectively utilized partnerships at all levels of 

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government and within and between sectors to close vulnerabilities and mitigate 

potential consequences. 

6. Please describe: 

a. Your leadership and management style. 

I lead by example and always through the promotion of integrity, transparency, 

compliance with the law, and commitment to mission. I believe in ensuring that the 

mission is clearly articulated -at every level -and that clear objectives and metrics are 

agreed upon and assessed. I foster a team approach based on concepts of unity of 

effort and clearly delineate roles and responsibilities based on the mission. I believe in 

performance evaluation and in learning and acting on lessons identified, not just 

observing or admiring them. I expect to be held accountable and hold others 

accountable. I also believe it is important to take the time to acknowledge a job well 

done. I have found that talking to personnel on the frontlines, in the field, at their 

desks is invaluable to understand operating environments, needs and concerns. I 

believe in empowering those who work with me and believe it is my duty to ensure 

that they have the authorities, tools, resources and training needed to perform their 

jobs. I value dissenting opinions and make every effort to ensure that all voices have a 

place to be heard, and I strive to maintain an environment of trust and respect. 

Communicating often and consistently with employees, Congress and private sector 

stakeholders is vital. While seeking to make decisions as quickly as possible, I ensure 

that they are both informed decisions as well as clear and actionable. 

b. Your experience managing personneL 

I have managed personnel at each stage of my career and have had responsibilities for 

day-to-day operations, hiring, performance evaluations, professional development, 

budget and profit and loss, determining how best to organize an entity and ensuring 

that personnel roles and responsibilities are clearly delineated. I also have in depth 

experience in managing diverse stakeholders from varied sectors who voluntarily, 

under my leadership, partnered to reach common desired outcomes. 

c. What is the largest number of people that have worked under you? 

As DHS Chief of Staff, I had the privilege of overseeing all DHS staff (240,000) and 

directly managed not only the Office of the Secretary which included approximately 

65 people but had resourcing and budget related decision-making authority and 

responsibility for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, made up of 

ten offices, 585 personnel and with a budget of $137 million (FY 2017 enacted}. As WH 

Principal Deputy Chief of Staff, I oversee approximately 200 people. 

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7. Please describe your previous experience, including roles and responsibilities, on the White 

House Homeland Security Council. 

As a detailee from the Transportation Security Administration, I initially served as the 

Director for Preparedness on the Homeland Security Council staff. I was then 

commissioned as a Special Assistant to the President and served as the Senior Director for 

Prevention, Preparedness and Response. I advised the President and White House senior 

staff through the Homeland Security Advisor on homeland security threats and risks and 

oversaw aspects of government policy development/implementation related to critical 

infrastructure protection, security and resilience, emergency preparedness and response, 

counterterrorism and information sharing. 

• lied the development and adjudication of Interagency policy decisions as the Chair of 

five Policy Coordinating Committees (PCC) (including the Cybersecurity PCC, Critical 

Infrastructure PCC, the Plans, Training, Exercise, and Evaluation PCC, the Information 

Sharing PCC, and the Domestic Readiness Group PCC) consisting of Assistant 

Secretaries throughout the Federal Government. 

• I authored, edited, contributed to and led the interagency policy coordination process 

for various policy and strategy documents, homeland security presidential directives, 

and executive orders for the President's consideration and issuance, including codrafting HSPD·19 {Combating Terrorist Use of Explosives In the United States), the 

Executive Orders addressing Public Alert and Warning (E.O. 13407) and National 

Security Professional Development (E.O. 13434), and Presidential Memoranda on the 

Information Sharing Environment. I also led the interagency adjudication of the 

prevention, preparedness and response issues related to the National Strategy for 

Combatting Terrorism (2007) and the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (2006}. 

• I oversaw the government-wide implementation of HSPD·S (Management of Domestic 

Incidents), HSPD·7 {Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization and Protection), 

and HSPD-8 (National Preparedness), and all Executive Orders (EOs) and Presidential 

Memoranda regarding Information Sharing and the Information Sharing Environment. 

• I oversaw the federal interagency coordination and drafting of the first National 

Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and the Sector Specific Plans, as well as the 

Information Sharing Environment Implementation Plan and oversaw and led the 

development of federal policy related to continuity of government. 

• Post Hurricane Katrina, I was a major contributor to the 2006 White House Federal 

Response to Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned, and coordinated the development of 

the roles and responsibilities of DHS and the Sector Specific Agencies for incident 

management, including the development of request for information and request for 

assistance processes, led the interagency revision of the National Response Plan and 

developed and coordinated the development of the Critical Infrastructure/Key 

Resources Annex. 

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• 1 articulated policy priorities for and facilitated the development of recommendations 

to the President from two Presidential advisory boards, the National Infrastructure 

Advisory Council and the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council. 

• lied the development of exercise objectives and scenarios and oversaw all aspects of 

exercise participation by White House officials in the bi-annual continuity of 

operations government exercise, and oversaw the planning of two TOPOFF exercises. I 

also oversaw the identification of the highest priority Federal lessons learned for the 

TOPOFF exercises and developed policy options to address them. lied the 

development and coordination of the National Exercise Plan, the National Exercise 

Schedule, scenarios and objectives for TOPOFF and Senior Official Exercises, the 

assessment of U.S. Government exercises, the Identification of lessons learned and 

the assignment of actions to close gaps, eliminate redundancies and strengthen 

underlying policies, plans and procedures. 

a. If confinned, what lessons learned from your time on the Homeland Security Council 

will you bring to the position of Secretary? 

There are many experiences and lessons from my time on the Homeland Security 

Council staff that I would draw from should I be confirmed. To describe a few: I 

understand the value of interagency policy and strategy coordination as well as the 

need for such coordination to support, rather than hinder, the ability of Departments 

and Agencies to perform their missions. I understand that resourcing and training 

must go hand in hand with and flow from clear risk based policies, strategies and 

priorities to ensure effective mission execution. Given the scope and breadth of the 

homeland risks we face today, I also understand how vital it is to work with state, 

local, tribal and territorial governments as well as the private sector- in particular the 

owners and operators of critical infrastructure. I chose then and continue to choose 

transparency over political expediency. Finally, policy cannot be created in a vacuum -

It must be informed by the operational needs and realties of those operating in the 

field and on the frontlines. 

III, Role of the Secretary ofDHS 

8. Please describe your view of the agency's core mission and the Secretary's role in achieving 

that mission. 

Consistent with the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Department's primary mission is 

to prevent, reduce our vulnerability to, and recover from terrorist attacks against the 

United States. Additionally, DHS has a number of specific responsibilities to enforce our 

immigration laws, ensure the security of our borders, protect the nation's critical 

infrastructure and respond to natural disasters. 

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I believe the Secretary's role is to set priorities, to clearly articulate mission, objectives 

and performance goals and to ensure that the men and women of DHS have the tools and 

resources they need to execute their missions. Should I be confirmed, I would also work 

across the interagency and with Congress to ensure that all needed and appropriate 

authorities and resources are brought to bear to secure our homeland. 

9. If confirmed, what would be the highest priority items you would focus on? What do you 

hope to accomplish during your tenure? 

From a risk perspective- border security, law enforcement, cyber security, aviation 

security and assessing and understanding both how our risks are evolving and the most 

efficient and effective ways to address those risks. From a leadership perspective- to 

work with the men and women of DHS to increase unity of effort and to define and clarify 

missions, roles and responsibilities throughout the enterprise and to ensure that they 

have the tools, resources and training they need to secure our homeland. Should I be 

confirmed, I will also work with Congress to reauthorize the Department and to address 

any gaps in needed authorities and/or to further clarify federal roles and responsibilities 

related to homeland security. 

10. What actions will you take to ensure better cohesion and cooperation among all DHS 

components? 

Should I be confirmed, I would plan to continue the strong initiatives of Secretary Kelly 

and Acting Secretary Duke. I believe cohesion and cooperation flow from a mutual, clear 

understanding of mission and risk-based priorities, clearly articulated roles and 

responsibilities, accountability and acknowledgement, support for the enforcement of our 

laws, and having the tools and resources needed to do one's job. Should I be confirmed, I 

will work with the Deputy Secretary and the Undersecretary for Management to assess 

the effectiveness of current unity of effort programs and processes and strengthen them 

where needed. Ensuring that voices can be heard in an environment of trust and respect 

is vital. I will also seek to eliminate stovepipes and develop plans, processes and programs 

to integrate and leverage capabilities and tools throughout the Department. Finally, I will 

also work to promote joint education and training of DHS personnel to underscore that 

homeland security, although made up of component missions, is one mission and to be 

effective DHS must be able to function as one team. 

IV. Policy Questions 

The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review and DHS's Missions 

II. You will be responsible for the development and publication of the 3rd Quadrennial 

Homeland Security Review (QHSR) in 2018. Please share your overall assessment of the 

2014 QHSR and to what extent, and the reasons why, you agree or disagree with its stated 

assumptions, missions, goals, and recommendations. 

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Strategic level processes that enable the Department to assess itself and update its 

strategies and planning, including the QHSR, are important for the further maturation of 

the institution and to ensure that its mission Is effectively and efficiently executed. My 

overall assessment of the 2014 QHSR is that it adequately reflects the priorities and goals 

of the previous Administration and describes the threats and vulnerabilities of greatest 

concern in 2014, but like any such document it is a snapshot in time. As discussed in other 

parts of this questionnaire, in my view the threats have evolved and certainly the 

environment in which the threats manifest has evolved. Of course then, this 

Administration's approach and prioritization of missions and goals against the threats 

existing in 2018 may differ. I understand that DHS has already been significantly engaged 

in reviewing and updating the 2014 QHSR in order to lay the groundwork for the 2018 

QHSR. If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the work completed to date. With 

respect to the 2018 QHSR my goal will be to ensure the document reflects and Is 

responsive to current threats, vulnerabilities and consequences and can be used as a 

guide to prioritize the Department's missions and resource needs. 

12. What, if any, are the most significant changes in America's security environment since the 

publication of the 2014 QHSR? 

There are several notable examples. Since 2014, the world has changed In ways that were 

difficult to predict In 2014 Including increasing digitization, the pace of technological 

Innovation, hyperconnectivity, an explosion of the internet of things, the exponential rise 

in quantities of data available and stored, artificial intelligence, 3-d printing, and 

expanding use of cloud services. As a result, we face new and novel vulnerabilities and the 

potential for large-scale cascading consequences resulting from attacks and natural 

disasters. In 2014, we were significantly concerned about U.S. and European individuals 

who were radicalized traveling to the Middle East to join ISIS on the battlefield. Today, as 

we, with our allies, have greatly disrupted the ability of ISIS to command and control from 

the caliphate, we are much more concerned both about the diaspora of foreign fighters 

fleeing a disintegrating caliphate and preventing their travel to the West, and addressing 

the ability of ISIS to inspire lone wolf attacks throughout the world. We also have seen 

new types of threats to aviation and an increasing number of attacks using common items 

such as vehicles as weapons. 

13. In your view, how has DHS's core mission evolved since its inception, if at all? What do you 

think DHS's core mission should be for the next decade? 

Over time, the threats to our homeland have evolved, our vulnerabilities have changed 

and the potential consequences from all hazard events have morphed and in many cases 

expanded. How the Department goes about its work and prioritizes Its missions and 

resources must also continuously evolve. When I joined the then new Transportation 

Security Administration, one of the primary motivations was preventing another large 

scale terrorist attack -likely In the aviation sector- against the homeland and the main 

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threat was AI Qaeda. Fifteen years later, we fully appreciate that there are a variety of 

threats we guard against in addition to foreign terrorists, ranging from natural disasters to 

cyberattacks to mutated viruses to human and narcotics smuggling organizations. In my 

mind, In general, DHS' mission should continue to be to prevent, protect against, mitigate, 

respond to, recover from and mitigate the consequences of all hazard threats against the 

homeland, to enforce the laws charged to its care, to strengthen our resilience, and to 

protect the nation's critical infrastructure. Our challenge is to keep up with the threat and 

how it manifests in our changing world. 

14. What do you see as the greatest threat to the homeland, and how will you work to mitigate 

that threat if confirmed as DHS Secretary? 

Terrorist threats, threats from natural disasters and other emergencies, cyberattacks and 

cybercrlme, threats to our aviation system and maritime domain, transnational criminal 

organizations. It is vital to continually assess and understand both how our risks are 

evolving and the most efficient and effective ways to address those risks. However, if I 

had to pinpoint a single greatest threat, it might be cyberattacks on our critical 

infrastructure assets, systems, information and functions because such attacks can result 

in large scale cascading consequences, our vulnerabilities are morphing, remain significant 

and in some cases are growing. those who intend to do us harm are numerous and varied, 

and the cost to pursue and execute such attacks is low. If confirmed, I will bring renewed 

focus to closing our vulnerabilities, enhancing our capabilities to detect such attacks and 

strengthening our levels of resiliency- throughout our ecosystem- to mitigate the 

consequences. 

Mission 1-Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security 

15. In reviewing the three goals identified in the QHSR under this mission, please describe your 

understanding ofDHS's current capability to achieve these goals. 

DHS continues to mature and expand its capabilities to prevent terrorist attacks and 

enhance security. As the threat evolves and expands, DHS must be able to adjust with 

increasing speed and agility to meet emergent threats. DHS must increase its capabilities 

to address terrorist exploitation of the internet and social media for radicalization, the 

security of soft targets, evolutionary aviation security threats and next generation 

terrorist threats such as advanced disruptive cyberattacks and the terrorist use of drones. 

16. Should any goals be added to Mission I, and if so, what goal(s) should be added? 

If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the Department's ongoing work on the 2018 

QHSR, and ensuring it is coordinated with the Administration's strategy for national 

security before making any recommended changes to the 2014 goals. 

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17. If confirmed, what steps will you take to improve infOrmation sharing among federal, state, 

local, and tribal officials? 

I view information sharing with and among our federal, state, local and tribal partners as 

a vital part of effectively securing the homeland. I co-drafted and oversaw the federal 

implementation of all Bush Administration Executive Orders {EOs) and Presidential 

Memoranda regarding information sharing and the Information Sharing Environment 

(ISE). In creating and instituting the ISE, we spent time categorizing the types of 

information we needed to share and the stakeholders who needed to share and receive 

such information. The basic frameworks, policies and procedures have expanded and 

been updated over the years, but the underlying goal -to connect the dots - has 

remained. 

I am somewhat familiar, from my time as DHS Chief of Staff, with some of the 

Department's recent initiatives to enhance and improve information sharing, some led by 

the Office of Community Partnership and Engagement. l have had conversations with a 

number of representatives from state and local Jaw enforcement and first responder 

organizations, Including the fusion center community, to gain their perspective on how 

DHS is doing and how it can do better. If confirmed, I look forward to working with such 

representatives and other federal partners to expand the use of best practices, address 

gaps in sharing, identify innovative tools and processes to ensure that such sharing Is 

accurate, timing and actionable and in general to continue to strengthen the 

Department's relationship with federal, state, local and tribal officials and the flow of 

information in both directions. These officials are on the front line of our nation's 

homeland security, and we all benefit greatly from improving our information sharing. 

18. Please describe your understanding of the challenges facing, and your priorities to improve, 

the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). 

Here at home and overseas, transportation systems continue to be a prime target for 

terrorists. Whether aviation, rail, maritime, mass transit or shipping the potential to 

cause mass casualties and/or economic disruption draws the attention of those who 

mean us harm.lf confirmed, improving TSA's effectiveness and efficiency at all levels of 

operations and staffing to address today's threats- while ensuring the freedom of 

movement for people and commerce- is a high priority for me and one near to my heart, 

as my first job within DHS was at TSA during its formation. If confirmed, I look forward to 

working with Administrator Pekoske to also improve the professional training and career 

path for the employees of TSA. 

19. What is your assessment of, and commitment to, community engagement to prevent 

terrorism and counter terrorists and other violent extremists? 

I believe such engagement is vital. It is not however only a DHS role. While I was the DHS 

Chief of Staff, we spoke with officials from multiple states, localities, organizations and 

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countries to better understand what was working in various communities and what 

programs and initiatives could be scaled and tailored to other communities. If confirmed, I 

will ask to be thoroughly briefed by DHS, other stakeholders and experts in this field so 

support comprehensive strategies to counter terrorists and other violent extremists 

through community engagement. I commit to doing this early in my tenure. 

20. What is your assessment of the threat and our ability to mitigate the threat of the acquisition 

and use of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) materials? Please 

describe your priorities regarding CBRN-related threats. 

It is my understanding that DHS is working on an updated assessment of CBRN threats, 

and if confirmed I look forward to reviewing it in detail. We have no doubt of the intent 

of our adversaries to acquire these weapons and use them, and we have models of the 

terrible consequences these weapons can reap in the wrong hands. We know terrorists 

have undertaken efforts to test certain CBRN capabilities on the battlefield, and we have 

seen them attempting to export such tactics for external operations and attacks against 

the West. I believe we can do more to create a focal point within DHS and within the 

federal government to counter the CBRN threat and, if confirmed, look forward to 

working with the Committee and Congress on this to better protect the American people. 

21. Please describe your assessment of the threat posed by electromagnetic pulse (EMP), groundbased missile defense (GMD), cyberattack, and physical attacks to our critical infrastructure. 

These are significant threats with extremely high potential consequences and more work 

remains to understand and address these threats. A primary DHS role and responsibility 

is to work closely with partners outside of DHS in understanding risk, ensuring resiliency 

and developing response and recovery planning for any EMP, GMD, cybersecurity or 

physical attack on the nation's critical infrastructure. Partnership remains the 

cornerstone of addressing such threats as much of our nation's critical infrastructure is 

owned and operated by the private sector. We must better understand the panoply of 

attack vectors and attack types against our critical infrastructure- both through modeling 

and information sharing. 

22. In March 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined the steps DHS and 

the Department of Energy have taken to address the key recommendations of the 2008 EMP 

Commission report, and revealed that several recommendations remain open and 

unimplemented. Please describe your understanding of the 2008 EMP Commission Report. 

Will you commit to thoroughly investigate the open recommendations and work to 

implement them into DHS's national security strategy? 

I am aware of the March 2016 GAO report and recall that it found that while DHS, the 

Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have taken steps in 

line with the Commission's report, further actions are needed. Should I be confirmed, I 

commit to assessing the open recommendations and ensuring that DHS, within its roles 

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and authorities, addresses the threat in partnership with other federal agencies and the 

private sector. 

23. Describe your understanding of the challenges facing, and your priorities to improve, the 

Department's protective security programs? 

One of the challenges facing DHS protective security programs is the need to adapt to 

emergent and changing threats. Such programs must also be risk based. If confirmed, I 

will more thoroughly review the Department's related efforts so as to better target them 

to meet the technical assistance needs of partners in areas such as the protection of soft 

targets. 

24. As Secretary, how will you approach balancing the need to protect the homeland while at the 

same time protecting individuals' privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties? 

I do not believe that the description of a balancing act reflects my view accurately, as it 

implies that in order to protect the homeland we must sacrifice some of our most 

cherished, constitutionally protected rights and liberties. I don't view it as a system of 

tradeoffs between two equally worthy goals but rather that our challenge is to determine 

how to protect the homeland within the limitations imposed by the laws which protect 

privacy, civil rights and liberties. DHS has multiple offices that help ensure privacy, civil 

rights and civil liberties are protected and, if confirmed, I will ensure that Department 

personnel are made aware of my beliefs that such protection is not merely a compliance 

box to check but part of our solemn duty to uphold and defend the Constitution In the 

oath we take. 

Mission 2-Secure and Manage Our Borders 

25. Please describe your understanding ofDHS's capability to achieve the three goals identified 

in the 2014 QHSR for the mission to secure and manage our borders. 

The President has made very clear that securing and better managing our borders is a 

top priority of this Administration and demands our utmost focus. If confirmed, I will be 

briefed immediately on the forthcoming strategic plans for managing and securing our 

Northern and Southern borders and will review them in the context of the 2014 QHSR 

goals, and perhaps more importantly strive to have them inform the goals of the 2018 

QHSR in this area. I know Congress will also be briefed on the strategies and if 

confirmed, I look forward to working with the Committee and the Congress on aligning 

the strategy with our QHSR goals. 

26. Please discuss the challenges DHS and its components face in preventing illegal import and 

entry as well as export and exit. How would you plan to address these challenges? 

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Assuming this question refers to goods rather than people, the Department, particularly 

CBP and ICE, faces significant challenges In preventing illegal Importation and entry of 

goods as well as their export at the nation's ports of entry. One historic challenge has 

been that the Department acts as the executive agent at the border for a number of other 

federal agencies ranging from the Department of Agriculture, to the Department of 

Defense, to the U.S. Postal Service, to the Department of Commerce to enforce our laws 

and regulations governing goods coming or going. DHS must rely heavily upon these 

other agencies and in some cases upon affected U.S. industry for the requisite expertise 

and guidance on what to look for and on what to focus. Another challenge is the sheer 

volume and speed of International supply chain movements with express consignment 

carriers, just in time inventories and the rapidly changing way goods flow across borders 

through ecommerce. On the export side, there is the significant challenge that the way in 

which DHS facilities and port infrastructure are arranged make it more difficult to conduct 

outbound inspections than inbound ones. I know this is something Acting Commissioner 

McAieenan is looking at in coordination with our partners in Mexico and Canada. If 

confirmed, to address these challenges, I will focus on how we can get smarter and faster 

in selecting what we look at by harnessing all available data for anomaly detection and 

audit. The lack of complete control between the ports of entry of course poses its own 

challenges discussed elsewhere, among which is the smuggling of illicit cargo items, which 

might otherwise be legal if properly and lawfully imported (e.g. tobacco, alcohol), in order 

to circumvent duties or other restrictions by avoiding any chance of inspection. 

27. DHS is responsible for safeguarding and expediting lawful trade and travel. Please describe 

your understanding of the challenges facing DHS in executing these responsibilities. How 

would you plan to address them? 

A key component of CBP's charge is to facilitate lawful international travel and trade. If 

confirmed, I will work with CBP to ensure that we continue to strengthen all dimensions 

of safeguarding and expediting lawful trade and travel. DHS is currently working on a 

number of strategic plans on border security, with primary input from CBP, ICE, the Coast 

Guard and TSA. If confirmed, I look forward to being briefed on this draft strategic plan 

and ensuring it addresses our responsibility to facilitate lawful trade and travel while 

better securing our border against illicit people and things. 

28. What do you believe are the primary causes of illegal migration from Central America, and 

how do you believe the U.S. can partner with these countries to address the ongoing illegal 

migration? 

The reasons for this in my view are the so called "push and pull factors" and the solutions 

are both simple and complex. While I was Chief of Staff to Secretary Kelly we spent 

considerable time discussing this issue, and I benefited greatly from his knowledge of and 

commitment to the region and from meetings we held with Central American leaders. I 

concur with his assessment given to this Committee that the continued "push" drivers for 

illegal migration from Central America are the crime and instability in those countries that 

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are largely a consequence of drug demand in the United States and the resulting 

destabilization from drug trafficking organizations using these countries as transit zones. 

The "pull" factors continue to be economic opportunities in the United States that are 

substantially better than those available at home to most citizens of these countries and 

also a continued, but decreasing, perception that if a person can successfully get to the 

U.S. border they will either not be caught or be allowed to stay. In terms of the solutions 

available to us, I believe we can and should continue to seek greater cooperation with 

willing partners in these countries and devote greater energy and resources to help them 

combat DTO's and criminal gangs as well as assist them to provide economic 

opportunities for their citizens at home so they will not be "pushed" to make a dangerous 

journey in the first place. We also can continue to improve all aspects of our immigration 

enforcement process from border security, to certainty of deportation and return, to 

employment verification In order to reduce the "pull" for Illegal immigrants from Central 

America and elsewhere and to act as a powerful deterrent to the choice of illegal rather 

than legal means of migration. 

29. What is your view on the use of expedited removal as a consequence to illegal migration? 

Expedited removal is one of the law enforcement actions available to DHS to quickly 

return those who came or come to the United States illegally. I believe, when it can be 

legally and appropriately used, It Is a valuable tool for DHS to provide swift, certain and 

actual consequences for illegal entry. It also reduces the need for detention resources 

while protecting due process and counters the perception that anyone who has entered 

illegally is entitled to stay in the United States indefinitely for infinite legal proceedings. 

30. If confirmed as Secretary, how would you work to decrease the amount of drugs coming 

across the United States borders and into local communities? 

The Administration has recently set forth plans for aggressively countering the opioid 

crisis as part of a larger comprehensive drug demand reduction strategy. DHS plays an 

important role in that effort and in the nation's broader counter narcotics efforts 

centered on interdiction and targeting transnational criminal organizations and smuggling 

networks. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that the Department fulfills its critical role in 

keeping drugs from reaching our communities. While I would continue to strengthen DHS 

interdiction efforts at our border and investigations of transnational criminal 

organizations, I would also bring renewed attention to the Department's role which starts 

well beyond our borders with targeting drugs and chemical precursors in foreign ports of 

embarkation; continues with CBP and Coast Guard interdiction efforts in the transit zones 

and includes cooperative efforts throughout with our international and interagency 

partners. 

31. What experience do you have in fostering international partnerships? How would you 

collaborate with foreign governments to strengthen the security of the U.S. borders? 

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Both in the private sector as a homeland security subject matter expert and during my 

time In government I have been a part of fostering international partnership, 

collaboration and cooperation on security and resiliency issues. It Is the only way we 

have a chance at addressing today's quickly evolving threats. I have in depth experience in 

working with officials of foreign governments and multinational organizations to find 

common ground that enhances our collective security, and most Importantly that of the 

United States. For example, I have chaired groups of international experts from various 

countries representing a myriad of sectors and experiences towards assessing and making 

recommendations towards addressing systemic cyber risk. As it relates to U.S. borders in 

particular, as the DHS Chief of Staff, I worked with multiple foreign governments, 

including those of Mexico and Central American countries on efforts to strengthen our 

border security by working collectively to share information and to, in partnership, 

address transnational criminal organizations and networks. If confirmed, I would bring 

these experiences, coalition and partnership building skills, and relationships to bear in 

order to better protect our homeland. 

Mission 3-Enforce and Administer Our Immigration Laws 

32. Please describe your understanding ofDHS's capability to achieve the goals identified in the 

2014 QHSR for the mission to enforce and administer our immigration laws. 

Since the start of the Administration, the Department continues to make significant 

progress In addressing the two goals identified in the QHSR: Strengthen and Effectively 

Administer the Immigration System; and Prevent Unlawful Immigration. Ultimately, our 

ability as a Department and a nation to fully achieve both goals in my view depends 

heavily on further policy decisions regarding full deployment of full biometric exit 

capability. On the legal immigration side, DHS still has much to do to find efficiencies in 

its processes and reduce backlogs amidst heavy volume both on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications as well as asylum adjudications. If confirmed, I look forward 

to working with the Committee and Congress to do the hard work necessary to address 

these goals. 

33. How would you work to improve cooperation and coordination between DHS components 

responsible for administering immigration benefits and enforcing immigration laws? Please 

describe any actions you would recommend to improve information sharing between DHS's 

components and other government agencies. 

Should I be confirmed, I would begin by clearly communicating that improved 

cooperation and coordination between components responsible for immigration benefits 

and immigration enforcement starts at the leadership level of the Department and the 

component agencies. However, identifying what specifically needs to be fixed starts in the 

field. I would, as Secretary Kelly and Acting Secretary Duke did, seek the perspective of 

our frontline personnel and first line supervisors as to where they see problems or 

challenges in cooperation and coordination on a daily basis, as well as seek the 

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perspective of outside stakeholders such as our state and local partners and immigration 

applicants. An effective and efficient immigration system must be inclusive of both 

benefit and enforcement activities that operate seamlessly. Secure borders require for 

example an effective and efficient asylum benefit process and the sharing of reliable 

information on legal immigrant status. A strong interior enforcement effort will not work 

without a reliable employment eligibility verification system. If confirmed, I pledge to 

hold our Headquarters and component leadership accountable for improving 

coordination and cooperation within the Department. 

34. What is your understanding of the challenges facing DHS and the State Department in visa 

security? How would you recommend addressing those cha11enges? 

Should I be confirmed, I will bring a strong working relationship with Secretary Tillerson 

and his team to jointly identify areas of weakness and implement further improvements 

such as interagency applicant vetting, addressing exit tracking and overstays. 

35. If confirmed as Secretary, how will you work with partner countries to ensure that the visa 

waiver program facilitates effective inte11igence and information sharing? 

The U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a strong partnership with over 35 allies who 

reliably share intelligence and information with the United States in order to be eligible 

for the program. The program serves to both enhance our collective security while also 

facilitating low risk legitimate travel. In May of 2017, while I was Chief of Staff at the 

Department, then-Secretary Kelly directed DHS to review existing aspects of the Program 

and to provide options to enhance the security of the Program. Since then, I know DHS 

has worked-both internally and with the interagency -to evaluate a number of 

recommendations. If confirmed, I look forward to being fully briefed on the areas for 

improvement that have been identified and the actions we can implement within the 

Department and U.S. Government and those which require enhancing the cooperation 

with partner countries. International cooperation overall is essential along with the 

adoption of new standards such as ePassports to stay ahead of fraud and counterfeiting. 

If confirmed, I will continue to work to strengthen our existing security partnerships such 

as the VWP as well as advance other information sharing partnerships focused on Identity 

management and criminal/terrorist history. 

36. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations is responsible for 

enforcing a wide range of federal laws. What are your initial recommendations for 

prioritizing investigative resources? 

Should I be confirmed, I will support the important work of Homeland Security 

Investigations, and prioritize resources so that they are consistent with the 

Administration's policy priorities, ensuring that they are responsive to emerging law 

enforcement challenges. 

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Mission 4--Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace 

37. Please describe your understanding ofDHS's capability to achieve the four goals identified 

in the 2014 QHSR for the mission to safeguard and secure cyberspace. 

The 2014 QHSR goals in this mission area are: to strengthen the security and resilience of 

critical infrastructure; secure the federal civilian government information-technology 

enterprise; advance law enforcement, incident response, and reporting capabilities; and 

strengthen the ecosystem. I believe the Department's capability to achieve these goals 

are within reach but only with dedicated focus and resourcing. The Department's network 

protection activities are built on a solid foundation of policy, strategy, and authorities, but 

there is room for growth to ensure DHS continues to enhance the security and resilience 

of the Nation's critical infrastructure and Federal networks against cyber incidents. 

38. What do you view to be the most significant current and potential cyber security threats 

facing our nation, including threats to federal networks and critical infrastructure owners and 

operators? 

I would offer that when discussing cyber threats, we have moved from an "if' to a 

"when?" to a state of "how often?" and "how long can we resist an attack?" followed by 

"when did you recognize the initial intrusion and are you able to identify and quantify the 

consequences?" 

In a world of sophisticated, persistent and patient threat actors with multiple and varied 

motivations, cyber threats continuously evolve and range from simple to multifaceted. 

Cyberattacks are becoming more complex, targets more encompassing, and the impact of 

attacks is more damaging. And yet in many cases, we're not doing the basics to protect 

ourselves. In this environment, we must be vigilant in protecting our Federal networks, 

critical infrastructure and essential functions against Nation state actors, such as Russia, 

China, North Korea, and Iran, which seek to leverage cyberspace to steal our intellectual 

property, undermine trust in our Democratic systems, or potentially seek to control, 

disrupt, damage or deny our Nation's critical infrastructure functions. We must also 

protect our Nation against cybercrimlnals and transnational criminal organizations who 

aim to leverage cyber enabled activity to steal money or personal information, encrypt 

our data and information via ransomware, and/or utilize the dark web to sell illegal goods 

and services. 

We also recognize that our systems and assets rely on complex software and hardware 

where cyber vulnerabilities are ubiquitous and often difficult to predict given the pace of 

technological innovation and interconnectivity. When we are lucky, well-intentioned 

security researchers discover and provide software vendors with the information needed 

to mitigate vulnerabilities. When we are unlucky, vulnerabilities are leveraged by threat 

actors to cause us harm. 

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Given the threat actors, the increasing asymmetry of the threat environment, the low 

barriers to entry, and the commoditlzatlon of malware, I view the internet of things, the 

availability and Integrity of key information, and critical infrastructure essential functions 

to be at significant risk. I would also offer that we still do not fully understand the 

systemic risks introduced by the increasingly connected economy, in particular the 

systemic risks to the critical services upon which we rely. This is a potential blind spot I 

have written about and discussed widely with partners from all sectors. Finally, I believe 

a large gap remains between reality and the perception of cyber risk by any given entityitself a risk that must be addressed. 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with other federal partners and 

the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to ensure the security and 

resilience of our critical infrastructure. 

39. What is your initial view about the role ofDHS's programs to strengthen public and private 

sector cybersecurity? 

In this c;urrent cyber environment, no one entity has all of the authorities, capability or 

capacity to protect every asset or stop every threat. Our approach must be rooted in risk 

management and partnership. We must identify the criticality of assets, Identify and 

assess systemic risks, and prioritize the application of protective measures in a sc;alable, 

risk-Informed way. We must protect our Federal government's networks so that our 

government can operate efficiently and secure our citizens' data. And we must ensure 

that our critical infrastructure is protected and resilient to attack so adversaries 

understand that they will not easily succeed. 

Addressing our Nation's cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities requires a whole of 

Government, and indeed whole of Nation, approach that is c;oordinated with our private 

sector, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and international partners. We 

must collectively leverage our various authorities and capabilities to secure vital systems, 

assets and functions, improve resilience against cyber incidents, and quickly respond to 

and recover from incidents when they oc::cur. 

DHS's network protection activities, which include the development and sharing of best 

practices, technical assistance, deployment of Innovative technologies, and improved 

information sharing, establish a baseline of cybersecurity for our Nation and underpin ail 

of our other Federal cybersecurity efforts. 

In the realm of information sharing, the passage of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 

established the Automated Indicator Sharing program, which allows network defenders 

to share cyber threat indicators at network speed and provides all of the Department's 

partners with a wealth of raw data that they can analyze and use. I understand that AIS 

currently has hundreds of organizations receiving this data from Federal partners. Many 

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of these are Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs) and Centers (!SACs), 

which in turn, share this information with the entitles they represent. As the program 

moves forward and we continue to bring organizations Into the program, I would offer 

that we need to strengthen the context and information accompanying the threat 

indicators so that our partners can more easily action them and incorporate them into 

operations. 

DHS continues to work with private sector partners on a daily basis, through programs 

such as the Critical Infrastructure Sharing and Collaboration Program (CISCIP) and 

Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS) program. The Department works directly with critical 

infrastructure companies and ISAOs to provide information, technical assistance, 

assessments, and incident response. These partnerships allow the Department to 

understand and ultimately reduce cross-cutting and systemic cyber risk across our Nation. 

It is vital that the Department continue to develop a scalable, agile, layered defense to 

ensure the protection of Federal networks. The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation 

(COM) program offers Federal agencies automated capabilities to defend their networks. 

As I understand it, the Department continues to develop and implement the National 

Cybersecurity Protection System, or EINSTEIN, to protect Federal Civilian Executive Branch 

networks from known vulnerabilities and malicious software through a combination of 

detection, analytics, information sharing and prevention activities. 

Finally, DHS, in partnership with other federal agencies, conducts much needed criminal 

investigations to disrupt and defeat cyber criminals. As part of the Department's larger 

efforts against transnational criminal organizations, should I be confirmed, I would look to 

strengthen the execution of this important mission. 

Should I be confirmed, I will look forward to working with the Congress in addressing 

proposals for the reorganization and renaming of the National Protection and Programs 

Directorate to further strengthen the Department's cybersecurity capacity and ability to 

partner with outside entities. 

40. If confirmed, what steps do you intend to take to improve the nation's cyber security, both 

with respect to the government and private networks? 

We must focus on building resilience and reset our traditional expectations of risk 

management, and its approaches and assumptions. Government and private networks 

must be able to adapt, transform, respond and mitigate at speed ·while under constant 

and persistent attack. The threat environment requires us to be able to accept failure, to 

tolerate it, to constantly innovate and learn to help an entity bounce forward- not just 

bounce back. At the same time, we must also get the basics right- taking a layered 

approach to a safe, secure, and resilient cyber ecosystem. 

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The President's recent Executive Order on cybersecurity directs the Department to 

continue to lead the Nation's cybersecurity efforts with both the Federal government and 

in coordination with the private sector. DHS must continue to lean forward, anticipate 

evolving threats, and continue to develop and/or offer scalable tools, programs and 

resources to support its partners and to mitigate vulnerabilities and consequences. 

Should I be confirmed, understanding where we are and where we need to be will be an 

immediate focus. A few examples- I would look at our partnerships and engagements 

with Industry- are they working?; what can we do better?; how can we expand and 

strengthen them? I would also look at how best to meet the needs of our partners in the 

private sector and state, local, tribal and territorial governments- are we providing the 

right tools?; the right resources?; providing the right information? On information 

sharing- are we sufficiently connecting dots?; are we leveraging the capabilities that exist 

throughout government?; On risks- are we constantly assessing?; are we looking across 

sectors?; are we identifying and assessing single points of failure, points of aggregation, 

and systemic risks? On the federal cyber workforce- How can we attract and retain 

talent?; are we sufficiently developing and cross-training our existing workforce? Should I 

be confirmed, I would like to assess how a model such as FEMA's Surge Capacity Force for 

disaster response may have value in the cyber incident response domain. 

Mission 5--Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience 

41. Please describe your understanding ofDHS's capability to achieve the four goals identified 

in the 2014 QHSR for the mission to strengthen national preparedness and resilience. 

I believe the Department still embraces and is working diligently to meet the 2014 QHSR's 

four goals: Enhancing National Preparedness, Mitigating Hazards and Vulnerabilities, 

Ensuring Effective Emergency Response, and Enabling Rapid Recovery. DHS has a number 

of programs and resources dedicated to each of these goals ranging from modeling 

resources, to direct engagement with private sector critical infrastructure owners, to 

public awareness campaigns, to grant programs for state and local partners. DHS remains 

committed to supporting partners at all levels of government and in the private sector 

nationwide to strengthen our ability to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from 

a variety of threats together. I believe that preparedness and resiliency, more than any 

other DHS mission areas are a shared responsibility. DHS has done and continues to do 

much in this area. One of the challenges, if confirmed, that I would like to address head 

on as Secretary is -with so many programs at work in this area with so many partnershow do we better measure our successes and remaining gaps? Preparedness grants 

undoubtedly strengthen our nation's ability to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond 

to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies in support 

of the national preparedness goal but spending money alone is not enough unless we can 

measure how it is making us better prepared and closing vulnerabilities. 

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42. How do you evaluate the current state of national preparedness for emergencies and disasters, 

including the capabilities of individuals and communities? 

Overall, the nation as a whole has a better level of preparedness for attacks, disasters and 

emergencies than in the past, but there is much room for continuous Improvement. Of 

course, this assessment also must be tempered by lessons we have and will continue to 

learn from the unparalleled ongoing response and recovery efforts related to the disasters 

from this very active 2017 hurricane and wildfire season. In my mind, we should always 

take time to learn what went right and what could have gone better- both our successes 

and our failures. We must also continually assess our risks· risk assessments and 

preparedness evaluations should go hand in hand. Preparedness evaluations are much 

more actionable when they are conducted against specific risks. If confirmed, I will work 

closely with FEMA leadership, and our federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners 

to improve our nation's preparedness. As a combined group, we have work to do in the 

area of balancing the prevention, mitigation and response/recovery equation for the best 

value to the public. 

43. The largest share ofDHS's budget authority is provided to FEMA to carry out its mission. 

What are your initial recommendations for improving DHS and FEMA's management of its 

grant programs? 

If confirmed, I will start with my belief that OHS and FEMA grants exist to support, and 

not supplant the responsibilities of state, local, territorial and tribal entities to identify 

and manage their own programs for preparedness and response. The first response is 

always at· and should be in my mind- at the state and local level. No one knows their 

communities better those on the ground in the communities, living and working in the 

neighborhoods. It is my belief that the federal government is here to support, supplement 

and assist them both before, during and after a disaster. In extreme cases, the federal 

role may increase if the state, local, tribal and territorial capabilities are overwhelmed. 

With that framework in mind, as I mentioned in my response to Question #43 above with 

respect to FEMA grant programs, how do we better measure our successes and the 

remaining gaps? I have seen articles that OHS has spent over $40 Billion since its 

inception on grant programs most of which are aimed at preparedness. I want to make 

sure we can measure that effectiveness and assure the taxpayers of the value we are 

providing in our grant programs by demonstrating how these funds are helping state, 

local, territorial and tribal governments be better prepared and communities less 

vulnerable. If confirmed, in addition to assessing effectiveness and efficiency, I also want 

to be able to assure taxpayers that we are working to ensure that opportunities for waste, 

fraud and abuse are eliminated. If confirmed, I will work with FEMA leadership In 

consultation with the OHS Inspector General, GAO, and Congressional oversight bodies to 

improve the grants programs administered by FEMA. 

Management, Accountability, and Oversight 

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44. What do you believe are the most important actions DHS should take to strengthen overall 

management of the Department? 

If confirmed, I will continue the efforts I started while serving as the Chief of Staff 

regarding streamlining human capital processes, improving the morale at all levels, 

ensuring clarity at all levels with respect to the DHS mission and priorities, and working 

with Congress to redirect or eliminate non-mission critical work. In particular, I look 

forward to working with the Congress in addressing proposals for the reorganization of 

the National Protection and Programs Directorate. I also will take seriously the findings of 

the Department Inspector General and the GAO and maintain a rigorous system to track 

management issues and the implementation of corrective actions. 

45. What steps do you believe that DHS can take to ensure federal funds expended by the agency 

are free from duplication and waste? 

If confirmed, I will routinely be briefed by and work closely with the Component 

leadership, the CFOs and the Under Secretary for Management on expenditures and 

program outcomes, with a keen focus on removing any waste or duplication. 

Accountability based on clear objectives, assessment and metrics Is key. As I mentioned 

In my responses about grant programs, overall, I believe we can do a better job of 

measuring the effectiveness and value of our expenditures. I also will take seriously the 

findings of the Department Inspector General and the GAO and Congress on waste, 

fraud, and inefficiency within the Department and work to eliminate the same based on 

those recommendations. 

46. If confirmed, will you commit to reviewing any DHS programs that you believe could be 

eliminated because they are ineffective, duplicative, wasteful, unnecessary, or have outlived 

their purpose and report that information to Congress? 

If confirmed, I am committed to this goal and look forward to working with the Congress, 

the Office of Management and Budget, the GAO and the Department's IG on this very 

important task. 

47. How would you assess DHS's internal controls over financial reporting and what would you 

do to make sure DHS addresses any weaknesses? 

Accurate financial reporting and internal controls have improved significantly since the 

beginning of the Department but further improvements must be made on the remaining 

weaknesses. Financial reporting and internal controls require constant attention and 

focus. If confirmed, I will have the Under Secretary for Management and the Chief 

Financial Officer brief me regularly with updates on the progress to address any material 

weaknesses in the annual financial audits and our reporting and Internal controls. 

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48. Throughout its history, DHS has struggled with efforts to modernize and integrate the 

numerous financial systems on which the components operate. What do you see as the most 

viable path forward for DHS to develop real-time, accurate, and comprehensive data on its 

finances and to use this data to inform budget deeisions and resource allocation? 

If confirmed, I look forward to working closely with the Chief Financial Officer and the 

Under Secretary for Management, in conjunction with support from OMB, to ensure we 

have accurate information to Inform the budget process and to make recommendations 

to this Committee and Congress on the most viable path forward for financial systems 

Improvements. 

49. GAO and the Inspector General have identified significant challenges in DHS's approach to 

information teehnology management at DHS components, such as U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services. How would you approach addressing these challenges? 

I have always, and If confirmed will continue to take very seriously the recommendations 

from the GAO and the Inspector General. When I was at TSA I created and managed the 

offices that work with GAO and the IG and It was always my goal to partner with them to 

improve the agency. Their reports and findings provide a road map to improvement. The 

Department has struggled In the past with various information technology initiatives and 

the management of our IT systems. Like much of the Federal government, we struggle to 

recruit and retain highly skilled technologists in career positions when competing with the 

private sector for talent. We therefore sometimes have to rely on contractor support for 

key information technology systems. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the DHS 

management team and Congress to identify ways we can address this management, from 

creative specialized recruitment and retention initiatives to better management of 

contract IT support. 

50. What is your view of the role of the DHS Office oflnspector General (OIG}? Please describe 

what you think the relationship between the Secretary and the OIG should be. If confirmed, 

what steps would you take as Secretary to establish a working relationship with the Inspector 

General? 

If confirmed, I look forward to developing a close, proactive working relationship with 

the I G. From my days working closely with the IG at TSA, I view a cooperative 

relationship with the IG's Office as an early warning system. Often, the IG can alert 

management to areas that require attention well before a full investigation and report is 

released. I will encourage all of the senior staff of the Department to similarly embrace 

and respect this important role. 

51. The Inspector General Act places great weight on the independence of an Inspector General 

within a department or agency, yet also places the Inspector General under the general 

supervision of the agency head. How would you engage with the OIG under that 

framework? 

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If confirmed, I will meet with the Inspector General routinely. I will be cognizant that 

the IG has a unique responsibility and reporting responsibility unlike any of the other 

senior managers that report to the Secretary. There will be times I am sure when the 

IG will bring unpleasant facts to my attention and to the attention of Congress, but 

as long as we are both motivated with a desire to constantly improve the 

Department and protect the American people, I will strive to ensure my entire 

management team recognizes that our respective roles are complimentary rather 

than adversarial. 

52. If confinned, do you commit to ensuring that all recommendations made by the DHS 

Inspector General are reviewed, responded to, if necessary, and, unless the agency justifies 

its disagreements with the recommendations, implemented to the fullest extent possible 

within a reasonable time period? 

Should I be confirmed, I will thoroughly review all recommendations made by the Office 

of Inspector General and take appropriate steps in light of my review. I cannot make any 

firm commitments in the abstract, before any specific recommendations are formulated 

and presented to me. 

53. Protecting whistleblowers is of the utmost importance to this Committee: 

a. During your career, how have you addressed whistleblower complaints? 

I have always followed the whlstleblower protection laws, though to my 

knowledge I have never formally received a whistleblower complaint. If confirmed, 

I will lead by example, comply with all whistleblower, laws, rules and regulations 

and will be especially vigilant to the issue of management retaliation. 

b. How do you plan to implement policies within DHS to encourage employees to bring 

constructive suggestions forward without the fear of reprisal? 

If confirmed, I will emphasize and continue the ongoing efforts by Acting Secretary 

Duke to engage all levels of employees at DHS with respect to suggestions for 

improvement. I believe it is vital to both mission success and to morale to foster 

an environment of trust and respect where voices have a safe place and way in 

which to be heard. Fostering an environment where employees can share 

constructive ways for improvement will be encouraged. 

c. Do you commit without reservation to work to ensure that any whistleblower within 

DHS does not face retaliation? 

If confirmed, I will work to ensure that any whistleblower within DHS does not 

face retaliation, in accordance with all federal laws. 

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d. Do you commit without reservation to take all appropriate action if notified about 

potential whistleblower retaliation? 

If confirmed, I will take all appropriate action, in accordance with all federal laws. 

V. Relations with Congress 

54. Do you agree without reservation to comply with any request or summons to appear and 

testifY before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

If confirmed, I would comply without reservation. 

55. Do you agree without reservation to make any subordinate official or employee available to 

appear and testify before, or provide information to, any duly constituted committee of 

Congress if you are confirmed? 

If confirmed, I would without reservation. 

56. Do you agree without reservation to comply fully, completely, and promptly to any request 

for documents, communications, or any other agency material or information from any duly 

constituted committee of the Congress if you arc confirmed? 

If confirmed, I would without reservation. 

VI. Assistance 

57. Are these answers your own? Have you consulted with DHS or any other interested parties? 

If so, please indicate which entities. 

I have written, edited, reviewed and approved all of the responses in this document. In 

preparing responses to the questions posed to me in this document, I have relied on my 

own knowledge and professional experience, engaged in my own research, reviewed 

public statements of Administration officials and have received administrative assistance 

in finding various supporting documents and records from Executive Office of the 

President and DHS legislative affairs staff assisting with logistics support for my 

nomination. 

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I, ·rs ·ttl 1eJse11 , hereby state that I have read the foregoing Pre-Hearing 

Questi nnaire and each of the supplements and that the information provided therein is, to the 

best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

This 2_ day of NVJW~her , b\Dlt 

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Minority 

Supplemental Pre-Hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be 

Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

I. Nomination and Conllicts of Interest 

1. Has the President or his staff asked you to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement? 

Since 1 Joined the Trump Administration in January I have not been asked to sign any confidentiality or 

non-disclosure agreement. 

2. Has the President or his staff asked you to make any pledge or promise if you are confirmed as Secretary? 

No, other than to fulfill my duties with dedication, determination and resolve and never waiver in 

fulfilling my obligations to our citizens, laws and country. 

3. During your tenure in this Administration, have you asked any federal employee or potential hire to pledge 

loyalty to the President, Administration or any other government official? 

No. 

II. Background of the Nominee 

4. Please list and describe examples of when you made politically difficult choices that you thought were in 

the best interest of the country. 

In general, I believe transparency to be a cornerstone of our democratic process. As such, I have often 

advocated for transparency over political concerns. For example, there was discussion at the time as to 

whether the White House Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned Report should be made public. There were 

some arguing that perhaps the assessment might be more In depth if the report was not made public. 

My belief then and now is that it was important for State, local, tribal and territorial partners, private 

sector stakeholders and the American people to have the opportunity to understand what went wrong 

and what went right with the federal response. 

I also believe In the importance of privacy and civil liberties and protecting Americans' personal 

information. While at the Transportation Security Administration, less than a year after 9-11, there were 

efforts underway to strengthen the way in which aviation passengers are prescreened. Given the threat 

we faced at the time and then fresh memories of the burning twin towers, there were arguments that 

the system we now know as Secure Flight should collect and utilize a vast array of personal information 

from the travelling public. In policy meetings and discussions with Congressional Committee staff, I 

urged we proceed with caution and use a risk based approach to determine both what information 

would yield the most effective verification of a traveler's identify and whether they were a threat, and 

the implications to a traveler's privacy. I advocated for TSA to utilize the minimum amount of data 

necessary to execute its aviation security mission. 

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Finally, post Hurricane Katrina, I believed strongly that it was in the best interests of the nation for the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to remain within the Department of Homeland 

Security. It can be tempting politically after a major disaster to reorganize for the sake of appearing to 

'do something'. FEMA, however, plays an integral role within DHS, and Its sister agencies within DHS 

support and supplement FEMA in a way that would not be possible if the various components were not 

part of the same department. 

5. If confinned, what experiences and lessons learned since leaving DHS will you bring to the position of 

Secretary? 

As White House Principal Deputy Chief of Staff, I have seen first-hand, at the highest level of the 

Executive Branch, the importance of a consistent, predictable, effective and efficient interagency policy 

process. It is also vital that authority, resourcing. operational information and institutional memory be 

provided from the Departments and Agencies to inform Presidential decision making. Polley cannot be 

made in a vacuum. It is similarly vital that the President be enabled to make informed decisions and 

staffing processes must enable varied voices to be heard and incorporated into policy position options. I 

also continue to see how robust and continual communication between the Executive and Legislative 

branches supports an effective legislative process. 

6. What would you consider your greatest successes as a leader? 

My proven ability to build coalitions of the willing consisting of diverse stakeholders activated towards 

achieving a common goal or mutually desired outcome ·despite otherwise unaligned interests. I would 

also offer that my ability to assess and articulate the Implications and potential long-term consequences 

of policy and strategy decisions on resourcing, authorities, roles and responsibilities, and operations has 

been a key to my career successes. Finally, staying true to my core beliefs and values and providing my 

best advice and analysis regardless of the popularity of my position. 

7. What do you consider your greatest failure as a leader? What lessons did you take away from that 

experience? 

I am very passionate about the mission and at times have put that before all else. 

8. Please list the following infonnation for your positions at Haynes and Boone, LLP; the Transportation 

Security Administration; the George W. Bush White House; Mannatech, Inc.; Civitas Group, LLC; McNeill 

Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC; Sunesis Consulting, LLC; Obsidian, A Cadmus Company; the 

Department of Homeland Security beachhead or transition team; the Department of Homeland Security; and 

the Donald J. Trump White House: 

a. Please describe your role and responsibilities in the position. 

Haynes and Boone, LLP. I was an associate in the Corporate Practice Group and International 

Working Group. I negotiated and drafted documentation of acquisitions of both assets and stock 

of and by privately held and public companies, domestic and cross-border mergers, Including 

mergers for cash and stock and forward and reverse triangular mergers and venture capital 

transactions including debt and equity financings. I represented emerging, privately held and 

public companies in general corporate and securities matters including corporate organizations 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 27 
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and enterprise formation, Securities and Exchange Commission compliance, corporate 

governance, capitalizations and the adoption of stakeholder agreements and stock option plans 

o Transportation Security Administration. I was the Senior Legislative Polley Director within the 

Office of Security Regulation and Policy.ln that role, I created and managed the Office of 

Legislative Policy and drafted transportation security related legislation, Congressional 

testimony, and responses to hearing questions and participated in Congressional briefings. I 

also created and managed the TSA Liaison Office, served as the TSA liaison to the DHS 

Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office and coordinated all TSA-related 

audit Inquiries. 

George W. Bush White House. Please see my complete answer to question #7 of the Majority 

Questionnaire that fully describes my role and duties. 

Manna tech, Inc. I purchased real food supplements (glyconutrients) from Mannatech on a 

monthly basis. 

Civitas Group, UC. 1 was the President of Homeland and National Security Solutions and General 

Counsel. 1 practiced general corporate and government contracting law on behalf of the 

company. I advised senior government officials on the development and assessment of 

strategies, policies, plans, and tabletop exercises to protect against, prevent, respond to and 

recover from all hazard events. I also advised senior executives of private sector companies, 

non-profit organizations and non- governmental organizations on the development and 

assessment of strategies, policies, plans, and tabletop exercises to prepare for all hazard 

events, and assessed their entity's level of preparedness. 

• McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC; I was a subcontractor to McNeill Technologies on a 

contract with the Defense Department. I provided consulting services related to the 

development of national security exercise scenarios and in the execution of exercises. 

• Sunesls Consulting, LLC. As President and Founder of Sunesis Consulting. UC, I advised senior 

government officials and senior private sector officials on the development, assessment and 

execution of preparedness strategies, policies, plans, tools and tabletop exercises to prevent, 

protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazard events with a focus on 

cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and emergency preparedness and response. I also 

assessed and analyzed various entitles' preparedness for all hazard events and developed 

recommendations to address any gaps or inefficiencies. 

• Obsidian, A Cadmus Company; I was a subcontractor to Obsidian on a contract with DHS. I 

provided consulting services related to the development of national security exercise scenarios 

and in the execution of exercises. 

Presidential Transition Team (To be accurate I was not a member of the DHS beachhead team); 1 

volunteered (uncompensated} with Trump for America, Inc. to assist the DHS Secretary nominee 

with the confirmation process. I began as an official volunteer on November 29, 2016 and 

assisted the DHS nominee through his confirmation process. 

• Department of Homeland Security. I served as the Department's Chief of Staff. In that role, I 

oversaw 240,000 employees, directly managed 65 people but had resourcing and budget related 

decision-making authority and responsibility for the Office of the Secretary and Executive 

Management, made up of ten offices, 585 personnel and with a budget of $137 million (FY 2017 

enacted). I served as the principal advisor to the Secretary on all Department risk, policy and 

operational issues, helped to stand up the new Secretary's office and to transition employees, 

programs and processes to meet the needs of the Secretary and the Trump Administration and 

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worked with the National Security Council and federal partners on interagency policy 

coordination. 

Donald J. Trump White House. I currently serve as an Assistant to the President and the White 

House Principal Deputy Chief of Staff.l manage the Office of the Chief of Staff, oversee policy 

development and implementation, and serve as the principal advisor to the Chief of Staff and a 

senior advisor to the President. 

b. Please describe who you reported to and where your position fit in within the hierarchy of the 

organization. Please include individuals to whom you directly reported and relevant dates. 

• Haynes and Boone, LLP.1999-2002.1 was an associate and reported to various senior partners. 

• Transportation Security Administration. 2002-2004. I reported to Joe Hawkins, the Director of the 

Office of Security Regulation and Polley, which was within the Office of Transportation Security 

Polley at TSA. 

• George W. Bush White House. 2004-2007.1 reported to Fran Townsend, the Homeland Security 

Advisor.! was part of the Homeland Security Council staff which at the time was housed within 

the White House Office, within the Executive Office of the President. 

Mannatech, Inc. 1/1997-5/2005; 5/2007-2011. I purchased real food supplements 

(glyconutrients) from Mannatech on a monthly basis. 

• Civitas Group, LLC 2007-2012.1 reported to the CEO of Civitas.! was a partner and part of the 

senior leadership team. I ran the government contracting business and the private sector 

preparedness business lines. 

McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC. 5/2007-5/2010 I was a subcontractor. 

• Sunesis Consulting, LLC 2012-2017. I was the President. 

Obsidian, A Cadmus Company. 2016·20171 was a subcontractor. 

Presidential Transition Team (11/29/16-1/20/17}. Volunteer.! reported to Eric Ueland as a 

member of the "sherpa" team assisting with cabinet confirmations. 

c. Did someone recruit you for the position? If so, please describe the process. 

Haynes and Boone, LLP. I participated in the law firm recruiting process during law school. A 

representative from Haynes and Boone came to campus and interviewed me. I then flew to Texas 

for an interview. 

• Transportation Security Administration. I was asked to interview for a job at TSA and participated 

in three interviews. 

George W. Bush White House. I was asked to Interview for a job within the White House and 

participated in three interviews. 

Mannatech, Inc. My mother suggested that the products offered by Mannatech may support my 

health. 

Civitas Group, LLC. I was asked to interview and participated in multiple interviews. 

McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC. N/A 

Sunesis Consulting, LLC.I am the founder. 

Obsidian, A Cadmus Company. N/A 

Presidential Transition Team. I volunteered to help with the Administration transition. 

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Department of Homeland Security. General Kelly asked me to be the Chief of Staff ofthe 

Department. 

Donald J. Trump White House. General Kelly asked me to be the WH Principal Deputy Chief of 

Staff. 

d. In this role, what was the largest number of people that you directly managed at any one time? 

Haynes and Boone, LLP: 1 

Transportation Security Administration: 3-S 

• George W. Bush White House: 6 

Mannatech, Inc. N/A 

Civitas Group, LLC: 15 

McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC: N/A 

Sunesis Consulting, LLC: 12 

• Obsidian, A Cadmus Company: N/A 

Presidential Transition Team: N/A 

• Department of Homeland Security: See my complete answer to Question #6 of the Majority 

Questionnaire 

Donald J. Trump White House: See my complete answer to Question #6 of the Majority 

Questionnaire 

e. In this role, what was the largest number of people that directly reported to you at any one time? 

Haynes and Boone, LLP: 1 

Transportation Security Administration: 3·5 

George W. Bush White House: 6 

Mannatech, Inc. N/A. See also my answer to Question #12 below. 

Civitas Group, LLC: 15 

• McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC: N/A 

Sunesis Consulting, LLC: 12 

• Obsidian, A Cadmus Company: N/A 

Presidential Transition Team: N/A 

Department of Homeland Security: See my complete answer to Question #6 of the Majority 

Questionnaire 

Donald J. Trump White House: See my complete answer to Question #6 of the Majority 

Questionnaire 

f. Please describe the circumstances of your departure from the organization. 

Haynes and Boone, LLP. I moved back to DC in search of a way to help the federal government 

after the attacks of 9/11. 

Transportation Security Administration. I changed jobs and took a position at the White House. 

George W. Bush White House. I changed jobs and took a position in the private sector. 

Mannatech, Inc. I no longer needed the supplements. See also my answer to #12 below. 

Civitas Group, LLC. My business lines at Civitas were sold and I started a new company. 

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Ethics 

McNeill Technologies/Civitas Group, LLC. N/A 

Sunesis Consulting, LLC. I was appointed as the DHS Chief of Staff. 

Obsidian, A Cadmus Company. N/A 

Presidential Transition Team. I was appointed as the DHS Chief of Staff. 

Department of Homeland Security. I changed jobs to work at the White House. 

Donald J. Trump White House. N/A 

9. During your tenure at TSA, the Goorge W. Bush White House, the Department of Homeland Security or the 

Donald J. Trump White House, were you required to sign an ethics agreement(s)? 

I do not recall having to sign any ethics agreement at TSA other than standard federal employment 

forms. I was required to sign the standard ethics agreement required of commissioned officers when I 

became a commissioned officer at the Bush White House. I signed an ethics pledge at DHS when I joined 

the current Administration, and have provided a copy too the Committee of the signed pledge. I signed 

an acknowledgment form of the standards of ethical conduct when I moved to my present position at 

the White House and have provided the Committee a copy of that signed form. I was not required to 

sign a separate ethics agreement at DHS when I became a member of the Trump Administration nor at 

the White House when I moved to my current role. The Committee has a copy of my signed OGE ethics 

agreement for the current nomination. 

a. If so, did you sign any such ethics agreemcnt(s)? 

See above. 

b. If so, please provide a copy of your signed ethics agreement or a description of the applicable 

provisions related to outside employment and restrictions on former officers, employees, and elected 

officials of the executive branch. 

I have not retained a copy of the ethics agreement I signed as a commissioned officer at the 

White House in the Bush Administration. I do recall I had no "particular matter'' restrictions 

based on my position at the White House. I have provided copies of the signed Ethics Pledge, the 

Executive Office of the President (EOP) "Employee Acknowledgment of Standards of Conduct 

Requirements" form, and the signed OGE Ethics Agreement related to my nomination to the 

Committee. 

Federal Contracting Experience 

I 0. In your biographical questionnaire, you describe several positions in which you worked as a "federal 

contractor." During the course of your tenure as a federal contractor did you consult, advise, assist or 

support any client in their interactions with the White House, TSA or DHS? If so, please describe that 

work. 

For my clients who were prime contractors and for whom I worked as a subcontractor, I provided 

services pursuant to the federal contract. In performance of some contracts, I interacted with 

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government officials. I also supported some clients' (potential prime contractors) business development 

efforts by helping them understand mission requirements and in one case supported the drafting of an 

unsolicited proposal. 

a. Prior to or following your departure from the Bush Administration, did you consult with any federal 

ethics officials regarding how to comply with federal conflict of interest laws and guidance in your 

work in the private sector? If so, what advice, if any, did you receive? 

As is customary, I received an ethics out brief from WH Counsel prior to departing from 

government service. I do recall a determination that I did not work on any "particular matter" 

that might additionally restrict my ability to work on particular federal contracts after my 

government service. 

b. During your tenure in the private sector did you consult, assist or otherwise work on any federal 

contracts or solicitations on behalf of an employer or client? If so, please list each client or 

employer, the contract, the contract number, the contracting agency, the amount of the contract and 

describe your work on the contract including whether your client or employer fulfilled the contract 

in its entirety. 

I supported the development of proposals in response to various solicitations in accordance with 

formal teaming agreements with potential prime contractors and other subcontractors. Any 

records pertaining to federal contracts with my former employer Civitas are no longer available 

to me as they were the property of the company, which has ceased operations. At Sunesis, as a 

subcontractor, I was not privy to the overall prime contract information, only to the portion of 

work that was subcontracted to Sunesis. 

I will provide a chart to the Committee that Includes information on the two prime contracts that 

Sunesis held with the federal government. Additionally, I have attempted to provide on it the 

most complete list of federal work subcontracted to Sunesis, the prime contractor in each case, 

and the overall contracting agency or program. 

c. Were there any matters during your tenure in the private sector that you were recused from working 

on as a result of your prior work in the White House or at TSA? If so, please describe. 

As is customary, I received an ethics out brief from WH Counsel prior to departing from 

government service. I do recall a determination that I did not work on any "particular. matter" 

that might additionally restrict my ability to work on particular federal contracts after my 

government service and did not need to recuse myself from any particular opportunity. 

d. Were there any matters during your tenure as a federal employee that you were recused from 

working on as a result of your prior work in the private sector? If so, please describe. 

I was mindful of and have abided by the Ethics Pledge I signed when joining the Trump 

Administration, I have provided the Committee with a signed copy of that document. During my 

tenure as Chief of Staff at DHS, I was aware of the recusals set forth in the Ethics Pledge that I 

signed potentially impacting my interactions with my former employer and clients. I was also 

aware of the potential recusals that might arise relating to government matters involving certain 

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organizations with which 1 had recently been an active participant. Other than a small number of 

requests for meetings and speaking engagements, which were referred to other DHS senior 

leadership, there were no other matters from which I was recused as a result of my prior work in 

the private sector. There were no particular matters that! was required to recuse myself from 

while working at TSA or the Bush White House or the Trump White House that I recall. 

e. During the course of your work in the private sector did you interact with White House, TSA, or 

DHS personnel on client or employer matters outside of contracting? If so, please describe. 

1 do not recall interacting with government personnel on client or employer matters outside of 

contracting. 1 occasionally spoke on panels with government officials and participated in think 

tank and subject matter expert discussions where government officials were present and/or 

participated. My other interactions with government personnel tended to be at occasional social 

gatherings of former and current personnel such as the "DHS Generations" events and did not 

concern client or employer matters. 

White /louse (43) 

I I. During your tenure at the Bush White House, the United States experienced one of the most devastating 

natural disasters in its history in Hurricane Katrina. 

a. Please describe your position at the White House before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Please 

include details explaining your title, your responsibilities, and who you reported to, as well as a 

description of your role in the White House response to Hurricane Katrina and the drafting of the 

report titled: "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned." 

Please see my response to the Majority Questionnaire# 7. I contributed to the Lessons Learned 

as a close observer of the federal response and as the Senior Director responsible for related 

interagency policy issues. 

b. How would you assess the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina? How would you 

assess your own performance as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the 

Homeland Security Council in the Executive Office of the President during Hurricane Katrina? 

I agree with, co-authored and edited the White House Katrina Lessons Learned Report describing 

what went right and what went wrong with the federal response and recommending ways in 

which the federal government's response can be more effective. While on the Homeland Security 

Council staff I was not part of the operational or tactical chain of command for DHS and FEMA 

relief efforts. Within my authorities and responsibilities as a Senior Director, I was effective in 

adjudicating interagency policy disagreements and in coordinating the resolution of open policy 

Issues. As Senior Director, I chaired a call of White House personnel each day to describe the 

facts as we knew them, answer any questions, and "direct traffic", to include requests for 

assistance and additional requests for Information, to the appropriate Department and Agency 

for action. I also chaired various Policy Coordinating Committees to identify and determine 

Administration policy on a variety of issues raised- some for the first time, given the size and 

scope of the storm and the resulting damage. My goal was to support the DHS and other federal 

partners' operational efforts by convening and coordinating decisions regarding policy Issues so 

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that the operators could focus on response and recovery operations. I also worked with 

Departments and Agencies to streamline Information flow more generally so that our mutual 

situational awareness of what was happening was both accurate and timely. 

Mannatech, [nc. (Mannarech) 

12. According to your biographical questionnaire, you were an associate for Mannatech during your tenure at 

TSA and the White House. Did you request approval from your supervisors at TSA or the White House 

regarding your employment at Mannatech while serving in the government? If so, what was the response? 

1 purchased supplements from Mannatech on a monthly basis. I discussed my affiliation with Mannatech 

with TSA officials when I became an employee. No issue was raised. When I became a commissioned 

officer at the WH, I again reviewed with WH attorneys and, out of an abundance of caution, they asked 

If I would be willing to forego ordering supplements for the time during which I was a commissioned 

officer. 

a. During your tenure as a federal employee, did you sell Mannatech products to any other federal 

employees or recruit any other federal employees to become Mannatech associates? If so, please 

explain. 

No 

b. During your tenure as a federal employee did you use any federal resources, including, but not 

limited to, official time, your government issued computer, your government issued phone or your 

government office to support your work as an associate for Mannatech? 

No 

c. In 2008, Mannatech entered into an agreement to settle claims that the company allowed false claims 

to be made about the supplements. During your tenure at Mannatech, were you aware of allegations 

that the company allowed false or misleading claims to be made about it• products? Were you 

aware of the settlement that resulted from this behavior? Why did you continue to work for the 

company Ulltil 2011? 

I was not aware. I purchased supplements on a monthly basis from Mannatech until 2011 when I 

no longer needed them. 

d. According to your biographical questionnaire, you claimed a period of"unemployment" between 

June 1999 and August 1999 following your graduation from law school as well as between June 

2002 and July 2002 following your tenure at Haynes and Boone, LLP. Both of your periods of 

"unemployment" overlap with a period when you worked as an associate at Mannatech, Inc. Please 

explain this discrepancy. 

I purchased supplements from Mannatech on a monthly basis- I did not consider it 'employment' 

as I only used my associate membership to order products for personal use. Because I received a 

1099 form from Mannatech pursuant to which I paid required taxes, out of an abundance of 

caution, I listed it on my biographic form to the Committee. Because I did not consider it to be 

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employment, I listed the time I was studying for my bar exam (in 1999) and the period during 

which I sought a federal job (in 2002) as periods of unemployment. 

Civitas Group, LLC 

13. Regarding your role as "President and General Counsel" for Civitas Group, please provide a copy of the Kl 

and partnership agreement for Civitas Group. 

A copy of my 2014 Civitas K-1 has been provided to the Committee. Civitas Group has ceased operations 

and a copy of the operating agreement is not available to me. 

Sunesis Consulting, LLC 

14. Were you the ownerofSuncsis Consulting, LLC company? If so, what was your ownership stake in the 

business and what was the ownership stake of any of your partners or investors? 

I am, and have always been, the 100% owner of Sunesis. 

15. Were any ofthe contracts that you worked on while with Sunesis awarded under a set aside? If so, please 

list which set aside. 

Yes. Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business 

16. During your tenure at Sunesis, did you designate the company as a woman-owned or small disadvantaged 

business? 

Sunesis was certified as an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business. 

a. Jf so, please identifY the period in which the company maintained this designation. 

2012·2017 

b. Please describe upon what basis Sunesis qualified as a woman-owned or small disadvantaged 

business under the applicable federal regulations. 

Sunesis was certified as an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business under the 

appropriate regulations issued by the Small Business Administration. 

c. Was Sunesis certified as a woman-owned or small disadvantaged business by the Small Business 

Administration or any other agency? If so, please provide documentation confirming this 

designation. 

Sunesis was certified as an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business. 1 have 

provided the Committee with a copy of documentation confirming the designation. 

DHS Beachhead Team 

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17. You were identified as a member of the "beachhead team" for the Trump Administration at DHS. Did you 

serve on the "beachhead team" for DHS? If so, when did your tenure on the beachhead team begin and 

end? 

I did not serve on the Department of Homeland Security beachhead team. Beachhead teams were 

individuals identified by the Presidential Transition to enter on duty at Departments prior to the 

confirmation of the Agency Head. I entered on duty with the Secretary as the Department's Chief of 

Staff. 

a. As a member of the beachhead team, were you involved in the development or implementation of 

any proposed policy, legislative, or budget initiatives? If so, please list them and describe your role 

in the process. 

I did not serve on the Department of Homeland Security beachhead team. I entered on duty with 

Secretary Kelly as the Department's Chief of Staff. 

b. You also worked directly for former DHS Secretary John Kelly and advised him during his 

confirmation process to serve as Secretary ofDHS. When did you begin that role? What did this 

role entail? Were you a DHS employee at this time? 

I volunteered (uncompensated) with Trump for America, Inc. to assist the DHS Secretary nominee 

with the confirmation process. I began as an official volunteer on November 29, 2016 and 

assisted the nominee through the confirmation process. I supported the nominee as an 

uncompensated volunteer through Trump for America, Inc. and was not a federal employee 

during the transition period. 

c. Were you paid for your services on the beachhead team? What agency or entity paid you when you 

worked on the beachhead team or when you worked for former DHS Secretary Kelly? 

I did not serve on a beachhead team. I entered on duty with Secretary Kelly as the Department's 

Chief of Staff and was paid as a federal employee by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Department of Homeland Security 

18. In your role as Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security: 

a. Did you divest from any of your financial holdings prior to beginning your employment with DHS in 

order to address actual and potential conflicts of interest? 

No divestiture was required. 

b. What do you consider your greatest success and greatest failure in thls role? What lessons did you 

take away from each experience? 

I am proud of the team we assembled as part of the Trump Administration and the processes and 

procedures created to support General Kelly as Secretary. I am also proud of the relationship 

building activities and discussions with Mexico and Northern Triangle countries. There are 

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programs and initiatives that 1 had hoped to see reach fruition- should I be confirmed, I hope to 

continue them. 

c. In your capacity as DHS Chief of Staff, what inquiry or actions did you take with respect to the 

DOMino contract? 

As best I can recall, I did not take any actions and do not recall making any inquiry with respect to 

the DOMino contract. 

White House (45) 

19. In your role as Principal Deputy Chief of Staff in the Executive Office of the President, what do you 

consider your greatest success and greatest failure in this role? What lessons have you taken away from 

each experience? 

I conducted an assessment of the various policy processes In place and worked to streamline and align 

efforts and develop processes where needed so that Administration policy decisions are reached after a 

careful examination of related information and perspectives. See also my answer to question# 5. 

20. Did you divest from any of your financial holdings prior to beginning your employment with White House 

in order to address actual and potential conflicts of interest? 

No divestiture was required. 

Positions Held Outside United States Government 

21. Please describe your role and responsibilities in any positions hold outside of the United States governn1ent 

for the last ten years, including, but not limited to: (a) Res/CON, Greater New Orleans Inc; (b) Trump for 

America, Inc.; (c) World Economic Forum; (d) Cyber Institute, National Cybersecurity; (e) Center for Naval 

Analyses Safety and 

Security Advisory Board; (f) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); (g) World Economic Forum; and 

(h) George Washington University; among others. 

Please see the detailed information I have provided to the Committee in my biographic questionnaire, 

which lists my affiliation with all of the above. 

Accountability 

22. During your career as a federal employee or as a member ofthe beachhead team, have you ever used a 

personal email account or device to conduct official government business? 

Not to my knowledge. 

a. If so, please list in what government positions you have used a personal email account or device to 

conduct official government business, describe your general practice for doing so, and what specific 

steps you have taken to ensure that federal records created using personal devices and accounts were 

preserved. 

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In general, if 1 see that I have received an email on a personal account discussing offidal 

government business 1 forward the email to my work email address. If the official government 

communication is via text, I have taken a screen shot of the text and sent it to my work account. 

b. During your tenure as a federal employee or member ofthe beachhead team, have you used a 

smartphone app including, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Signal, Confide, and others that support 

encryption or the ability to automatically delete messages after they are read or sent, for work-related 

communications? If so, please indicate which application, when it was use, how often and with 

whom. 

I have not used such apps to conduct official government business to my knowledge. 

23. During your career, has your conduct as a federal employee ever been subject to an investigation, audit, or 

review by an Inspector General, Office of Special Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 

Department of Justice, or any other federal investigative entity? If so, please describe the review and its 

outcome. 

I have never been the subject of such an investigation, audit or review to my knowledge. 

24. During your career as a federal contractor, has your employer or a client been subject to suspension or 

debarment arising from a contract or solicitation that you worked on, been cited for failing to fully perfonn 

on a contract that you worked on, or received a less than satisfactory rating on any contract on which you 

consulted or performed? 

No, not to my knowledge. 

25. If confirmed, do you pledge to implement recommendations made by the Office oflnspector General, the 

Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Special Counsel and the Government Accountability Office? 

Should I be confirmed, I commit to doing so. See, also my answer to Question #52 of the Majority 

Questionnaire above. 

26. Please list any public social media accounts and their handles that you have used or maintained at any point 

during the past three years. This should include any public accounts bearing your name or an alias. 

I have a public Linked In account in my name. I have an inactive Twitter account and have provided the 

handle to the Committee separately. 

27. Have you ever received a formal performance review related to your management experience? If so, please 

list the position and describe the outcome of the re,~ew. 

Not that I recall. 

IV. Policy Questions 

Management 

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28. What role do you believe the Secretary should have in reviewing or having input on executive actions or 

other administration policies that impact DHS? 

1 am a firm advocate of a robust policy process. I believe all Departments and Agencies with a potential 

role, responsibility or equity related to a policy Issue should be Included In the process to determine the 

Administration policy and have the opportunity to suggest revisions, additions and/or comments for 

consideration. 

29. If confirmed, do you commit to ensuring that the DHS Privacy Office and the Office of Civil Rights and 

Civil Liberties are appropriately consulted on the review of DHS products such as guidance, protocols, and 

implementation memoranda? 

I do commit to ensuring these offices are properly engaged. Please see also my response to Majority 

Question 1124. 

30. DHS is one of the largest governmental agencies, with the largest number of law enforcement personnel in 

the federal government and over 240,000 employees. Please describe in detail what management 

experiences qualify you to be Secretary of Homeland Security. Please include the date and duration of each 

experience, the number ofindividuals you supervised, and your role in coordinating their activities. 

Please see my detailed responses to Majority question II 5 and 116 and Minority Question #8 above. 

31. In many areas, the responsibilities of the Department intersect with those of other cabinet departments. For 

example, while the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) are broadly responsible for coordinating emergency management and incident response activities, 

various federal departments, including the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of 

Agriculture, and Environmental Protection Agency have statutory requirements and lead roles based upon 

the unique circumstances of each incident. What experience do you have working across departments and 

components? Please provide unclassified examples of ways in which you were successful in coordinating a 

multi-agency approach to an issue. 

Please see my detailed responses to Majority questions 115 & 117 above. 

32. GAO and the DHS Office oflnspector General play important roles in assisting Congress in overseeing 

DHS operations and management. As Secretary, how will you work to ensure that GAO and the Inspector 

General have the access they need to carry out their evaluation, audit, and investigation functions? 

If confirmed, I pledge to work closely with the GAO and the Office of Inspector General in their roles in 

assisting Congress in oversight of DHS operations and management. Please see my complete detailed 

responses to Majority questions 1149-1152 above. 

a. Will you support additional resources for the DHS OIG to conduct oversight of disaster relief efforts 

in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Inna, and Maria? 

If confirmed, I will give full consideration to any request by the IG for additional resources or 

reallocation of resources required for oversight of the Department's operations. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 39 
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b. Do you believe that when a Department's total budget authority increases, the budget for its Office 

of Inspector General should increase proportionally? 

The Office of Inspector General should always be resourced to properly carry out the evaluation, 

audit and investigation functions it performs in oversight of the Department. If confirmed, I will 

give full consideration to any request by the IG for additional resources or reallocation of 

resources required for oversight of the Department's operations. 

33. What do you consider to be the principal challenges in the area of human capital management at DHS? 

I believe that human capital management strategies should comprehensively address technology, 

resource and policy/processes needs to ensure the recruiting, managing, and developing of employees 

are optimized. Should I be confirmed, one of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the area of 

human capital management at DHS is to ensure that the fine men and women of DHS have clarity of 

mission, are empowered to perform their duties, have all the necessary tools to do their jobs and are 

both held accountable and acknowledged for their performance. I see these actions as essential to 

strong job satisfaction and high employee morale. Another principal challenge is improving our ability 

to recruit, hire and retain talented people. We need to adapt our hiring systems to meet a rapidly 

changing hiring environment and identify innovative ways to attract key skill sets- such as those needed 

for the cybersecurity mission. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Under Secretary of 

Management to align human capital objectives across components, the Chief Human Capital Officer and 

Department leadership as well as OPM, OMB and Congress on creative solutions. 

a. What new initiatives would you take, if confirmed, to identify and address the root causes of low 

morale among DHS employees? 

I was thrilled to learn that DHS employee GSI rose 6 percent In the most recent FEVS survey. 

During my service as the Department's Chief of Staff, we initiated a leadership employee 

listening tour by the DHS Deputy Secretary. This tour reinforced the need for Department 

leadership to clearly articulate objectives, hold people accountable and acknowledge success. If 

confirmed, I look forward to fully re-engaging in this initiative to identify what the Department 

has learned and to develop specific implementation steps the Department can take on issues 

identified. 

b. What experience from your past positions best equips you to address workforce challenges at DHS? 

I am honored to be the first former DHS employee nominated to lead the Department. My 

service at TSA, as the Department's Chief of Staff, and as the White House Principal Deputy Chief 

of Staff has provided me an eKtensive understanding of workplace challenges at a principal level 

and departmental and component levels. If confirmed, I will use these experience to identify, 

assess and address employee concerns and bring forward substantive solutions. I have found 

fostering an environment of respect and trust, providing ways in which voices can be heard and 

engaging with employees at various levels to be vital to identify and address workforce 

challenges. 

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34. DHS's CIO does not report to the Secretary ofDHS. If confirmed as Secretary, will you elevate the role of 

the DHS CIO and ensure you have a direct line of conununication with the Department CIO? 

The Department's CIO is a Presidential appointment. I understand the President recently appointed an 

individual from the Defense Department as the DHS CIO with whom I look forward to meeting and 

working with, if confirmed. The CIO's job is extremely important at DHS at a time when we depend so 

much on technology for our mission and when our own networks and devices may be attacked. The DHS 

CIO, to be effective, must work closely with his or her counterparts at the components as well as with 

DHS's senior leadership team to include the Secretary. If confirmed, I would plan to have a direct line of 

communication with the CIO regardless of the formal reporting structure and would ensure that the CIO 

is also in close communication with the leadership at NPPD as they execute their mission to protection 

civilian federal networks. If confirmed, I plan to review the organizational chart as a whole in 

consultation with Congress and DHS leadership to ensure that it adequately enables and supports the 

missions, roles and responsibilities of DHS leadership and would certainly be open to considering any 

changes that may be necessary. 

35. According to recent press reports, the White House hosted a reception for you foJlowing the President's 

announcement of his intention to nominate you to be DHS Secretary and the White House billed DHS for 

the cost. These reports also noted that some DHS officials expressed concern about being pulled from doing 

post-hurricane recovery work to attend this event. 

There appears to have been some inaccurate press reporting on the funding of the announcement 

reception. As I understand it now, although a routine partial reimbursement request was sent in 

advance of the event via staff in White House management and administration to DHS and approved at 

DHS, DHS funds were not actually used to pay for the event. I am told it was paid for entirely out of the 

White House residence allowance for such events and there will not be any DHS reimbursement. 

a. Please list the names of any FEMA and DHS employees that attended the White House reception in 

your honor who have a role in the federal government's post-hurricane recovery efforts. 

I did not have a role in organizing the event and did not see an attendee list. I understand that all 

of DHS senior leadership was invited per protocol, but that several who were most engaged on 

hurricane response efforts did not attend, including FEMA Administrator long and Acting 

Secretary Duke who were in Puerto Rico at the time. There were two senior FEMA officials who 

attended the announcement event to my knowledge. Obviously, such attendance was voluntary 

and the leadership was Invited as is traditional for a Cabinet announcement. 

b. Please list any other similar receptions that you've attended for President Trump's nominees for a 

presidentially appointed Senate confirmed position. 

I have personally not attended any similar receptions since joining the White House at the end of 

July. Mine was the first cabinet level nomination to be announced during that time. 

c. As White House Deputy Chief of Staff or DHS ChiefofStaffhave you had a role in or!,>anizing any 

similar receptions that the White House has hosted for President Trump's nominees for a 

presidentially appointed Senate continued position? If so, please indicate which ones, and whether 

and how much the relevant agency was billed for the event. 

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I did not have a role in organizing this or any similar reception. As far as I understand, the Office 

of Presidential Personnel deferred to the White House Social Secretary's office to conform to 

protocol past practice because of the attendance of the President and First Lady. 

36. While you served as Chief of Staff for then-Secretary ofDHS John Kelly, please describe the Executive 

Order Task Force, its responsibilities, the number ofDHS officials assigned to it, and your relationship with 

it. What were its accomplishments and how could it be improved? 

The Executive Order Task Force was created to ensure that a dedicated group of personnel tracked the 

requirements of various Executive Orders which assigned roles or actions to DHS. The Task Force was 

created to work with and through the various DHS components to ensure effective and efficient 

Executive Order Implementation. I do not recall the specific number of DHS officials assigned to it at any 

one time. I reviewed the Executive Order implementation status updates. 

37. While working at the White House in this Administration, did you ever inform the President that a public 

statement that he made was inaccurate? Which one(s)? If not, why not? 

In light of the confidentiality Interests that attach to Executive Branch decision-making, I am unable to 

reveal the substance of conversations I had with the President or other presidential advisors during the 

course of my time at the White House. It Is critically important, In my view, that the President is able to 

receive confidential advice without concern that the advice might later be divulged. I have always been 

honest and candid in my interactions with the President and will continue to do so as the Secretary of 

Homeland Security, if confirmed. 

Federal Emergency Management 

38. Do you believe that man-made climate change has contributed to the growth in the frequency, magnitude, 

and financial impact of natural disasters in recent years? If yes, please explain how FEMA can use this 

infonnation to improve preparedness. lf no, please explain why not. 

I would not want to speculate on the science or causation of existing climate change, as I am not a 

scientific expert. But I know from experience that FEMA works very closely with interagency partners to 

include NOAA for weather disaster response and who pay close attention to weather patterns and 

trends. This relationship plays a critical role in allowing FEMA to enhance its preparedness for disaster 

response and relief. The modeling of storm paths and severity Is just one example of how FEMA draws 

on its Interagency relationships to improve Its responsiveness. 

39. In the span of four weeks, Hurricanes Harvey, lnna, and Maria brought unprecedented devastation to 

communities in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and surrounding areas. In early 

October, the deadliest series of wildfires in California history ravaged the state, causing more than $1 billion 

in insured losses. 

a. Please describe your role in these recovery efforts in the current administration. 

Prior to my nomination, as Principal Deputy White House Chief of Staff, my role during recovery 

efforts was to help focus White House staff in the appropriate policy councils on interagency 

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policy issues. I specifically sought to address unresolved or conflicting policy Issues to enable 

federal departments and agencies to bring to bear resources to support state, territorial and local 

authorities as they took the necessary steps to begin the process of recovery. I also, on behalf of 

the Chief of Staff's Office, reviewed requests for Emergency and Major Disaster Declarations and 

related Administration recommendations. 

b. What is your evaluation of the initial interagency response to these four events? 

The initial interagency response to these four events was positively Influenced by lessons-learned 

from previous disaster relief and recovery efforts to include clear mission assignments and 

accountability for federal authorities, prepositlonlng commodities and rescue teams, robust 

federal interagency coordination, and reinforcement of the primacy of state, local, tribal and 

territorial governmental, and non-governmental authorities. 

c. What do you see as notable successes and failures by the Trump Administration and DHS regarding 

the initial response to these four disasters? 

A distinguishing factor in this Administration's response was the strong partnership with and 

support for state, local, tribal and territorial authorities by federal government entities. The clear 

assignment of missions and flexible partnerships between and among levels of government 

enabled quick and thorough responses. The sheer magnitude of three hurricanes in a short 

period of time added to the complexity of response. If confirmed, I will review the gaps, overlaps, 

and vulnerabilities in the response to these disasters and any recommended corrective actions 

Identified by the Administration and DHS as part of a formal lessons learned process. If 

confirmed, I will also look forward to working with the Committee and Congress to evaluate 

areas where DHS can continue to improve. 

d. In your view, was the timeliness of the federal govemment's response to Hurricane Maria adequate? 

Why or why not? 

In my opinion, yes, the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria both before and after 

the hurricane hit was timely. Hurricane Maria presented some unique disaster relief and 

recovery challenges resulting from the magnitude of the storm, the logistical challenges 

presented by having to move all resources to an island by sea or air and then distributing 

commodities in the face of unprecedented destruction, and the severe devastation of the 

Commonwealth's aging power grid. 

40. What do you believe the role of the federal govemment should be in long-term recovery efforts and what 

metrics should the government use to determine whether federal responsibilities have concluded for 

providing assistance after a natural or man-made disaster? 

The role of the federal government In long-term recovery is established in both statute, through the 

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, and in doctrine, through 

the National Disaster Recovery Framework developed In pursuant to Presidential direction. Federal 

agencies participate in and support recovery planning. capacity building, and mitigation efforts through 

technical assistance, expertise, or other assistance as requested and needed. I would offer that It is 

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important for the Federal Government to encourage recovery actions that not only assist in immediate 

recovery needs but reduce future risk from hazards and Increase resilience while remaining consistent 

with national laws and policies. With regard to metrics for determining when federal responsibilities to 

provide assistance have concluded, the duration and extent of federal support is determined In part by 

the scale and enduring impacts of the incident, on the ability of the community to sustain recovery 

efforts on its own, and in conjunction with requests from State, local, tribal and territorial governments. 

41. To what degree do you believe tbe federal government should be financially responsible for restoring the 

power grid, repairing damaged water lines, and meeting other disaster-related needs in Puerto Rico? 

As I understand It, under current law through FEMA's Public Assistance program, the federal 

government will reimburse the Commonwealth for expenses Incurred in restoring the power grid, 

damaged water lines and other disaster-related needs in Puerto Rico to pre-hurricane conditions, 

meeting all applicable standards and codes. That reimbursement is generally subject to a federal/nonfederal cost share. 

42. Prior to the landfall of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, were all buildings on tbe island inspected for 

safety? If so, by what entity? 

In general, as local governments are responsible for setting and enforcing building codes, the question Is 

probably best addressed to Commonwealth authorities. From a DHS perspective, FEMA does offer 

grants in the area of hazard mitigation to help address infrastructure safety concerns. 

43. What steps should tbe federal government take, in your opinion, to ensure tbat infrastructure repairs made in 

disaster-affected communities are made to better withstand future disasters? 

It Is my understanding that the federal government is limited by existing authorities of the Stafford Act 

to repair infrastructure to a new standard of resilience. Funding is available to State and Commonwealth 

authorities to enhance resilience and fund hazard mitigation through such programs as the Hazard 

Mitigation Grant Program. If confirmed I look forward to working with State and Commonwealth 

authorities on the existing programs and with Congress on any additional necessary authorities. 

44. What is your view of the "disaster deductible" concept, which would condition states' receipt of FEMA 

reimbursement on tbeir ability to adopt specific mitigation and resiliency measures, such as updated 

building codes and stricter insurance requirements? If confirmed, will you support advancing tbe deductible 

concept through the federal rulemaking process? 

If confirmed, I will work to better understand the details and policy and operational implications with 

this committee and other stakeholders before offering an opinion. In my experience, there are many 

factors that can contribute to state and local resilience and mitigation capability, and 1 would want to 

fully understand the implications of each before determining whether the proposal has merit. 

45. Do you support repealing tbe Federal Flood Risk Management Standard? Why or why not? 

I believe that federal infrastructure and investments should be protected from flood risk in a cost 

effective manner. The President repealed E.O. 13690 because of concerns from Congress and others 

regarding the overly burdensome regulatory process the E.O. had spurred. It continues to be Important 

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for federal, state, local, and territorial governments as well as the private sector to make smart 

Investments In resilience and to raise building codes and practices consistent with those interests. If 

confirmed I look forward to conferring with Congress and other stakeholders to ensure we effectively 

address flood risk. 

46. The President's FY 2018 budget request, if enacted, would reduce funding for FEMA's Pre-Disaster 

Mitigation Grant Program by more than $60 million and would completely eliminate the discretionary 

appropriation for FEMA's Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis (Risk MAP) program. What do you 

see as the federal government's role in funding pre-disaster mitigation activities and flood hazard mapping? 

Do you support reducing funding for these two programs? Why or why not? 

The federal government should continue to support pre-disaster mitigation activities and flood hazard 

mapping, in concert with state, local and private sector partners. It Is my understanding that difficult 

budget decisions were made based on an expectation that state and local authorities are today able to 

bear a greater cost burden given the considerable investment made in recent years In disaster 

preparedness, response and resilience efforts. 

47. What is your position on the effectiveness of preparedness grant programs in preparing state and local first 

responders to prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks? 

Over time, preparedness grant programs have enhanced the capabilities of state and local first 

responders to prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. These capabilities have been shown to 

be effective during responses to events in Orlando and Las Vegas, as example. Please see additionally 

my complete responses to question 1142 and #43 of the Majority Questionnaire. 

48. What do you view as FEMA's role in providing emergency management education, training, and exercise 

programs to state and local first responders? 

The federal government through DHS and FEMA provide emergency management education, training, 

and exercise programs to state and local first responders through grant programs as well as through 

direct technical assistance and training to state and local emergency management. I view this assistance 

as an important federal and DHS role in assisting first responders in their efforts to strengthen their 

capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major 

disasters and other emergencies. 

a. Do you support the President's budget proposal related to the National Domestic Preparedness 

Consortium and to reduce funding for the Emergency Management Institute and Continuing 

Training Grants in FY 2018? Why or why not? 

Yes. I believe the federal government should continue to support first responder training and 

exercises, in concert with state, local, and private sector partners. I also contend that decisions 

on reducing or reallocating grant funding In these areas require difficult budget choices balancing 

available federal resources with expectations that state and local authorities are today able to 

shoulder more of the responsibility given the considerable federal investment made in recent 

years In preparedness, response, and resilience capabilities. 

Border Security and Immigration 

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49. On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13767, "Border Security and Immigration 

Enforcement Improvements." The executive order instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take 

immediate steps to plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border in order to "to 

obtain complete operational control, as determined by the Secretary, of the southern border." What does the 

term "complete operational control" mean to you, and, if confirmed, what additional steps would you 

recommend that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) take in order to obtain complete operational control 

of the southern border? 

Complete operational control entails being able to detect, apprehend or deter any Illegal border crossing 

or attempted crossing. While it is impossible to stop every illegal crossing and all illegal activity across 

the border, it is the mission of the Department to achieve and maintain a secure border. I 

understand that OHS is currently working on a number of strategic plans on border security to outline 

recommended actions, to include Implementation of new technologies, personnel deployments and 

training to make significant strides In securing the border. If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing 

those plans and taking the appropriate steps. 

50. Do you believe it is possible to end all unlawful entries into our country? Why or why not? 

It is not possible to end all illegal crossings and Illicit cross-border activity. That does not change the 

Department's core mission to secure the border and the imperative to take appropriate actions to 

achieve that end. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the hardworking men and women across 

OHS who share in that mission. 

a. If you believe it is possible, what manpower, infrastructure, and technology capabilities would be 

required to achieve such an outcome? 

If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the draft strategic plans and discussing with DHS 

leadership to understand operational perspectives and needs, and to better understand what can 

realistically be achieved, how quickly, and with what mix of resources in the view of our experts 

and then working with the Administration and Congress to close any gaps. 

b. Is there a point, in your view, where the costs ofbuilding additional infrastructure along the southern 

border outweigh in the benefits? If so, what is that point? 

It is clear that additional infrastructure would strengthen the security of our border. I 

understand that CBP is undertaking a full assessment of every mile of the southern border to 

outline what additional infrastructure would be useful. This information will be provided to 

Congress in a number of required reports. I believe that additional infrastructure needs- in 

addition to other resources needed- should be identified by our operators who day in and day 

out work to protect unlawful entries. As part of that assessment, I understand the Border Patrol 

identified and prioritized the border wall requested in the fiscal year 2018 President's budget 

request. Should I be confirmed, reviewing their assessment and prioritization of Investments will 

be one of my top priorities. 

51. According to self-reported statistics, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 408,870 illegal entrants along the 

Southwest border in FY 2016. That figure represents a 75% drop from FY 2000, when approximately !.6 

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million illegal entrants were apprehended along that border. A September 2017 report by the Office of 

Immigration Statistics estimates successful illegal border entries fell from 1.8 million in 2000 to 170,000 in 

2016- a 91% decline. The report found that "the southwest land border is more difficult to illegally cross 

today than ever before." Do you agree with the Office oflmmigration Statistics' assessment? Is the 

southwest border more difficult to illegally cross today than ever before? 

1 am not familiar with the OIS report but I generally agree that investments in infrastructure, personnel 

and technology over that time period have made it more difficult to illegally cross our southern land 

border. I also believe that the Administration's focus on enforcing our immigration laws has 

deterred would-be illegal crossings and that deterrence, combined with the efforts of the men and 

women of DHS, has reduced the threats and vulnerabilities that we face at our borders. Despite that, 

our southern border Is not fully secure as indicated by an uptick in recent border unauthorized border 

crossings and much more can and will be done. 

52. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment, the most common 

method Mexican transnational criminal organizations employ to illegally transport illicit drugs into the 

United States involves smuggling drugs in concealed compartments within passenger vehicles or 

commingling them with legitimate goods on tractor trailers and then driving them through land U.S. ports of 

entry. Would the physical wall that President Trump has ordered stem the flow of these illicit drugs that 

pass through land ports of entry? Why or why not? 

Transnational drug cartels employ a number of means to smuggle drugs across our borders from hidden 

compartments to tunnels to ultralight and unmanned aircraft to small boats. I believe that a component 

of decreasing illegal activity is to continue to make it more difficult and more expensive for the criminals 

and perpetrators to conduct their illicit activity. A physical wall is not the sole investment necessary for 

border security, but it is a critical component to stemming the flow of illegal drugs into our nation. If 

confirmed, I commit to working with Congress and the interagency to further reduce the flow of illicit 

drugs into our homeland. 

53. Do you believe that our nation's ports of entry have adequate resources and manpower to prevent the illegal 

flow of drugs, contraband, and individuals posing security threats into this country? 

How we resource the ports of entry requires additional focus to more effectively find the "needle" of 

hidden drugs or other contraband among the "haystack" of huge volumes of legitimate trade and travel. 

We want to impose greater security without 'thickening' the border in a way that is economically 

damaging. If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the draft strategic plans to better understand what 

can realistically be achieved, how quickly, and with what mix of resources to better secure all of our 

borders in the view of our experts and then working with the Administration and Congress to close any 

gaps. 

54. If confirmed, how do you plan to identity areas along the southwest border where additional infrastroctore is 

required? 

I understand that CBP is undertaking a full assessment of every mile of the southern border to outline 

what additional infrastructure would be useful. This information will be provided to Congress in a 

number of required reports. I believe that additional infrastructure needs- in addition to other 

resources needed- should be Identified by our operators who day in and day out work to protect 

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unlawful entries. As part of that assessment, Border Patrol identified and prioritized the border wall 

requested in the fiscal year 2018 President's budget request. Should I be confirmed, reviewing their 

assessment and prioritization of investments will be one of my top priorities. 

a. How will solicit and consider input from the U.S. Border Patrol and individual Border Patrol sector 

chiefs be used to inform these decisions? 

As I understand it, the Border Patrol sector chiefs along with their field personnel, are conducting 

the assessment referenced above. It is critical that those on the frontlines provide that input and 

if confirmed, lam committed to continually getting the perspective of and input from our 

frontline field supervisors and personnel to understand what tools they need to do their jobs. 

b. If confirmed, will you commit to providing all Committee Members with any and all requests from 

Border Patrol sector chiefs for additional inftastrnctnre and technology along the southwest border 

that DHS has collected since January 25, 2017? 

If confirmed, I will work with all Committee Members and Congress to provide any OHS 

legislative recommendations on resources necessary to secure our borders whether they 

originate with the sector chiefs or otherwise. Any such recommendations will be informed by 

collaboration within the executive branch and with all relevant stakeholders. 

c. If confirmed, will you adhere to the Border Patrol's Requirements Management Process and conduct 

a rigorous cost-benefit analysis, including a gap analysis, analysis of alternatives, and lifecycle cost 

estimate, before beginning construction on the physical wall that President Trump has ordered? 

Why or why not? 

If confirmed, I look forward to being briefed immediately by the DHS border security team on the 

plans for managing and securing our borders. I believe that strategy has been informed by the 

Requirements Management Process referenced here but, If confirmed, I will seek to more 

thoroughly understand the linkage and the processes used to inform the strategy and wall 

construction. 

55. If confirmed, will you support the use of eminent domain to seize private citizens' property to build the 

physical wall that President Trump has ordered? 

The use of eminent domain is a last resort and, appropriately, requires significant actions by the 

government to execute to ensure protection of citizens' property rights. If confirmed, I will follow the 

law and judiciously utilize authorities under the law to secure our nation's borders. 

a. In your opinion, should private landowners be compensated for any devaluation of their land that 

would lie south of the wall as a result of border wall constrnction? 

I believe there are legal processes in place to compensate landowners for a partial taking such as 

described above and if I am confirmed I will learn more about that process. I also understand in 

the past the Department worked hard with landowners to provide access to their property In 

cases where direct access was lessened or eliminated by infrastructure. 

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56. Please describe your views on the President's January Executive Order removing all priorities for ICE 

immigration enforcement. Should federal law enforcement dollars be prioritized toward the removal of 

criminals over families and nonviolent undocumented immigrants? 

If confirmed, I will emphasize our duty to enforce the laws with which we are charged. I would also 

continue the prioritized use of ICE investigative techniques, resources, and legal authorities to identify, 

locate, Investigate, arrest, and remove criminal aliens from the U.S. For example, this will include those 

accused of human rights violations, human traffickers, international criminal fugitives, gang members, 

illegal drug offenders and traffickers, and those fugitives ordered deported by federal immigration 

judges. 

57. Would you be in favor of a path to citizenship for the more than 700,000 current Deferred Action for 

Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as a part of that legislative fix? Why or why not? 

Congress has clear constitutional policymaking authority to change immigration law In order to develop 

a permanent solution for those individuals that were Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. 

If confirmed, I will stand ready to work with Congress to provide any technical assistance needed 

towards a permanent, legal solution and towards enacting measures that enhance border security, 

interior enforcement, and our immigration system generally. 

58. If there is no legislative fix to address the DACA program before it is phased out, do you commit that you 

will oppose DHS using information DACA recipients have provided to the government for enforcement 

actions against them if you are confirmed? 

If confirmed, I will ensure that DHS continues to follow the law, including federal court decisions. As I 

understand it, since the beginning of the DACA program, information obtained from someone with 

deferred action has not been provided proactively except In specific circumstances such as when the 

individual poses a risk to national security or public safety. Should I be confirmed, I will quickly and more 

thoroughly assess this issue. I will also stand ready to work with Congress to provide technical 

assistance necessary to formulate a permeant legal solution for DACA recipient. 

a. If so, how will you ensure this opposition is communicated and reinforced throughout the agency? 

If confirmed, I will ensure DHS follows the law with regard to DACA information. 

59. As recently as 20 l 0 there were over 16,000 non-citizen immigrants serving in the United States military, 

making up 1.4% of the enlisted force. Do you support the enlistment of non-citizens into the United States 

military? 

I believe this may more appropriately be a question addressed to the Department of Defense. If DoD 

sees the continued benefit to recruit non-citizens who are here legally In order to meet manpower and 

mission needs that cannot be met by recruiting U.S. citizens alone, then If confirmed I would fully 

support the determination by the Department of Defense and work with Secretary Mattis to ensure DHS 

fully supports the DOD mission. 

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a. In June 2002, President Bush issued an Executive Order expediting the naturalization of non-citizens 

serving in active-duty status in the war on terror. Do you support the expedited naturalization of 

non-citizens that serve in the United States military? 

I do. 1 believe the standard is that they must complete their service obligations and serve 

honorably to enjoy expedited benefits. 

National Security 

60. The nation faces a wide range ofthreats, but DHS has finite resources to address them. 

a. If confirmed, what principles will guide your decision-making regarding the use of risk-analysis and 

risk-based resource allocation to set priorities within the Department? 

Under my leadership, the Department would prioritize actions in a risk-based, intelligence-driven 

manner. DHS cannot promise 100 percent security In all threat vectors at all times- we cannot 

protect everything, everywhere, all ofthe time and we cannot do it alone. We can focus our 

resources on risk (threat, vulnerability and consequence) and results and consider what tools, 

resources, authorities, capabilities, capacity, knowledge and expertise we can bring to bear 

throughout the ecosystem- from all levels of government, the private sector, and international 

partners. In short, DHS will focus on doing what we do best and partnering for the rest. And we 

will work to stay a step ahead of our enemies through Incisive strategic forecasting. 

b. How will you determine if some threats or events require enhanced emphasis and investment or have 

already received sufficient focus? 

First, I will be focused on integrating intelligence and operations. We must constantly evaluate 

what we are doing against the threat Information, as well as what our people are seeing-and 

anticipating-on the front lines. If confirmed, I will actively push this mlndset to shape a more 

agile Department that Is operator and requirements driven. We should be unafraid to admit 

when we have discovered new vulnerabilities and confident enough to determine when a risk 

has been sufficiently mitigated. Second, I will commit to ensuring we have the right experts in 

the right positions at the right time. We need experienced leaders who understand the riskbased mentality I described in my previous answer and who are prepared to execute. I will rely 

on them, and our professional men and women in the field, to make sound judgements in 

responding to threat streams and Incidents. 

61. DHS plays a central role in the multi-Department effort to share terrorism-related information both within 

the federal government as well as state, local, tribal, private sector, and even international partners. A recent 

report by the House Homeland Security Committee found that while DHS has made important progress, the 

Department's intelligence enterprise remains scattered and all too often uncoordinated across and sometimes 

within its various components. 

a. What plans do you have to improve coordination and coherence across DHS's various intelligence 

offices and programs? 

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As noted, I will focus on integrating intelligence and operations. To date, I believe such efforts 

have been uneven across DHS. If confirmed, I will make it a top priority to ensure the Office of 

Intelligence and Analysis is equipped not only to drive headquarters actions and threat 

mitigation but that It Is appropriately collaborating with-and providing support to and receiving 

requirements from-DHS operating components. The Department's intelligence enterprise has 

come a long way since its creation. The next step in Its evolution is a new level of integration. I 

commit to working with Under Secretary Glawe to ensure intelligence integration across the 

Department. 1 will also seek to optimize the Department's intelligence footprint to ensure we 

have the right resources and personnel where we need them. 

b. How do you envision DHS working with its partners in the federal intelligence community to ensure 

that terrorist-related information is both appropriately shared and protected from unwarranted 

disclosure? 

It was clear during my most recent tour of duty at DHS that our coordination with other members of 

the Intelligence Community (I C) has never been better. DHS partnerships across the IC are deep, 

enduring, and most Importantly, effective. I helped advance those efforts during my previous 

service, and I will prioritize ever-closer partnerships to ensure we are leveraging all appropriate 

information to connect dots, detect threats and keep them from undermining U.S. homeland 

security. That said, the post-9/11 shift from a "need-to-know" to a "need-to-share" mentality came 

with attendant risks. Chief among them is a higher risk of unauthorized disclosure. If confirmed, I 

will assess our information security practices, insider threat programs, and counterintelligence 

activities to make sure our defensive programs are keeping pace with our adversaries and the digital 

age. At the same time, we must address Instances of over classification to ensure that stakeholders 

have information they need. 

62. In 2015, DHS stepped up its efforts to counter violent extremism (CVE) within the United States through its 

Office of Community Partnership. The office was intended to support innovative locally based programs to 

counter violent extremism and to build relationships and promote trust with local communities. GAO 

recently reported that, of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, 

radical lslarnist violent extremists were responsible for only 23 of the incidents, accounting for 27%. The 

remaining incidents involved, white supremacists, anti-government, or other violent extremists. 

a, To what extent would you support the department changing its approach to CVE and refocusing its 

efforts to include challenges by white supremacists, anti-government, or other violent extremists? 

DHS Is focused on combating all forms of terrorism and violent extremism. And the Department 

aggressively pursues prevention activities to keep Americans from being radicalized and 

recruited to violence. If confirmed, I will continue this approach to mitigate both International 

and domestic terrorism and violent extremism in a risk-based, intelligence-driven manner. 

b. Recipients ofCVE grants have ranged from community-based organizations to law enforcement 

agencies. What do you see as the role of law enforcement in CVE efforts and how will the 

department's approach reflect that? 

Both community organizations and law enforcement play a critical role In helping to detect and 

disrupt potential terrorist activity. DHS is currently undertaking an ongoing review ofterrorlsm 

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and violent extremism prevention related activities, which is focused in part on how to better 

support our frontline defenders. If confirmed, I look forward to assessing the recommendations 

of this review and determining whether to make any additional adjustments to DHS activities in 

this space. In general though, DHS and our interagency partners rely heavily on our frontline 

defenders to detect and disrupt suspicious activity, and the security of our homeland depends on 

close relationships between law enforcement and the communities in which they serve. 

c. What additional steps or resources, if any, are needed to bring greater cohesion and clarity to DHS's 

work in this realm? 

If confirmed, I will make sure DHS elevates and enhances its terrorism prevention efforts to 

ensure they are commensurate with the serious threat facing our country. As noted, the 

Department is currently reviewing its terrorism prevention and CVE-related activities, which I 

anticipate will result in resource and programmatic recommendations. I will consider these 

recommendations to ensure the Department optimizes its efforts to keep Americans from being 

radicalized and recruited by terrorists. 

63. The CVE Grant Program was created to assist states, local governments, and nonprofit institutions in 

enhancing the resilience of communities targeted by violent extremists, providing alternatives to individuals 

who have started down the road to extremism, and creating or amplifYing alternative messages to violent 

extremist recruitment and radicalization. Do you support the CVE Grant Program? Why or why not? 

Congress created the CVE Grant Program to serve, in part, as a test bed to identify promising approaches 

to combat terrorist radicalization and recruitment in our homeland. If confirmed, I will ensure that DHS 

performs a preliminary assessment on the results of the grants at the appropriate time to determine 

which approaches have been effective, which have not, what we can learn from pilot efforts, and 

whether to make additional terrorism-prevention resource decisions based on the data. 

a. If confirmed, what steps will you take to prevent vulnerable populations from falling prey to 

recruitment propaganda from domestic and international terrorist organizations? 

If confirmed, I would be forward leaning in driving DHS terrorism prevention activities and 

programs, including through proactive intelligence sharing, state and local outreach, and 

enhanced engagement with at-risk communities targeted by terrorists. Specifically, I would 

ensure DHS continues to look at ways to improve education and community awareness, to 

actively counter terrorist recruitment-including through counter-narratives and the 

amplification of credible voices, and to put In place better early warning mechanisms to more 

quickly detect and disrupt suspects that have radicalized to violence. 

64. DHS' Science and Technology Directorate has managed and funded laboratories that support the work of 

the homeland security enterprise. Tile FY 2018 budget request defunded three labs run by S&T- the 

National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), the Chemical Security Analysis 

Center (CSAC) and the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL). In your view, what 

steps are needed to ensure that the country is better prepared for naturally occurring or manmade biological 

threats? 

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America faces a real and evolving threat from naturally occurring and manmade biological threats. In 

particular, we are witnessing alarming trend lines in terms of life-sciences advancements that could be 

exploited by nation-state adversaries and non-state actors. As I understand It, the Administration is 

currently developing a new, National Biodefense Strategy, and I expect DHS to play a significant role In 

its development and execution. A number of other federal agencies have capabilities, expertise, and 

responsibilities in preparing for, detecting, and responding to biological threats, and I am hopeful that 

we can better integrate those efforts with a whole-of-government strategy. If confirmed, I will seek 

updates on DHS efforts as part of the strategy development and provide strategic direction to ensure 

this remains a top Department priority. In general, I also plan to continue driving crucial DHS efforts to 

streamline and elevate the Department's programs to counter weapons of mass destruction. 

65. Over the past number of years, we have seen many instances both at home and abroad where extremists 

target locations that are "soft targets" such as venues with little security or where large numbers of people 

gather. If confirmed, what will you do to help secure and protect soft targets and non-sterile areas such as 

transportation hubs, concert venues, malls, etc.? 

As we are reminded again with the recent tragic events in New York City and Las Vegas, our open society 

creates vulnerabilities that are cruelly exploited by those who seek to do us harm. Groups such as ISIS 

and al Qaeda are actively promoting "do it yourself' terrorist tactics against public spaces and large 

venues using easy-to-access materials and makeshift weapons. This creates challenges for the national 

security community and our first responders. But there are a number of important steps we can take 

and I would pursue should I be confirmed. First, we must be proactive in sharing information with our 

partners about emerging threats, attack methods, warning signs, and mitigation measures. This also 

includes greater public awareness, like our "See Something, Say Something" campaigns and suspicious 

activity reporting. Second, DHS must continue to emphasize education and training for states and 

localities, first responders, the private sector, and the general public, including through active shooter 

programs and exercises, and evacuation and shelter in place planning. Third, sharing threat Intelligence 

is essential, and I will focus on making sure we get actionable tailored information about suspects, plots, 

and incidents to the right stakeholders in near-real-time where possible. Fourth, we should continue to 

support large venue owners and operators by advising them on near and long-term way to harden 

security and on how they can put in place agile protective measures. Fifth, I will ensure DHS personnel 

are deployed effectively to protect significant events, where appropriate. Finally, if confirmed I will 

work to make sure the extensive activities DHS performs in this space are better synchronized 

internally, that we improve our coordination in the interagency to avoid waste, overlap, and duplication 

while maximizing our security assistance programs, and strengthen our partnerships with critical 

infrastructure owners through the important work of NPPD. 

Cybersecurltv 

66. Today there are more than 20 agencies across the federal government with roles and responsibilities 

associated with U.S. cyber capabilities. What role do you believe the Department should play in this 

ecosystem? Please describe your understanding of the Department's responsibilities for cybersecurity. 

Please see my answers to questions #37, #39, and #40 in the Majority Questionnaire. 

67. There is an effort underway in Congress to reorganize the National Protection and Programs Directorate 

(NPPD) at the Department to better align the organization with its mission to work with industry and help 

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protect critical infrastructure. What is your vision for cybersecurity and NPPD at the Department? Should 

NPPD be an operational agency with a name that more adequately reflects its cybersecurity mission? Do 

you intend to use Section 872 authority to restructure NPPD? 

If confirmed, I commit to consulting Congress to ensure NPPD is appropriately structured to execute its 

critical mission. 

a. What is your vision for NPPD at the Department? Should NPPD be an operational agency with a 

name that more adequately reflects its cybersecurity mission? 

I am a firm believer that organization directly affects the ability of an entity to perform its 

mission effectively and efficiently. Should I be confirmed, I will work with NPPO leadership to 

assess needs, overlaps, gaps, and areas for Improvement and determine how to optimize and 

strengthen the organization. In general, I do believe that the DHS role in cyber and critical 

Infrastructure security and resilience Is an operational role. I also believe that the current NPPD 

name is not sufficiently or accurately descriptive to enable stakeholders- federal, International, 

state, local, tribal and territorial governments and the private sector- to understand its purpose 

or mission. This limits the ability of DHS to conduct effective outreach and engagement- a key 

component of building partnerships. Please also see my answer to r.elated questions below and 

in the Majority questionnaire. 

68. How will you address the challenge of recruiting and retaining the necessary personnel with critical cyber 

security expertise? 

It Is my understanding that DHS has partnered with a variety of entities to include nonprofits, all levels 

of educational institutions and school boards across the country to encourage the teaching of 

cybersecurlty concepts. DHS has also partnered with the nonprofit National Integrated Cyber Education 

Research Center (NICERC) to provide cybersecurity curricula and teacher professional development. I 

have also applauded DHS efforts in sponsoring the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service which provides 

scholarships towards cybersecurity degree programs in return for service In Federal, State, local, or tribal 

governments upon graduation. Should I be confirmed, I would look to strengthen and expand DHS' 

efforts in collaboration with other federal partners and the Administration's overall STEM efforts to 

recruit and retain cybersecurity personnel. I would also look to identify opportunities across the existing 

talented OHS workforce and provide training opportunities to enhance cybersecurity expertise. I believe 

a clearly articulated mission and adequate tools and resources supports strong recruiting, and the ability 

to grow In one's job and have access to continual training and education supports retention. Recognizing 

the Importance of this Issue as a cornerstone of DHS cybersecurlty efforts, should I be confirmed I would 

assess current efforts and work with Department leadership to strengthen related campaigns and 

programs. Finally, if confirmed, I look forward to working with Congress and OPM to ensure we are fully 

utilizing the unique hiring authorities granted to the Department for cyber security efforts. 

69. Please describe your views on the appropriate role of private sector entities in working with DHS to 

improve our nation's cybersecurity. 

To name a few: Private sector entitles simultaneously support their own, their sector's and our national 

cyber security and resilience when they share threat indicators, actual and potential vulnerabilities and 

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an understanding of possible consequences upon a successful cyberattack with DHS and other federal 

partners. As discussed throughout, cybersecurity is a team sport· we must partner and work together to 

prevent when possible and to respond to, recover from, and mitigate the persistent attacks. In addition 

to sharing Information, private sector partners can provide key operational context to help DHS and 

other federal partners understand how cyberattacks may manifest, what assets, systems and 

information are critical and whether any redundancies are built Into systems. In today's threat 

environment, your risk is my risk·in raising the security and resilience bar for its own entities, the private 

sector helps raise the bar for the Nation as a whole. Finally, the private sector plays a crucial role in 

helping DHS and federal partners understand supply chain risks and to close gaps and address areas of 

concern. 

70. Do you agree with the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessment that the Russian government interfered in 

the 2016 U.S. Presidential election? 

l have no reason to disagree with earlier assessments of the Intelligence Community. 

a. If so, does the President's dismissal of those facts concern you? 

The President has publlcally stated that he agreed that Russia was behind the email hacks. 

b. Do you think the DHS designation if election infrastructure as critical infrastructure should stand? 

The Election Infrastructure Subsector was established in January of this year. As I understand it, 

the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) has been 

established to further the partnership between federal, state and local partners and to develop 

and strengthen information sharing protocols and processes, including providing Security 

Clearances to Chief Election Officials. DHS, and NPPD specifically as the sector-specific agency, 

continues to provide guidance and assistance upon request to state and local election officials. 

believe the designation of election infrastructure as critical infrastructure serves to underscore 

and formalize the support, services, and data provided by DHS to its election related partners. 

Transportation Security 

71. Under the President's FY 2018 budget, Visible lntermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams would 

be reduced by $43 million in the FY 2018 budget, reducing the number of teams from 31 to eight. 

a. What do you see as the role and value of the VIPR teams? 

I believe it is important that the Department have some specially trained personnel who are 

deployable anywhere for enhanced deterrence or response to threats against critical mass 

transportation modes. The Visible lntermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams of TSA 

serve that role. If confirmed, I look forward to regularly reviewing with the TSA Administrator 

the resource balance between TSA personnel dedicated daily to a certain location and 

deployable teams to ensure we are maximizing value. 

b. Are you concerned that this reduction will impede TSA's ability to detect and thwart attacks at 

transportation hubs and airports? 

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A core component of TSA's mission from its earliest days, when I proudly served there, is 

providing effective screening against threats to aviation, and they have done that and continue 

to do so on a daily basis In hundreds of airports, many of which seldom see a ViPR team. The 

primary security and law enforcement response at airports everywhere around and outside TSA 

checkpoints is local municipal or transit authority police. Sa I do not believe that changes in VIPR 

team deployments "impede TSA's ability" to respond to aviation threats. Far other modes of 

transportation, I think it is about finding the right balance between what TSA can do directly by 

deploying specialized personnel and what we should do by offering support, training, and 

technical assistance to the local or transit authority or port authority law enforcement agency 

that has primary responsibility and jurisdiction. I know in part due to evolving threats to aviation 

the budget also prioritized investments to meet that threat including by continuing to increase 

TSA's canine teams. If confirmed, I will work with the resources and means provided by Congress 

to advance the very best security capabilities possible In the protection of our transportation 

systems. 

72. Under the President's 201 g budget proposal, there was a proposal to completely eliminate the Law 

Enforcement Officer Reimbursement progmm which helps to offset costs primarily for small and medium 

sized airports for federally mandated security services in airports. 

a. What do you see as the role between DHS and its partnership with state and local law enforcement 

officials? 

State and local law enforcement are on the frontllnes in securing the homeland and their 

support across our mission areas is indispensable. DHS In turn has programs that provide 

significant resources and capabilities to state and local law enforcement partners through grants, 

training, exercises, and operational support. 

b. Are you concerned that the proposed cuts to programs such as this one would hinder DHS's ability 

to effectively collaborate with state and local entities? 

No, overall! believe OHS still has numerous ather ways to offer assistance to, and collaborate 

with, state and local entities including other grant programs. 

73. Within TSA operations, aviation security gets a lot of funding and attention, while surface securityincluding passenger rail and mass transit-receives about 3 percent ofTSA's budget. Yet the nation's 

surface transportation system is inherently vulnerable to attack, given its very design. If confinned, do you 

plan to shift the level of attention and resources between aviation and surface transportation security? 

As I noted in response to Question 1171{b) above, TSA's care mission Is still aviation security where we 

have clear primary responsibility. For ather modes of transportation, I think it is about finding the right 

balance between what TSA can do directly by deploying specialized personnel and what we should do by 

offering support, training, and technical assistance to the local or transit authority or port authority law 

enforcement agency that has primary responsibility and jurisdiction. 

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74. A September 2017 GAO Report found that TSA needs to do a better job of systematically measuring the 

cost and effectiveness of passenger aviation security countermeasures. What is your assessment of TSA 's 

ability to conduct cost/benefit analyses related to passenger aviation security countermeasures? 

I am not at this time familiar with that particular report, but if confirmed will review the GAO report and 

recommendations and discuss with TSA leadership in order to gain an informed assessment. 

Acquisitions 

7 5. In examining the Department's management of its major acquisitions, GAO has found that DHS has made 

noteworthy efforts to improve performance of its acquisition programs. However, these programs continue 

to face challenges with cost overruns and schedule slippage. What can the DHS Secretary do to ensure that 

major acquisitions meet performance goals while remaining on schedule and within projected costs? 

a. If confirmed, how will you hold program offices accountable for sound acquisition practices? 

Generally, should I be confirmed, as I said in earlier responses, it would be my job to serve as an 

example of professionalism, hard work, and dedication to the mission. Employee morale surveys 

have repeatedly shown that the people of DHS are inspired by and motivated by the mission. It is 

important for all who serve in mission support roles· such as acquisitions. to understand how 

their jobs further that compelling mission. 

It is also important to set priorities and utilile end-user and risk based requirements so that the 

major acquisition programs address what the operators truly need. Where requirements are set 

appropriately and leadership holds regular updates holding staff accountable, issues can be 

addressed earlier and programs can remain on track. Such updates should also be provided to 

potential contractors and vendors. The development and assessment of performance metrics 

could help identify areas for needed improvement. Finally, I would look to ensure acquisition 

practices at DHS include robust and periodic training to include program management and 

market research. If confirmed, !look forward to working with Acting Secretary Duke and Under 

Secretary Grady to leverage their expertise in federal acquisition. 

76. What experience do you have in acquisition policy and management that would guide you in the role of 

Secretary? Please distinguish between private sector and public sector experience. 

I believe that I bring a unique mix to the role in that, if confirmed, I believe I would be the first Secretary 

to have both served in the Department utilizing contractor support and to have been a small business 

contractor and subcontractor to the Department from the private sector. I am aware of the frustration 

frequently voiced by operators and mission owners within the Department that the acquisition process 

is often too cumbersome to meet their needs and does not move at the speed of evolving threats. From 

my time in the private sector, lam aware of how opaque and bureaucratic it can be for businesses, 

especially small businesses, to find information about the Department's needs and respond to 

opportunities. Large-scale acquisition cancellations and lengthy periods between proposal submission 

and award can result in large unanticipated costs to private vendors. Also, too often small businesses 

who may have valuable expertise, innovative technology or needed services to share with the 

Department give up on trying to figure it out before DHS can ever learn about them. Should I be 

confirmed, I will work with the Under Secretary of Management and acquisition personnel throughout 

the Department to refine current processes so that they are more transparent, agile enough to address 

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both changing threats and the pace of technology, end-user requirements driven, based on market 

research, and are based on a clear milestone based acquisition strategy that is communicated early and 

frequently to potential contractors. 

77. There is a lack of comprehensive data on the true cost of contractors and agencies do not conduct cost· 

benefit analyses to better understand whether services should be performed by federal employees or 

contractors. DHS previously adopted the Balanced Workforce Strategy but the effort is incomplete without 

data. How would you achieve a balanced workforce? What efforts would you take to better understand the 

true cost of contracting for services? 

As a taxpayer and federal employee, I believe it is a core responsibility of every Department and Agency 

to consistently assess how to derive the best value and use the appropriate balance of employees and 

outside contractors to best perform and support roles. If confirmed I would work with the Deputy 

Secretary, the Undersecretary for Management, the Department's acquisition and procurement and 

budget experts to review what data DHS currently obtains to assess value, conduct market research to 

understand the scope and availability of private sector tools and solutions, and to determine how we 

can do more to enhance our efforts to best achieve a balanced workforce of government employees 

with contract personnel. 

Secret Service 

78. Recently, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has suffered a number of scandals and security breaches, most 

notably when an intruder was able to jump the fence and enter the White House unimpeded. While USSS 

has undertaken a series of reforms, there is still clearly a great deal of work ahead before it can regain the 

same level of trust and esteem it used to enjoy. What, in your opinion, are the main problems and 

challenges at the Secret Service. What should be done to address those problems and challenges? How long 

will it take to repair the damage from recent years? 

My own personal experience with the U.S. Secret Service, at the Department and now at the White 

House, inspires a great deal of trust, confidence and esteem. These men and women are some of the 

finest, most professional, dedicated law enforcement agents, officers and public servants I have ever 

had the honor to serve with. It troubles me that those fine men and women suffer when any incident 

involving the Secret Service, no matter how minor, is now sensationalized and can be taken out of 

context. In terms of challenges, the Service needs time and resources to train, dedicated career paths 

and retention strategies and Incentives. They also should be equipped and drive adoption ofthe best 

available technology. Should I be confirmed, I will also work with Congress to ensure that the Service 

can get paid for the work they do. I would also continually seek out information from the front-line 

agents and officers of the Service to ensure they remain an elite organization with a strong culture of 

excellence. 

Whistleblower Protections 

79. If confirmed, how will you ensure that whistleblower complaints are properly investigated and what specific 

steps will you take to ensure that DHS employees feel free to report waste, fraud, and abuse to senior 

Department leadership, including you, the Inspector General and to Congress without fear of reprisal? 

I have myself always been, throughout my government career, a person who "speaks truth to power" 

even when the truth is uncomfortable. If confirmed, I will encourage the same candor from 

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subordinates, and expect that managers will foster an environment of trust and respect and will listen to 

any employee concerns and take actions to address them. Overall, we must foster a culture at the 

Department that encourages the same "see something, say something" attitude of vigilance we promote 

to the public and safeguard those who do come forward in compliance with whistleblower laws and 

regulations. If confirmed, 1 will continue to follow these laws and in my position will be especially 

vigilant to the Issue of management retaliation, and will partner with the IG to ensure that all 

complaints are properly investigated. 

80. There have been several egregious examples at the Transportation Security Administration where managers 

found to have retaliated against whistleblowers were not sanctioned or held accountable, even when the 

Office of Special Counsel was able to obtain a settlement for the whistleblower. What actions would you 

take in such situations to ensure that any manager or supervisor that retaliates against a whistleblower is 

held acxountable? 

If confirmed, 1 will do my utmost to ensure that any whistleblower does not face retaliation, in 

accordance with all federal laws. I am not briefed on the complete facts in the cases referenced above, 

but I would take seriously any such finding and demand accountability and consequences for supervisors 

who engage in retaliation. 

81. The Inspector General has recently substantiated whistleblowcr retaliation cases at the Secret Service and 

Customs and Border Protection. What will you do to ensure that these, and other whistleblowers, receive 

the remedies they are entitled to? 

If confirmed, I will do my utmost to ensure that any whistleblower does not face retaliation and receives 

the remedies to which they may be entitled, in accordance with all federal laws. I am not briefed on the 

complete facts in the cases referred to above, but I would take seriously any such findings, work to 

address them with Director Alles and Acting Commissioner McAieenan and ensure there Is 

accountability and consequences for supervisors who engage in retaliation. 

Congressional Relations 

82. On what basis, if any, do you believe the Department may be entitled to withhold information or documents 

from Congress? Please explain. 

As I have noted elsewhere in my responses throughout this questionnaire, I am a believer in and 

advocate for transparency and in partnering with Congress. It is important both to the work of the 

Department and for Congressional oversight for Congress to have information about the Department's 

activities. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that Congress has the information it needs to conduct its 

legislative and oversight functions related to the Department of Homeland Security. I will endeavor to 

accommodate all reasonable requests of Congress for information and materials from the Department. 

83. Under what circumstances, if any, do you believe an official or employee of the Department may decline to 

testifY before a congressional committee? Please explain. 

One very important way to convey information about what the Department is doing, to the Congress, 

the media and the general public is through testimony before Congress by Department officials. If 

confirmed, I would expect that all reasonable requests from Congress for departmental officials' 

testimony should be honored, while respecting the necessity of those officials to foremost execute the 

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Department's missions. I do also support efforts in Congress to consolidate Congressional oversight 

jurisdiction over homeland security. The current number of oversight Committees itself makes it difficult 

for DHS officials to be fully responsive to Congress while executing their mission. 

84. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for information from the 

Ranking Member of any duly constituted committee of the Congress? 

If confirmed, in accordance with the relevant opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department 

of Justice, I agree to reply to any reasonable request for information from the Ranking Member of any 

duly constituted committee of the Congress. 

85. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for information from 

members of Congress? If directed by the administration to systematically ignore oversight requests from 

minority members of Congress, will you comply? 

If confirmed, in accordance with the relevant opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department 

of Justice, I agree to reply to any reasonable request for information from Members of Congress. 

86. If confirmed, do you commit to take all reasonable steps to ensure that you and your agency comply with 

deadlines established for requested information? 

If confirmed, I do. 

87. If confirmed, do you commit to protect subordinate officials or employees from reprisal or retaliation for 

any testimony, briefings or communications with members of Congress? 

If confirmed, I do. 

88. Will the President invoke executive privilege as to any specific issues you may be asked either at your 

confirmation hearing or, if confirmed, later hearings? 

At this time, I have not been Informed of any specific Issue for which the President has Invoked 

executive privilege relating to me. I am not, however, in a position to definitively decide, predict, 

announce or speculate whether the President might invoke such a privilege for particular unknown 

topics which may or may not come up at a potential future hearing. Please additionally refer to my 

response to Question 1137 of the Minority Questionnaire. 

89. If confirmed, will you direct your staff to fully and promptly respond to Freedom oflnformation Act 

requests submitted by the American people? 

I am, as I stated previously, a believer in transparency In government. The Freedom of Information Act 

provides tremendous transparency and benefits our democracy. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that 

DHS FOIA officials are using their available resources to fully and efficiently respond under the law's 

requirements to provide appropriate information to the American people. 

90. If confirmed, will you ensure that political appointees are not inappropriately involved in the review and 

release of Freedom oflnformation Act requests? 

If confirmed, I will ensure that political appointees are not inappropriately involved In the review of 

Freedom of Information Act requests. 

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I, ,L\jrs'fj{(l M'elseiJ , hereby state that I have read the foregoing Pre-Hearing 

Questionnaire and each of the supplements and that the information provided therein is, to the 

best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

This L day of AJover?f Jur , .dt2ll 

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Insert for Policy Questionnaire for DHS Secretary Nominee Kirstjen Nielsen 

11/7/2017 

Relations with Congress (Majority Questionnaire) 

54. Do you agree without reservation to comply with any request or summons to appear and 

testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed'1 

If confirmed, I would comply without reservation. 

55. Do you agree without reservation to make any subordinate oflicial or employee available to 

appear and testify before. or provide information to, any duly constituted committee of Congress 

if you are confirmed'! 

If confirmed, I would without reservation. 

56. Do you agree without reservation to comply fully. completely, and promptly to any request 

for documents, communications, or any other agency material or information from any duly 

constituted committee of the Congress if you arc confirmed? 

If confirmed, I would without reservation. 

Congressional Relations (Minority Questionnaire) 

83. Under what circumstances. if any, do you believe an official or employee of the Department 

may decline to testify before a congressional committee? Please explain. 

One very important way to convey information about what the Department is doing, to the Congress, 

the media and the general public is through testimony before Congress by Department officials. If 

confirmed, I would comply without reservation. 

84. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for 

information from the Ranking Member of any duly constituted committee of the Congress? 

If confirmed, I would comply without reservation. 

85. If confinncd, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request tor 

information from members of Congress'? If directed by the administration to systematically 

ignore oversight requests from minority members of Congress. will you comply? 

If confirmed, I would comply without reservation to any reasonable request for information from 

members of Congress, either majority or minority. 
149 

Senator John McCain 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination ofKirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

Question on Opioid Abuse: 

1. Deaths from opioid abuse and manufactured heroine have increased rapidly, to the point 

that the President in October declared the opioid epidemic a "Nationwide Public Health 

Emergency". As you are aware, these deadly drugs are grown and manufactured in 

Mexico and they're coming across our southern border to meet demand here in our States. 

We cannot successfully combat this epidemic without both reducing demand at home and 

disrupting the networks moving the supply. Solving the dmg epidemic will require a 

whole of government approach that calls upon law enforcement, the medical community, 

the diplomatic corps, and our military. 

a. What will you do to prevent these drugs from crossing our border? 

l agree that we cannot combat this epidemic without both reducing demand at 

!rome and di~rupting the networks moving the supply. Should I be confirmed, I will 

work with CBP, USCG, ICE, and !&A and other DHS components to continue to 

reduce and disrupt supp{y and to reduce the smuggling of opioids and illegal drugs 

across our borders, through our ports of entry and til rough the mail. Should I be 

cm!firmed, I will also work with other Cabinet officials to ensure a whole of 

govemment approach to comprehensive drug demand reduction, to include 

combatting opioid abuse. Should I he cm~firmed, I will work to strengthen current 

DHS efforts to stem the flow of opioids and illegal drugs, including clteap and 

deadly fentanylmost(y manufactured in China, cocaine mostly protluced in 

Colombia, and lteroinefrom Mexico to name a few, including such efforts as those 

by DHS/CBP and tlte U.S. Postal Service to increase tlte amount of advance 

information DHS receives on intemational mail and CBP's efforts to use canine 

teams to screen intemationalmai/ and express consignment shipments. DITS is 

also a partner in the Joint Interagency Task Force- South wltic!J conducts counter 

illicit trafficking operations, and should I be confirmed, I will work towards 

ensuring tit at DITS i~ leveraging all of its capabilities and capacities to support 

Task Force efforts. Final(y, should I he confirmed, I will continue to strengthen the 

partnerships DHS enjoys with ll1exico, Central and South America and the 

Caribbean governments towards the elimination of tire networks trafficking and 

smuggling illegal goods, to include drugs. 

b. How will you work with these other government entities to combat this epidemic? 
150 

As stated above, should I be confirmed, I will work with other Cabinet officials to 

ensure a whole of government approach to comprehensive drug demand reduction, 

to include combatting opioid abuse. Today, DJIS works with interagency and 

international partners to implement a comprehensive approach to attacking the 

opioid crisis. Should I be confirmed I would continue the Department's efforts. The 

Department's efforts to rtttack the opioid crisis include: working with international 

partners to stop the flow of illicit opioids and opioid analogues at the source: efforts 

to interdict illicit narcotics at or before they reach our borders; and investigative 

and intelligence related efforts to drive a counter network approach to disrupt and 

dismantle the transnational criminal organizations responsible for poisoning and 

killing Americans. In addition to efforts described above, a few additional 

examples: 

ICE-!lSI and CBP work close(v with interagency partners to leverage 

interagency capabilities to attack the opioid crisis and combat transnational 

organized crime. Both TCE-HSI and CBP work toget/1er with the DEA, U.S. 

Postal Inspection Service and other federal agencies on the Heroin and 

Fentanyl Task Force (ITFTF). 

• Internationally, CBP shares real-time information and intelligence with the 

Border Five (B5) countries to target express and postal consignments which 

leads to enhanced targeting and the identification of individuals and 

organizations involved in tlte illicit opioid trade. 

• CBP continues to foster relationships with national law enforcement 

organizations, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, 

non-profits, and national organizations representing mayors, city managers, 

govemors, triblllnations,first responders, and other key stakeholders to share 

illformation about CBP's capabilities and current e./forts to combat the opioid 

epidemic, as well as contribute to intelligence products and illformation sharing 

on trends frontline personnel are seeing in CBP's interdiction. 

DHS is a co-chair of the Threat Mitigation Working Group (TMWG) which 

works to improve federal interagency coordination to identijj;, interdict, 

investigate, prosecute, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, 

subsidiary organizations and their networks. 

Questions on Border Securitv: 

2. In October, this Committee passed a bill that I sponsored, S. 146. the Border Security 

Technology Accountability Act, which would improve the management and 

accountability of Department of Homeland Security border technology acquisition 

programs. As you may know, numerous reports have concluded theses acquisition 

programs are at "high-risk" for waste, fraud and abuse. 

a. What steps should DHS take to improve the management of border technology 

acquisition programs? 

I believe the development and maintenance of internal controls to be a vital part of 

e_[fective management and stewardship of taxpayer monies. As I understand it, CBP 

continues to develop and enhance governance and business processes to facilitate 
151 

risk-informed decisions. As discussed elsewhere, should I be confirmed, I will work 

with CBP and all DHS leadership to ensure that performance management 

processes are enhanced so that programs, investments, and acquisitions will be 

measured for reaching the desired outcomes and planning, programming, budget, 

and accountabili~l' (PPBA) business processes will be risk-based. 

Should I be confirmed I look .forward to working with t!te Depury Secretary and 

Under Secretary for Jlfanagement in assessing the effectiveness of the Joint 

Requirements Council (JRC) to validate mission needs and operational 

requirements for all major acquisition programs prior to their movement through 

the acquisition process. I also look forward to working with Acting Commissioner 

McAieenan to discuss ways that CBP is improving the management of border 

technology acquisition programs and what more can be done. 

b. Should DHS develop a plan that is available to Congress for testing and 

evaluating new border security technologies to ensure taxpayer dollars are being 

used efficiently and effectively? 

As I understand it, Test and Evaluation Master Plans are developed for all 

major CBP acquisition programs which lay out all of the testing that must be 

successfully completed through development prior to deployment o.fthe 

capabiliry. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working witft Acting 

Commissioner McAieenan to ensure that processes and plans are in place to 

ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively. 

c. Do you have any concerns with the requirements outlined in the Committee 

passed bill, S. 146~ 

I am not currentlyfmniliar with requirements outlined in the Committee passed 

bill. I am not aware of any DIJS expressed concems. Should I be confirmed, I 

will ensure tlwt tfte Department engages wit It the Committee on S. I 46 and 

provides any appropriate technical assistance. 

3. Securing our southern border must be a lop priority for DHS. Agreeing on how to 

measure border security has continued to complicate the issue, but one way to measure 

border security is by our ability to identify and respond to threats along our southern 

border. Do you agree with this approach? 

Yes, identification oft/treats through intelligence and surveillance capabilities; as well 

as timely responses to threats are key elements in measuring security of the border. 

a. What is your assessment of the current state of border security? 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the latest border threat 

assessments as well as tfte nortl1em and southern bonier strategies I understand 

DIIS is developing. I currently believe we must do more to ensure we can identify 
152 

and assess the threats, strengthen situational awareness and our ability to impede 

or deny illegal entry through a combination of personnel, technology and 

infrastructure. We must target and prioritize our efforts based on risk. 

b. How docs DHS currently ddine a secure border? 

As l understand it, DHS and the USBP are developing a plan for obtaining and 

maintaining operatiom!l control (OPCON) between the Ports of Entry. USBP 

operationa/izes OPCON between the Ports of Entry as: the ability to impede or deny 

illegal border crossings, maintaining situational awareness, and applying the 

appropriate, time-bound law enforcement response. Achieving OPCON will take an 

integrated approach. Wall in appropriate places must be combined with the right 

mix of technology and personnel to ensure operational control. Border security 

and lawful immigration re~v not only on USBP's authority to accomplish OPCON, 

but are also dependent upon tlte roles of our partners within the Federal and State 

and Local agencies to execute their authorities a.~ well. 

c. What oversight mechanism of Border Patrol agents should be implemented to 

ensure a secure border and humane implementation of our immigration policy? 

Should l be confirmed, I will work with Acting Commissioner McA/eenan to 

understand what oversight mechanisms are in place and wlwtfurther mechanisms 

may be needed. 

4. Last year's NDAA included a provision that requires the Secretary of Homeland Security 

to develop mctrics to measure the effectiveness of security along the border. Will you 

commit to working with Congress to meet this requirement? 

As I understand it, the NDAA direct\· the Department to report 011 over 40 specific 

border metrics. l believe the Department published a report in September 2017 that 

prl!l•ides some of the most important required metrics all{/ expects to complete thefull 

report by t/te end of the calendar year. Should l be COI({trmed, I am committed to 

building on this existing work to produce fully credible and transparent border ,wcuri~p 

metrics, including b)' working to meet all t!te reporting requirements in the NDAA. 

5. Should a "border wall" and any discussion of border security along the southern border 

also include the use of technology, drones, towers, fences, and other surveillance 

capabilities? 

Absolutely 

a. What percentage of the Southwest border has surveillance capabilities in place? 

As the nominee, I do not current~y have access to the information requested. 

b. What impediments exist to full surveillance coverage? 
153 

As the nominee, I am not able to comprehensively answer this question at this time. 

However, as I understmul it, current impediments to .filii coverage include funding 

restrictions, technology limitations, and land issues to include variances in terrain, 

environmental issues, and land ownership. 

6. According to the Executive Order entitled, ''Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the 

United States," issued by the President on January 25, 2017, Department personnel may 

exercise prosecutorial discretion in removal proceedings on a case-by-case basis. 

a. Can you please provide your assessment of the range of discretion permitted by 

the Executive Order? 

Congress has defined the Department's role and responsibilities regarding the 

enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States. Executive Order 

13,768 setsfortll tl1e immigration enforcement policy of the executive branch. 

These priorities do not, however, preclude the authority to exercise 

prosecutorial discretion, which is inherent in all law enforcement authorities. 

As I currentZr understand it, prosecutorial discretion should not be exercised in 

a manner that exempts or excludes a specified class or category of aliens from 

enforcement of the immigration laws. 

Further, as I currently understand it, prosecutorial discretion may take a 

number of forms from deciding whether to issue or cancel a detainer to 

deciding whether to grant deferred action or 1!11 administrative stay of removal. 

b. In discretionary removal proceedings, do you support distinctions made between 

serious criminals and minors'7 

As set forth in Executive Order 13,768, criminal aliens are the Department's 

highest removal priority. 

7. In previous years, border agents prioritized removal of national security threats, serious 

criminals and recent border crosses. Since January to early September, DHS has deported 

nearly 54,000 illegal immigrants living in the U.S., which is a 34 percent increase over 

the same period last year. 

a. Can you please explain DHS guidelines as it relates to apprehending an alien'l 

Apprehensions are guided by the priorities set forth in Executive Order 13,768, 

including aliens unlawfully in the United St11tes charged or convicted of crimes, 

those who otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security and those who 

have final orders of removal from a federal judge. 
154 

b. Can you please explain DHS guidelines as it pertains to asylum seekers and 

whether they would be treated in accordance with U.S. and international law? 

Slwuld I be confirmed as Secretary, I will work to ensure that DllS abides by 

U.S. law a/Ill upholds the United Stales' international legal obligations related 

to IB:J'Ium seekers. Geneml(v, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS) adiudicates a.1ylum claims submitted by individuals who are alrear(v in 

the U.S. and who are not in removal proceediugs. These individuals nwy apply 

for a.~vlum byfiling an application with US CIS, regardless of their immigration 

status. Applimntsfor asylum who do 1101 hold alm<;(ul immigration status and 

who are found ineligible by USCIS are placed in removal proceedings, and 

their applications are referred to an Immigration Judge wlw will consider their 

a.~rlwn claims. In addition, as I uuderslaml it, certain aliens seeking admission 

to the U.S. or who are apprehended in between ports of entry who indicate an 

iuteution to app(l'./(Jr asylum, a fear ofpersecution or torture, or a fear of 

return to their /Jome c:ountry are referred to USCIS ~~fficers to determine 

wlu:t/Jer 1/Jey ha1•e a credible fear of persecution or torture. US CIS officers then 

conduct a credible fear interview to determine if tit ere is a significant possibili~l' 

tlwttlre alien can establish eligibili~l' for asylum. 

Questions on Cyber Security: 

8. The report by the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity determined that the 

organizational construct for cybersecurity within the federal government was inadequate 

given the cyber challenges we face. 

a. Do you agree that the current organization of the government is insufficient and that 

dramatic changes may be needed to better posture us to address the cyber threats we 

will lace in the future') 

I am aj/rm believer that organization directly affects the abiliry of 011 entity to 

perform its mission effectively and efficiently. Operational coordination across 

Federal agencies ami the clear articulation of roles and re,I1Jonsibilities with respect 

to qbersecuri()' is e.n·ential. Actions mu.~t also be coordinated at a strategic level 

across the interagenq to ensure an all-of-government approac/1 to countering the 

cyber lllreat. Coutinued coordination at all levels is necessary. Should I be 

COI!firmed rn· Secretary, I will work with DllS leadership to determine whether 

DIJS is Sl({jidently postured and optimal()' organized to address its critical mission 

with respect to current and evolving cyber threats. See also ll~l' related answers to 

tlte Poliq Questionnaire. 

b. What do you think is the cybcr security mission of Department of Homeland Security 

and how does it relate to the other parts of the federal government with significant 

cybcr roles 0 
155 

The mission of the Department is to safeguard and secure cyberspace. DHS does this 

through leading ef/(~rts to strengthen the security of networks in Federal civilian 

agencies a/Ill the securi(V and resilience of our nation's critical iJ~fi·astructure, a111l 

through htw enforcement efforts to combat cybercrime . 

.4s l stated in the Poliq Questionnaire, in this current cyber environment, no one 

entity has all of the authorities, capability or capaciry to protect every asset or stop 

every threat. Our approach must be rooted in risk management and partnership. We 

must identify the criticality of assets, identijj' and assess systemic risks, and prioritize 

the application of protective measures in a scalable, risk-informed way. Addressing our 

Nation's cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities requires a whole of Government, and 

indeed whole of Nation, approach that is coordinated with our private sector, state, 

local, tribal and territorial governments, and international partners. We must 

collectively leverage our various authorities and mpabilities to secure vital systems, 

assets and functions, improve resilience against cyber incidents, and quickly respond to 

and recover from incidents when they occur. 

Agencies with mrious missions support each other in complementm:v ways. Close 

collaboration with partners such as the FBI and Department of Defense are essential 

to mccess. This collaboration is enshrined in PPD-41 and the National ()her Incident 

Responu Plan. 

Questions on Interoperability: 

9. Public safety communications interoperability is one major component of an effective 

response to a terrorist attack or other disaster. In order to improve public safety 

communications, Congress created the First Responder Network Authority to develop a 

nationwide public safety broadband network. It also established the Office of Emergency 

Communications and SAFECOM at DHS to improve public safety communications 

interoperability. 

a. Do you believe these initiatives have been eflective in improving interoperability 

among first responders? 

The interoperabili(v o.ffirst responder communications remains absolute(v 

essential. And yes, l do believe that DHS has made important strides in supporting 

communications iuteroperabili(F among first responders from the publication t!fthe 

Interoperability Continuum to the Notional Emergency Communications 

Plan. DHS sen•es as an important resource to public safe~v stakeholders and sits in 

a unique position to play the role tlwt it does. 

At a high le1•el, as I understand it, DHS supports interoperabili~l' by offering 

training, tools, workshops, regional support, guidance documents, and planning 
156 

tee/mica/ assistance. DHS also manages priori~v telecommunications programs to 

ensure first responders can communicate during emergencies. 

b. If confirmed, what, if any, additional steps need to be taken to ensure effective public 

safety communications during the response to a disaster or act of terrorism? 

Continued engagement with aud support to emergenq communications stakeholders is 

essential. I would offer that au important step is full funding oftlw btulgetfor DHS, 

otlterfederal agencies and t!te blll(rJets at state, local, tribal, and territorial purtner 

agencies. T!tese partners must lwve t!te pluns, resources, and training necessary to 

support COI11111llllications needs during a maior incident. Should l be confirmed, l will 

work with t!te leadership l!{ FEJHA, NPPIJ and S& T to identify additional steps DHS 

can take to !telp ensure effective public safe~v commmticatians. 
157 

FEMA Fire Grants Programs 

10. In August. the Senate passed by unanimous consent legislation that I sponsored (S. 829) 

that would reauthorize the highly successful Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and 

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs though 

Fiscal Year 2023. The Fire Grants Reauthorization Act would ensure that our nation's 

more than one million fire and emergency services personnel continue to have access to 

the necessary training, equipment and staffing as first responder missions increase. The 

bill also includes language that would strengthen oversight and monitoring of the tire 

grants to minimize the risk of waste, fraud and abuse, and create training programs to 

assist fire departments in properly managing the grant awards. The legislation is currently 

with the House of Representatives. 

a. Should Congress reauthorize these tire grant programs? Why or why not? 

17w Department supports the re-authorization of the fire grant programs which 

provide critical resources to the Nation 'sfire services. The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration manages the 

fire grant programs to help build and sustain the capabilities o,(the nation 'sjire 

services; this is an important part of tl1e Nation's Homeland Security strategy. 

Adequately staffing tlwfire services to stamlards and providing reliable, modern, 

equipment and training ensures that our nation is prepared during day to day service 

in our communities as we/las able to provide critimllifesaving capabilities in tlw event 

of a natural disaster or terrorist incident. As we lwve seen during recent events from 

the tragic shootings to unprecedented natural disasten, the nation 'sfire services are 

critical to a safe and resilient nation . 

.Jones Act 

11. The Department of Homeland Security recently waived the Jones Act requirements for I 0 

days in Puerto Rico. From your perspective. has the Jones Act had an impact the ability 

of the Department to respond to natural disasters such as hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico? 

From my per.~pective as the nominee, tile Jones Act has not hindered DHS' re.1ponse to 

Hurricane Maria. The Depttrtment work<'d with the Department o,( Tromportation 

Maritime Administration to ensure tlrat H!fficient Jones Act qualified vessels were 

available to .wpport tlw response. As I understand it, overall, tfte bigge~1 clwllenge in 

restoring commodity supp(r chains on Puerto Rico was comnwdity distribution mul 

movement on tl1e island due to the disruption 1!( transportation network.\·- not the 

nwPemellt ofsupplies to the isla111l. 
158 

Senator Rob Portman 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

1. From your existing knowledge of DHS initiatives to assist religious communities with 

mitigating security risks. are there any other steps or tools you think appropriate within 

the Department or alongside interagency partners to further these efforts? 

If confirmed, I will meet with DHS leadershipji·om DHS offices that engage with 

religious communities. to include leadersfrom the Office of'Public Engagement, Office of' 

Community Partnership, NPPD and FEMA, to discuss what more the Department can do 

to provide tools, resources, guidance. training, planning assistance and other support to 

religious communities to help them protect sofi targets, ident(fj• threats. share suspicious 

information. receive threat information. partner with local governments and law 

enforcement. perform vulnerability assessments, prepare for active shooter scenarios, 

ident{fj• radica/i:::arion warning signs. strengthen alert and warning systems and 

protocols, encourage cilizen preparedness and otherwise strengthen the security and 

resilience of' their communiry. ll confirmed. we will also discuss what additional needs 

and concerns have been communicated/rom such communities and hoH' DHS can 

strengthen outreach and partnership. 

Specifically, I believe the recent cross-DHS sofi target coordination group led by NPPD 

which brings together all DHS components to coordinate, identifY gaps and opportunities 

in capabilities and engagements is a promising start notjust for communities ojfaith, but 

broader efforts to manage risk and secure sofi targets. ll confirmed. DHS will continue to 

work ·with the community to dew lop .flexible risk assessment tools; foster technology 

solutions to counter the threat; prioritize inlormation and intelligence sharing in a timely 

manner: train law enforce men!. emergency responders, and employees across sectors: 

and recommit to broader public awareness campaigns focused on suspicious behavior 

and reporting 

2. From your recent experience as DHS Chief of Staff, what is your assessment of the 

Department's unity of effort initiatives to-date and where do you think greater attention is 

needed? 

My perspective during my time there, is that the Department has made significant 

progress in the last decade on this/i"ol1!. but we still hare a long way to go to really be a 

cohesive Department and workforce. Overall. additionalfocus is needed on .fostering a 

'one team' enviromnentfi·om hiring to training to professional development to career 
159 

advancement. Should 1 be confirmed, I would plan to continue the strong initiatives of 

Secretary Kelly and Acting Secrerary Duke, and Secrefary Johnson befbre them. I will 

work with the Deputy Secretary and the Undersecretmy.for Management to assess the 

ejf'ectiveness of' current unity oleffbrt programs and processes and strengthen them 

where needed. If' confirmed, we ;rill also conlinue Ia assess hiring, pay and relirement 

throughoUI the Department. We will assess what policies and processes can and should 

be centralized to reinfhrce that the components are part ala larger whole and that all 

employees are D!IS employees. For example, standardizing lexicon, travel policies, 

cybersecuriry policies. and leave policies en(i!rce the 'one team' outlook I will also seek 

to eliminare stovepipes and develop plans, processes and programs to integrate and 

leverage capabilities and tools throughout the Department. I will also work to promote 

whar !think is the corners/one o(ji1ture success in building on best practices, which we 

have borrowedji·om rhe Department ol Delense: --joint education, !raining and 

assign me Ills o/DHS personnel as a required parr of' career advancement. Joint 

education, training and assignments trulv underscore that homeland security, although 

made up of'component missions, is one mission. and to be eflective DHS must be able to 

.fimction as one ream. 

3. What do you think arc the greatest challenges in recruiting and retaining cybersecurity 

professionals at DHS and what actions do you think are necessary to improve the 

Dcpatiment's ability to effectively staff this mission area? 

I think the greatest challenge.fhr the federal governmenr in genera/fill· recruiting and 

retaining the highest skilled computer and information technology workers is the number 

and attractiveness of'private sector technology career opportunities in a growing 

industty with morejohs than qualified candidates. The comperition is.fiercejiJr these 

pro/i!ssionals and 1he government is ojien at a disadvantage in what we can offer to 

enrice them to work/i!r the government instead a/at a 'hot' tech star! up or a major 

technology company. When we do manage to successlully attract and train one of' these 

prof'essionols and get them through the laborious process to hold a security clearance, he 

or she is now even more valuable to federal contractors and or her private sector 

companies who may hire them awayfi'om us. Ultimately, to be successfitl we have to be 

clear with respect to our mission andfind people with the right skills or capabilities who 

share that sense of' mission and who are called to serve in the same way as those who join 

the militwy or law enfi;rcemenl. 

Should I be confirmed, I would look to strengthen and expand DHS' ejjbrts in 

collaboration with otherfederal partners and rhe Administration's overall STEAl eff'orts 

fo recruit and retain cybersecurity personnel. It is my understanding that DHS has 

partnered with a variety of' entities to include nonpro(its, all levels a/educational 

instilutions and school boards across the count1y ro encourage rhe teaching of 

cybersecurity concepts. DHS has also partnered with the nonprofit National Integrated 

Cyber Education Research Center (NICERC) to provide cybersecurity curricula and 

teacher professional development. I have also applauded DHS efjiJrts in sponsoring the 

C)berCorps Scholarshipfi!r Service which provides scholarships towards cybersecurity 

degree programs in return/or service in Federal, State, local, or tribal governments 
160 

upon gradualion. {[confirmed, I would also look to identifY opportunities across the 

existing talented DHS workforce and provide training opportunities to enhance 

~.:ybersecurily expertise. As mentioned elsewhere, I believe a clearly articulated mission 

and adequate tools and resources supports strong recruiting, and the ability to grow in 

one 'sjob and have access to continual training and education supports retention. 

Recognizing the importance ofthis issue as a cornerstone o/DHS c:vbersecurity effbrts, 

should I he confirmed I would assess currcnr efforts and work with Department 

leadership to strengthen related campaigns and programs. FinalZv, ifconfirmed, I look 

forward to working ·with Congress and OPM to ensure we are/idly utilizing the unique 

hiring authoriTies granred to the Departmentjbr cyber security effbrrs. 
161 

Senator Rand Paul 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirst,jen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

1. At the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada border, DHS personnel have used the so-called 

border search exception to conduct searches of Americans within 100 miles of a border, 

without a warrant or even probable cause. These searches are premised on individuals 

transiting to or t]·om the United States, yet many millions of Americans live and work in 

these zones and are not transiting into or out of the country. The result is that Americans 

in large swaths of the country have diminished constitutional rights. 

Question: Should the regulations on which this practice is based be updated to more 

narrowly define this practice? 

• Question: Do you believe any geographic limitation exists to where and how DHS 

personnel may deploy suspicionless checkpoints within the United States? 

In response to both questions above: 

Customs officers are authorized to conduct a border search of travelers, 

conveyances, and merchandise crossing the United States border. As the 

Supreme Court has long recognized, the border search doctrine operates as an 

exception to the warrant and probable cause requirements of the Fourth 

Amendment. Border searches may he performed at places such as the border 

(the territorial boundaries of the United States that exist on/and, sea, and air) 

or the functional equivalent of the border (e.g., the airport where an 

international fligflt to the United States land~). 

Immigration checkpoints concern separate authority. 1l1ore specificat(v, the 

Immigration and Natioua/ity Act (INA)§ 287(a)(3) authorizes law enforcement 

agents to hoard and search for aliens on vessels located in U.S. territorial 

waten and vehicles or conveyances located within a reasonable distance from 

the exterior boundary of the United States. A "reasonable distance" under this 

statute extends 100 air miles inland from the border of the United States. 

Additionally, when making a stop pursuant to INA§ 287(a)(3) at locations 

other than 1m immigration checkpoint, an agent must have at least reasonable 

suspicion to stop a vehicle. Any search of the vehicle will have to he separately 

justified via consent to search, or probable cause to conduct a readily mobile 

conveyance search of the vehicle. Dl!S does not conduct suspicionless 

checkpoint searches. 
162 

Question: If confirmed as Secretary, will you expand the use of suspicionless 

checkpoints within the United States? 

If confirmed, l will work to enmre that DliS will adhere to all applicable legal 

authority and judicial decisions concerning checkpoint operations. DIIS does 

not conduct suspicionless checkpoint searches. 

I understand that the Department's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 

(CRCL) recently investigated allegations related to the checkpoints and found 

that CBP checkpoints were not violating the constitutional rights of persons 

transiting. However, CRCL is working with CBP to enhance public outreach 

and CBP training to ensure that travelers and agents are aware of their rights 

when crossing at checkpoints. 

• Question: Do you support the capture of all vehicle information by DHS, including 

license plates, for vehicles that travel through a DHS checkpoint-including those 

that have done nothing wrong and are simply driving from Point A to Point B as part 

of their daily business? If so, what limitations on this practice-including storage of 

vehicle information-might you support? 

As I understand it, U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints utilize license plate reader 

(LPR) teclmology for the purpose of identifying illegal alien smuggling. LPR 

technology is utilized at checkpoiut locations that have been identified as routes 

oftravelutilized by alien smugglers. Checkpoints and LPR technology further 

assist the overall national security mivsion. 

Currently CBP captures the data and maintains it for seventy-five years, and 

the images for two years (due to storage limits), as stipulated in the TECS 

System of Record Notice. 

If confirmed, !will work with CBP, DHS Counsel, and CRCL to ensure that the 

constitutional rights l?( all Americans are uplteld with respect to vehicle 

information emanating from a DHS checkpoint. 

2. I remain concerned about reported instances of American citizens being detained at 

points of entry when traveling back into the United States-in particular, the reported 

instances of Americans being asked by DHS officials to turn over their phones or other 

digital devices for search, including: 

1. This year, a NASA engineer and U.S. citizen was reportedly pulled into 

inspection when returning ti·om a vacation in Chile. The individual 

subjected to inspection recounted how Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) demanded the PIN to his phone and handed him a fixm that 
163 

explained how CBP had the right to copy the contents of his phone. He 

recalled that the form indicated that participation in the search was 

"mandatory" and it thr.::atened "detention and/or seizure" of the device if 

he did not comply. 1 He was reportedly released after providing the PIN to 

his phone-a work phone that was itself properly ofNASA. 2 

ii. Two U.S. citizens were stopped on a return from Canada and held for two 

hours after their phones were taken by CBP officers. They alleged that 

they were stopped again on another return trip from Canada three days 

later in which they were again told to turn over their phones. They also 

alleged that CBP officers physically took one of the phones in order to 

search it.3 

iii. An NBC News investigation reported that they examined 25 different 

cases of U.S. citizens being told to turn over their phones, unlock them. or 

provide passwords to CBP officcrs 4 

iv. A U.S. citizen was reportedly stopped from boarding a flight in Los 

Angeles, handcuffed, and released after "a Homeland Security agent 

looked through his phone for about 15 minutes''5 

v. In 2015, a U.S. citizen journalist alleged that, while traveling back to 

Texas from BraziL he \Vas detained while officials "went through all his 

contacts, cmails and Whatsi\pp messages on his phone."6 

Question: IfDHS agents lack a warrant, would you as Secretary allow an 

American citizen, a green card holder. or any other valid visa holder to be delayed 

or denied entry into the United States if the individual refuses to provide his 

device's password, unlock his device, or otherwise provide access to the 

information on his device') If yes, under what authority, and how does an 

individual's citizenship or visa status affect your answer'~ 

The Secretary of Department of Homeland Security is under an obligation to 

safeguard our country to the extent possible by law. Legal issues such as this 

3 t'JtJL, ~~·U2J?.£Cli!'{f2-.gQ!JJ!D9.t~i:d2:D.f-!:Y~ilillQQf~Xl=-£ill~~ns -\J:.,'i:QQi9.f!L@£@Dl:§. £QF-J?f'dC9J:YQ.\!X:J&JlQbQD.?-n 73ZZ1.~ 4 ibid 
164 

will be determined with the assistance of counsel provided by the DHS Office of 

General Counsel. I would asked to be further briefed on this if confirmed. 

However, as I understand the current law, all persons and their devices arriving 

in the US are subject to a border search because CBP must determine the 

admissibility of both the traveler and his or her accompanying goods and 

baggage, to ensure that those goods are permitted to enter. In other words, and 

as I understand it, because any traveler may be carrying an electronic device 

that contains evidence relating to offenses such as terrorism, illegal smuggling, 

or child pornography, CBP's autlwri~v to search such a device at the border 

does not depend on the citizenship of the traveler. 

Importantly, I also understand that CBP will never prevent a U.S. citizen from 

entering the United States because of a need to inspect that traveler's device. 

Therefore, although CBP may detain an arriving traveler's electronic device for 

jitrther examination, in the limited circumstances when that is appropriate, 

CBP will not prevent a traveler who is confirmed to be a U.S. citizen from 

entering the country because of a need to conduct that additional examination. 

CBP's public guidance to travelers I think succinct()! summarizes current policy 

and practice. (llttps:;l•••ww.chp.gtil'll'iteslde_littllt/fi/es!documelttslinspectionel ect ro 11 i c -tie 1 •i CI!S-t ears h ee t. p!lf). 

To be clear, I believe that all CBP officers are and should he required to strictly 

adhere to all constitutional and statutory requirements and CBP has strict 

oversight policies and procedures that implement these safeguards. To my 

knowledge, the instances in which CBP seeks to conduct a border search of 

il!formation in an electronic device are exceedingly rare -I remember the 

statistic that such searches affect less than one-hundredth of one percent of 

travelers arriving to the United State. 

Question: If you believe you have the authority to delay entry in any of these 

instances, what is the maximum amount of time you believe you can delay entry 

for each an American citizen. a green card holder, or any other valid visa bolder? 

CBP exercises border search authoriry vet:v judiciously and has made 

available to the public, since 2009, its governing policy on the border 

search of information in electronic devices. Although CBP's law 

eJiforcement policy directives are general(v issued intemally for official 

use on()!, CBP recognized the importance of the public dialogue on this 

issue, and CBP Directive, Border Search of Electronic Devices 

Containing Information, includes comprehensive guidance for 

searching, reviewing, retaining, and sharing information obtained from 
165 

border searches of electronic devices containing information. It remains 

publicly available on the DHS website. ICE, which also has border 

search authority, issued a companion policy directive on this topic at the 

same time as CBP. 

I understand that CBP's policy specifically states that CBP will protect 

the right of individuals against unreasonable search and seizure and 

will ensure privacy protections. To that end, it recognizes that, if a 

border searc/1 of an electronic device cannot be completed during the 

time tf111t the traveler is at the port of entry, the device may be detainefl 

by CBP, ordinarily for a period not to exceed five days, after the traveler 

has departed the port of entry. Therefore, additional time needed to 

complete a thorough border search will not necessarily require the 

traveler to remain at the port of entry during the time of the search. 

Moving forward, and in recognition of the requirement described in law, 

which require CBP to review and update at least every three years its 

standard opera tin~: procedures relating to searches of electronic devices 

at ports of entry, !understand CBP is currently reviewing the CBP 

Directive and intends to revise and update it to reflect evolving 

operational practices on this important and sensitive issue. If confirmed, 

I will ensure that such revision and update complies with all laws, 

protects Constitutional rigllts, and provides sufficient information to the 

reader about border searches of electronic devices. 

Question: As Secretary. would you permit the sharing of information gathered at 

the border from electronic devices with other federaL state, and local law 

enforcement') 

As !understand it, CBP's governing policy directive specifical~v 

recognizes the potentia/need to share information wit/1 other federal 

agencies in order to seek their assistance and expertise to enable CBP to 

complete the border search. Furtfler, any information shared occurs in 

accordance with the govemin~: Privacy Act system of records notice. 

• Question: On June 6, 2017. General John Kelly told me that "we don't [search 

phones] routinely unless there's a reason why ... we do it whether they're citizens 

or non-citizens coming in." This is a change from what he told me on April 5. 

2017. when he said "I just don't believe we're doing it." As Secretary, will you 

continue his policy of searching the contents of phones at the border') 
166 

{f confirmed, I will work to ensure that CBP, and alit?{ DHS complies 

with all laws, regulations and court cases in executing its mission. 

Currently, as I understand it, in addition to long-standing precedent, 

including that of the Supreme Court, that recognizes the broad scope tif 

CBP's authority to conduct border searches, this autltori(J! is enshrined 

in numerous statutes- which support CBP not only in the enforcement 

of the nation's immigration laws, but also empowers CBP in support of 

our customs, agriculture, and counterterrorism missions at the border. 

It is my umlerstanding that given today's threats and the CBP mission, 

similar to CBP's responsibility for inspecting luggage, vehicles and 

cargo upon arrival to the United States, in this digital age CBP must 

also conduct limited and targetetl inspections of electronic devices to 

determine whether they contain contraband (such as child 

pornography), information indicating inadmissibiliry, or information 

that could present a threat to national securi(J' (snell as WMD 

information). 

• Question: You have indicated informally, and your predecessor as Secretary has 

indicated, that you do not detain U.S. citizens if they refuse to submit their digital 

devices to an electronic search at a point of entry. However, in such a scenario, 

would you seize or otherwise seck to separate the U.S. citizen from their device? 

Would you ask the U.S. citizen to leave the point of entry while agency officials 

retain possession of the dcvice(s)? Does DHS assert that it has the authority, 

regardless of whether it is current practice, to separate a U.S. citizen from their 

digital device(s) at a point of entry for the purposes of an electronic search? If so, 

what procedures govern such actions? 

As I understaml it, there are CBP Directives on point. Specifically, one 

that recognizes that in the rare instance an intemational traveler's cell 

phone or other electronic de1•ice may need to be detained (beyond the 

time tit at tlte traveler is at tlte port of entry) to complete the necessary 

border search, there is a specified process for such a detention, 

including tire requirement that a traveler receive a custody receipt and 

that tlte traveler be notified of the search when such a fact can be 

disclosed wit/tout !tampering national securiry or law enforcement or 

other operatioua/ cousiderations. 

In addition, tlte Directive provides that searches of electronic devices 

should be conducted in the presence oftlte traveler unless there are 

national security, law enforcement, or other operational considerations 

that make it inappropriate to permit tlte individual to remain present. 
167 

.o. If conflrmcd, what will you do to ensure employees can and will disclose violations of 

law. rule, or regulation, and instances of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement within 

the DHS to any or all appropriate sources, including Congress? 

I will work to foster an environment ofre.lpect and trust, providing ways in which 

voices can be heard and engaging with employees at various levels to identif}' and 

address concerns. I It ave always been a person who speaks truth even when the truth 

is uncon!fortable. If confirmed, I will encourage the same candor from all DHS 

employees, and expect that managers will also foster an environment of trust and 

respect and will listen to any employee concerns and take actions to address them. 

Overall, we must foster a culture at the Department that encourages the same "see 

something, say something" uttitude of vigilance we promote to the public und 

safeguard tlwse wlw do come fonvurd in compliance with whistleblower luws and 

regulutions. I believe ull DHS employees lwve u duty to report ull such violutions you 

describe. If confirmed, l will uphold all legal protections for the reporting of fraud, 

waste, abuse and mismanagement within DHS, and, in my position, will be especially 

vigilant to tfte issue of any potential management retaliation. I will partner with the IG 

to ensure tlwt all complaints are proper(v investigated. l will also ensure that 

employees understand and have ready access to il!formation describing the various 

ways to disclose violations of law, rule or regulation, and instances of fraud, waste, 

abuse and mismanagement within DHS. 

4. Notwithstanding the recent cancellation of some $16 billion of the program's debt by 

Congress, the National Flood Insurance Program will remain deeply in the red for the 

foreseeable future. The Office of Management and Budget, in its Oct. 4, 2017, disaster 

supplemental request to Congress, called the NFIP "simply not fiscally sustainable in its 

current form." 7 

• Question: Do you support any of the proposed reforms that OMB included in its 

Oct. 4 supplemental request? If yes, which proposed ref(Jrms? If no, what NFIP 

reforms would you support? 

Yes. I strongly support reforms to tlw NFIP. As tlze Administration and many in 

Congress have noted, tfte program is not sustainable. Reforms are necessary such as 

those to enable a robust private market and to raise rates to reflect risk while including 

a means tested alford ability program. 
168 

5. As "the only [Intelligence Communityl clement statutorily charged with delivering 

intelligence to state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners,"8 the DHS Office 

of Intelligence and Analysis presents potential dangers to civil liberties, including a 

blurring ofthe line between domestic law enforcement and intelligence gathering 

activities as well as intentional abuse or inadvertent misuse of intelligence products. 

Question: If cont!rmed, what will you do to insure that any and all intelligence 

gathered or disseminated by DHS will be handled with utmost concern regarding 

people's privacy and other rights by all entities that may receive or encounter 

such information? 

As T remember from my time as Chief of Staff, DHS It as extensive 

mechanisms in place to guard against the concerns you have described, 

including built-in oversight within tlte Office of Intelligence and 

Analysis and safeguards througll the Office of Privacy, the Office of 

Civil Rigllts and Civil Liberties, the Office oftlte General Counsel, and 

appropriate inspectors general. If confirmed, I commit to ensuring til at 

DHS remains focused on gathering and disseminating intelligence 

illformation strictly within the confines of the law and with utmost 

respect for privacy, civil rigltts, and civil liberties. 

Question: With regard to Fusion Centers. what will you do to ensure the 

appropriate use of and consistent privacy protections f(Jr information shared by 

them among their partner entities'? 

Wltile fusion centers are owned and operated by state and major urban 

area governments, as I understand it, to the extent they receive federal 

gnmts, access to federal networks, and DHS personnel, they are also 

subject to tllorough oversight and review to ensure tlley comp~~· with all 

relevant laws and It ave rigorous policies in place to respect privacy, civil 

rigltts, and civil liberties. lf confirmed, I will work with the 

Department's Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to review 

DITS policies and procedures li'itll regard to fusion centers to ensure 

they continue to handle information appropriately and to make sure any 

and all DHS personnel assigned to those centers are in compliance with 

requirements and It ave tire necessary training to protect sensitive 

information, individual privacy and otlrer rights. 
169 

6. From your tenure as DHS Chief of Staff~ what ideas and aspirations do you have to 

improve the management of the Department of Homeland Security with respect to 

identifying and eliminating waste, fraud or abuse'! 

As described above, I will work to foster an environment of respect and trust, providing 

ways in which voices can be heard and engaging witlz employees at various levels to 

identify and address concerns. I have always been a person who speaks truth even 

when the truth is uncomfortable. If confirmed, I will encourage the same candor from 

all DIIS employees, and expect that managers will also foster an environment of trust 

and respect and will listen to any employee concems and take actions to address them. 

I believe all DIIS employees have a duty to report instances of fraud, waste or abuse. 

Overall, we must foster a culture at the Department that encourages the same "see 

something, say something" attitude of vigilance we promote to the public and 

safeguard those who do come forward in compliance with whistleblower laws and 

regulations. If confirmed, I would review the various options available for reporting 

fraud, waste or abuse and ensure that such options are accessible to all DIIS 

employees. I will also ensure that employees understand and have ready access to 

information describing the various ways to disclose instances of fraud, waste, or abuse 

within DHS, to include reporting to the IG and GAO. 

If confirmed, I willuplzold all legal protections for the reporting of fraud, waste, or 

ami mismanagement within DIIS, and, in my position, will be especially vigilant to the 

issue of any potentia/management retaliation. I will partner with the IG to ensure that 

all complaints are proper~v investigated and that if a process doesn't exist today, that 

one is created to track reporting, investigate claims and ensure needed revisions or 

adjustments are made my managers and leaders/zip. Should there be any gaps in 

authorities to appropriately address any of the concems raised, I will work with the 

Congress. 

Finally, as was discussed in a recent IG report, we must strengthen the DHS internal 

control environment to ensure that the Department can effectively, efficiently and 

lm;ful~v execute its mission. If confirmed, I will work with the Deputy Secretary and 

the Under Secretary for llfanagement to expand and strengthen our internal controls. 

7. As your nomination moves forward. vvi!l you commit to providing a written response to 

any further questions related to your nomination prior to your confinnation vote? 

Yes. 
170 

Senator ,James Lankford 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

\Vednesday, November 8, 2017 

I. It is imperative that the Transportation Security Administration continuously evaluate and 

improve checkpoint screening procedures in fulfilling its responsibility to protect our 

nation's transportation systems. With the agency's increased screening responsibilities 

and decreasing budget, the TSA must work vigilantly to ensure that screening operations 

arc etTtcient and secure. Do you believe the TSA should explore new technologies that 

observe and analyze passenger tratlic data in its efforts to optimize the allocation of 

screening resources, reduce the risk of screening breaches, and help modernize the 

Agency? 

Yes, and if confirmed I will work closely witft Administrator Pekoske to ensure that 

TSA is consistently evaluating and implementing new technologies to address risk and 

meet operational and legal requirements. 
171 

Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to he Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

MANAGEMENT AND EXPERIENCE 

I. Committee staff has received reports that the Department Homeland Security (DHS) 

political appointees are politically vetting career Senior Executive Service (SES) 

applicants and in some cases GS level career employees. 

a. Do you agree that that political vetting of career employees is improper? 

Yes. 

b. If so. will you commit to providing written guidance to DHS employees that this 

kind of interference is improper? 

Yes. 

NATIONAL SECURITY 

2. Will you commit to conducting cost-benefit analyses to ensure that all budgetary matters, 

including the proposed southern border wall and cuts to grants programs, are done with 

lull consideration of the attendant risks and priorities of the Department? 

Should I be confirmed, !look forward to working with you, the Committee and the 

Appropriations Committees to ensure that DHS considers both risk and costthroughout the Department to ensure that we are effective~)! and efficiently utilizing 

taxpayer money to secure our lwmeland against tlze greatest risks. 

·'· Do you agree that the Counterterrorism Advisory Board (CTAB) is a key DHS 

coordinating mechanism and that it has served a valuable purpose during and after 

elevated threat situations'' 

I agree tllat the CTAB is valuable and has improved the Department's ability to 

address terrorist threats. As part of my commitment to continue unity of effort 

initiatives, I will continue to support initiatives, such as the CTAB, that promote cross 

component information sharing. 

a. Do you plan to continue to exercise the CTAB? 
172 

Yes, and should I be confirmed, I look forward to clarifying the CTAB's 

processes and policies to ensure that it meets its mission requirements. Should I 

be confirmed, I would also like to assess whether its purpose should be 

expanded to include a wider array of threats and that its charter aligns with 

today's threat environment. 

b. The National Threat Advisory System relies on the CTAB for implementation. If 

CT AB is disbanded, what body or person will inform and make decisions on 

issuances of NT AS bulletins and alerts? 

I have no plans to disband CTAB. 

c. What other counter terrorism/threat coordination mechanisms (if any) within DHS 

will you rely on? 

Generally, I believe we must look at further integrating operations and threat 

intelligence throughout the Department to respond to emerging threats. Should 

I be confirmed, /look forward to assessing models such as tlte joint 

interagency task forces and interdepartmeut task forces to address risk across 

threat vectors. 

4. If confirmed, do you commit to DHS providing a briefing to Committee staifregarding 

your review of Countering Violent Extremism and assessments of the related programs 

and grants within 90 days of your confinnation? 

If cm~firmed, I commit to working with you and others 011 the Committee, including 

Senator Hassan who lras requested a related assessment and information within 120 

days to ensure that I pro~·ide you with the information requested no later than 120 days 

after confirmation. 

5. If confirmed. do you commit to DHS providing a briefing to Committee staff regarding 

the results of your review of all visa programs within 90 days of your confirmation? 

If confirmed, I commit to working with you and others on the Committee who have 

requested to be briefed on any review by the Department of visa programs in order to 

provide the illformation in a timely matmer. As nominee, I do not know whether the 

time frame requested relative to confirmation is achievable as I do not myself know the 

status of such a review or the timing of its completion as well as actions that other 

stakeholders outside DHS like the Department of State may need to take. 

FEMA DISASTER CONTRACTING 

6. Do you think it is appropriate for DHS and its components to enter into contracts for 

disaster relief where a contract expressly prohibits a government audit or review? If so, 

under what circumstances would such a contract be appropriate? 

2 
173 

I do not think it is appropriate for DHS to enter into contracts for disaster relief where 

a contract expressly prohibits a government audit or review. 

7. During today's hearing you stated that you would advocate for a public after-action 

review of the federal government's response to recent hurricanes. If confirmed, will you 

commit to DHS conducting an after-action review of the federal government's response 

to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and publicly release the results? 

Yes. 

CliSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION OFFICERS 

8. President Trump has proposed significant increases in staffing for Border Patrol and ICE, 

but has not proposed commensurate increases for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

officers at our ports of entry. 

a. Docs President Trump's budget proposal give CBP the resources it needs to 

achieve "operational control'' of our ports of entry, which he required in his 

January 25 Executive Order and defined as "the prevention of all unlawful entries 

into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, 

instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband." 1 !fit docs not, >vhat 

additional resources would be required to do so? How many additional personnel 

would be required0 Is it even possible to achieve full operational control of ports 

of entry? 

If confirmed, I will meet with Acting Commissioner McA/eenan and CBP 

leadership to ensure that CBP is adequately resourced, and if not, determine 

what additional re.murces are necessary. I commit to sharing the results of my 

review with the Committee and discussing how we can together ensure that our 

ports of entry have the personnel, technology, tools and resources needed to 

address today 's threats. 

b. Are you concerned that our ports of entry are understaffed? Why or why not? 

Should I be confirmed, I will remain committed to ensuring that the 

Department is appropriately staffed to meet today 's threats and needs. I 

understand t/l{[t our ports of entry have experienced significant growth ami that 

.511iffing likely may need to be adjusted or increased. I commit to meeting with 

Acting Commissioner llfcA/eenan to ensure tlwt our ports of entry are 

adequately resow·ced, and if additional resources required, will work with the 

Congress to address any deficit. 

1 Exec. Order 13767,82 Fed. Reg 8793 (Jan. 25, 2017). 

3 
174 

c. If conllrmed. do you commit to review the allocation of staffing by Customs and 

Border Protection, and report back to this committee on your llndings and plans to 

implement any changes0 

Yes. 

AGRICULTURAL SECURITY 

9. Passage of the Securing Our Food and Agriculture Act, which President Trump signed 

into law this summer. requires DHS to carry out a program to defend the U.S. food, 

agriculture. and veterinary systems against terrorism and other high-risk events. If 

conllrmed, what are your priorities for bolstering agricultural security operations at DHS? 

DHS plays an important role in enmring tile nation 'sfood supply is guarded against 

terrorist and other threats. Should I be confirmed, I would work II and in It and witll tile 

Department of Agriculture to align roles, responsibilities and expertise to ensure tlwt 

together as a federal interagency we are addressing today 's agriculture securi~v 

operations. 

10. In early October, DHS provided authorizing committees with notice pursuant to Section 

872 of the Homeland Security Act about a departmental reorganization of certain 

chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear functions into a new Countering Weapons 

of Mass Destruction (CWMD) O!Ticc. The new office will include the Domestic Nuclear 

Detection Office (DNDO) in its entirety and parts of the Science and Technology 

Directorate (S&T) and the Office of Health Affairs (OHA). 

a. Who will be in charge of carrying out agricultural security work at DHS in the 

context of this reorganization? Will that person and the entity be able to 

successfully coordinate department activities in this area 0 

As I understand it, ORA and S& T have resources and autllorities related to 

agricultural security, working with interagency partners. Under the proposed 

reorganization, these specific roles would remain with the same level of 

expertise and attention. Should I be confirmed, I will examine the roles and 

ensure proper focus is provided within tfte federal government to meet 

agricultuml securi~v needs. 

b. Will you commit to working with me to enhance secmity in the agriculture 

scctor0 

Yes. 

c. If you are cont1rmed, will you commit to reviewing the 872 Reorganization 

proposal prior to its taking effect on December 5. 2017? Will you commit to 

informing me whether you will use 872 authority to place the new ot1lce of 

CWMD within S&T? 

4 
175 

Yes and Yes. Should I be confirmed, I will also work to ensure that any 

reorganization uses best practices and internal controls to ensure resources are 

not wasted, processes and programs are aligned, and to reduce any potential 

overlaps. 

d. Would an Office for CWMD within the S&T Directorate be better equip the 

Department to address CWMD'! Would a joint task force enhance focus in the 

area of CWMD? 

If confirmed, I commit to reviewing tlte 872 Reorganization proposal to ensure 

it is the best way to execute WMD defense efforts . 

.JOINT TASKFORCE TO COUNTER OPIODS 

11. l have been deeply concerned about the opioid epidemic in the U.S. and investigating 

how the federal government can assist local etTorts to address this scourge. 

a. What are your thoughts on the joint task force (JTF) and having them do more 

work in the area of counternarcotics. specifically countering opioids? 

We must leverage all capabilities and authorities the federal government has to 

offer to counter the opioid epidemic in tire U.S. Should I be confirmed I would 

look at the D//S JTFs to see iftlrey can offer more to help fight tlris epidemic 

and to help counter narcotics smuggling. 

DHS is also a partner in the .Joint Interagency Task Force- South which 

conducts counter illicit trafficking operations, and should I be confirmed, I will 

work towards ensuring tltat DHS is le1•eraging all of its capabilities cmd 

capacities to support Task Force efforts. 

b. Do you commit to work with me on legislation to enhance DHS' work in this 

area? 

Yes. 

5 
176 

Senator Thomas R. Carper 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

I. In your policy questionnaire, in response to a question about the largest number of people that 

directly repor1ed to you at any one time, you refer to your answers in the majority portion of the 

questionnaire for your recent role at DHS, and your current role at the White House. Please provide 

clear answers to the questions for each role. In other words, are we to understand that you had sixtytive direct reports at DHS, and that you oversaw two hundred employees at the White House? 

The differences intended between "direct(y managed," "direct(y reported to you," and "oversight" 

were not clear. Thank you for tlte opportunity to clarify. 

The DHS Secretary has 2 7 direct reports. As DHS Chief of Staff, I !tad approximate(y 30 direct 

repo1·ts (d~fined in the next question), directly managed the Office of the Secretary which included 

approximate(y 65 people (to include direct reports}, lrad resourcing ami budget related decisionmaking authori(r and responsibility for the Office of tile Secretary and Executive ]lfanagement, 

made up often offices, 585 personnel and with a budget of$137 million (FY 2017 enacted). As 

IJIH Principal Depury Chief of Staff, I It ave 7 direct reports, and directly manage approximately 

200 people. 

Tfte role of Chief of Staff or Principal Deputy Chief of Staff of a complex organization or entity is 

the coordinator of all of lite supporting staff. An effective COS or PDCOS must encourage all 

feedback and keep communication open across all levels. He or she must engage with staff at all 

levels oftlze organization comtantly to identify and address underlying issues. Within a large 

Department context, the Chief of Staff manages the Department serving as the Executive Officer, 

ensuring tl1at direction and guidance from lite Secretary and Deputy Secretary is executed 

through a l'tlriety of avenues. I have played a similar role at the White House. 

As a result, iu both my DIIS Chief of Staff,·ole and as Principal Depury Chief of Stqtf at the WH, 

I had/lwve direct reports, those wlwm I directly managed/manage, am/a much larger group of 

employees of whom I had/have coordination and management lll'ersig/11 and/or budget 

responsibilities. For the larger group (240,000 in tile case of DHS and around 1700 in the case of 

the Executive Office of the President), I address employee concerns and issues that rise to my 

attention and/or are brought to my attention and !ieek to ensure that the organization is optimally 

structured and operating. For example, in my current role, 1 address employee matters and 

concems related to those within the f)cecutive Office oftlze President (e.g., travel approvals, 

resource concerns, process concerns, personnel needs, etc.), and, either direct related actions or 

make recommendations to the Chief of Staff relating to policy portfolios and the determination of 

roles and responsibilities of personnel within the f)cecutive Office of the President (regardleH of 

whether or not they are direct (see definition below) or indirect reports or whether I directly 

nzanage the1n. 

a) How do you dctine "direct" reports? 
177 

I would define it liS anyone whom/ manage direct(v and/or those wlw directly provide me with 

the results o,ftasks on a semi-regular basis. Additionally, I think of it as anyone who could not 

be hired, fired, given 11 pay adjustment or disciplinary action without my personal sign off. 

b) Did you have any indirect reports in your role as DHS Chief of Staff, or as Principal Deputy 

Chief of Stall at the White House? If so, how many? 

Indirect reports are those who report to my direct reports. In my answer above I used the term 

"direct~!' managed" to include indirect and direct reports. A.> described above, there is a much 

larger group of employees of whom l had/have coordination and management oversight 

and/or budget responsibilities. 

2. DHS is a large and complex organization made up of22 component agencies. with many legacy 

challenges-including staffing, hiring, training, morale, coordination, communication, contracting, 

and oversight issues-in addition to the '·everyday" challenges of carrying out its critical mission to 

address an evolving threat landscape and ensuring the security of our homeland against all manner of 

hazards. DHS and many of its components remain on GAO's High Risk List, though progress has 

recently been made. Previous secretaries and even component heads have had extensive experience 

managing change, instituting reforms, and leading large and complex organizations, At most, you 

have managed two hundred rcpotis; bcl(Jre this year, you had managed fifteen people. 

a) Please explain your general philosophy toward management, and provide examples of your 

previous work in similar enviromncnts. 

As you describe, the role of the Secretary am/ his or her requisite skills include much more 

than flireL'I management to include extensive experience in managing change, instituting 

reforms and leading. In addition to what you suggested, I would also add the following skills 

aud capabilities are needed: communication and outreach skills; ability to optimize 

organizations to achieve successful mission execution; men to ring and career advancement 

planning; clearly articulating mission, roles and responsibilities; developing priorities; 

understanding operational environments (whether they be governmental or private sector); 

and utilizing metrics to ensure effective execution. For DHS especially, the Secretary must 

uuderstand risk- how to identif.v anti assess it and how to identify the correct mix of 

personnel~ partuersflips, technology, if~{rastructure, tools, progranzs, policies, authorities and 

processes to address it. Finally, the DIJS Secretary must be able to coordinate and mauage 

diverse stakeholders from all levels of government ami varied sectors who voluntarily- without 

any applicable command and control management- partner to reach common desired 

outcomes often with very different and conflicting motivations. I have demonstrated skills and 

capabilities in all of the above througlumt my career in homeland security and wit/wut 

question my homeland security expertise enables me to understand where we have been and 

where we need to go as a Department with respect to mission, autho1·ities, policy, risk, 

partnerships, and .ftrengthening security and resilience. 

As I noted in my policy questionnaire, I lead by example and a/ways through the promotion of 

il!legrity, transparency, compliance with the law, and commitment to mission. I believe in 

ensuring that the mission is clearly articulated- at every level- and that clear objectives and 

metrics are agreed upon and assessed. I foster a team approach based on concepts of unity of 

effort and dearly delineate roles and responsibilities based on the mission. I believe in 
178 

performance evaluation and in learning and acting on lessons identified, not just observing or 

admiring them, I expect to he held accountable and hold others accountable, I also believe it is 

important to take the time to acknowledge a job well done. I have found that talking to 

personnel on the frontlines, in tlte field, at their desks is invaluable to understand operating 

environments, needs and concerns. I believe in empowering those who work with me and 

believe it is my duty to ensure that they have the authorities, tools, resources and training 

needed to pe({orm their jobs. I value dissenting opinions and make every effort to ensure that 

all voices have a place to be heard, am/ I strive to maintain an environment of trust and 

respect. 

The environments 1 have worked in during my time in govermne11t service have been very 

similar environments or indeed have been within the Dept1rtment itself. I have worked with 

organizations from their inception through to multiple maturation evolutions. I have created 

organizations, including my own company, advised start-up companies as a lawyer and 

consultant and as a federal employee as part of the team that stood up TSA. I have lead 

interagency policy discussions to address conJlicting, overlapping or needed authorities 

between Departments and Agencies. I have worked as a federal employee within tl1e Executive 

branch and with Congress, and as a consultant to specifically advise federal entities on 

optimizing organization, training, resourcing etc. for mission execution. In this 

Administration, I have been instrumental in identifying areas where additional maturation, 

clarification and organization change are warranted. I lwve worked in all sectors and in all 

roles to build private public partnerships to identify am/ address the nation's risk, security and 

resilience clwllenges. 

Having been a relatively junior employee at TSA in its earliest days, a White House official 

working with and coordinating policy related to the Department and its people from outside 

the Department, am/ the C11iej of Staff of the Department have given me a unique set of 

perspectives on DIIS. I think I understand more about what makes for effective management 

and leadership in the Department having been one who ltas led from within amlwitlwut, and 

wlw ltas consulted from the outside. Having been one who worked with its people and leaders 

from within the White House and the private sector, I tllink I also better understand the multifaceted role of a Secretary. As I said in my responses in the hearing, I do believe leadership 

and management principle., are scalable if applied correctly. I recognize how large this 

Department is, and agree with your comments during the hearing that it would not be an ea5:V 

job for anyone, no matter their experience or the number of people they previously managed. 

h) Please describe the management challenges facing DHS. What will be your first priority if 

confirmed as Secretary'' 

Should I be confirmed, as I noted in part in the Policy Questionnaire, one of the g~·eatest 

management challenges and opportunities is in the area of human capital management at 

DHS, tmd that is to ensure that the fine men and women of DHS lwve clarity of mission, are 

empowered to perform tlwir duties, have all the necessary tools to do their jobs and are both 

held aa·ountable ami acknowledged for their performance. I see these actions as essential to 

strong job satb.faction am/ high employee morale. Another principal challenge is improving 

our ability to recruit, hire and retain talented people. We need to adapt our hiring .~ystems to 

meet a rapidly clumgiug hiring environment and identify innovative ways to at/met key skill 

sets- sucb as those needed for the cybersecurity mission. If COl!firmed, I look forward to 
179 

working with the Under Secrellll}' of Management to align human capital objectives across 

components, the Chief Human Capital Officer and Department leadership as well as OPM, 

OMB and Congre.u on creative solutions. Finally, as I referenced in the hearing, I agree with 

the recent OIG report/hat DHS must do more to create and enforce strong internal controls 

and do more to ensure that DHS operates as on team throug/1 unity of effort and other 

initiatives. 

c) What is some of the advice you have received for the job that you intend to follow if continned? 

I have received 11 lot of helpful advice including from many former senior officials who 

encouraged me to accept/he nomination. To put Constitution and Country and mission first in 

1111 decisions. To fulfill my duties with dedication, determination am/ resolve and to not worry 

about/he politin or press clippings if I believe in what //we are doing is best for the country 

am/ if in compliance with tile law. To embrace the reality that we unfortunately will never be 

100% effective I 00% of the time in stopping threats but to always keep striving for 1/wt 

anyway. To honor and support the men and women who work every duy to keep our country 

secure, To empower senior officials and to refrainfrommicro-managing. To "be yourself' 

and continue leading with my principles of by example and with integrity, transparency, 

accountability and acknowledgement am/to work as a team and no/apologize for doing my 

job. To get out, talk to employees and "kick the tires". To listen to and engage lift en with 

stakeholders. To continue to recognize as I have often said that no one entity has all of the 

capabilities, capacity and authorities to address all of the risk alone- we must continue to 

strengthen partnerships across levels of government and sectors. 

d) DHS · s website shows that fifteen of over 40 senior management roles are vacant or occupied by 

"acting" officials. What qualities and characteristics will you look for in working to fill those 

roles? Do you believe your advice will be heeded by the White House in selecting nominees') 

I will look for those who share my leadership principles (described above) and who are competent, 

have relevant expertise and who are otherwise qualified for the job for which they are considered. I 

have built strong relationships with the White House, am very familiar with the personnel processes 

and do believe the WH will heed my advice in selecting nominees. 

3. Who are your some of your professional mentors and role models, and how have they influenced 

you over your career? 

I have fwd the benefit of a number of professional mentors and role models to include a college 

prrifessor and a law professor botlt of wlwm encouraged me to speak my mind, always seek the 

trul/1, take the time to gather and review facts and perform a systematic ussessment before making 

decisions, to be decisive, to lead by example and to always stay true to my principles and sense of 

mission. !would also reference what! have learned from having the privilege of working with 

General Kel~v whose unwavering sense of dedication, right am/ wrong, the importance of 

speaking /rut It to power, duty and service to country am/mission are not only greatly inspiring but 

an important reminder of why !left the private sector to again serve the country in government. 

Such a leader brings out the best in others and can inspire aspects of leadership that will cause 

those who follow to move mountains in service of others. 

4. If con tinned. will you commit to speaking with previous DHS officials from administrations of both 

parties in order to understand the challenges facing DHS and its components, and to seeking their 

recommendations for addressing some of those challenges? 
180 

Of course. I know well and have already spoken with some who have served in DHS fi·om both the 

Obama and Bush Administmtions. I look forward to talking to many more and commit to getting 

their perspectives and advice on the many challenges facing DHS and the many threats facing lite 

homeland. I ltavefowu/lhat institutional memory am/a lessons /earned perspective 011 what has 

been fJTeviously tried, what worked and what didn 'I work can be invaluable. 

5. In the past several years DHS has received poor scores when it comes to overall morale among large 

agencies in the Federal Employee Viewpoint survey administered by the Otlice of Personnel 

Management. However. we've seen some progress in terms of employee morale and engagement 

across DHS as repOlicd in the two most recent Federal Employee Viewpoint Surveys. 

a) What do you believe are metrics that should be used to monitor employee satisfaction and 

engagement across DHS0 

As I understand it, DHS currently uses the Employee Engagement Index (EEl) as its metric 

for tracking progress on employee engagement. The E£1 is an index provided by the Office of 

Personne/llJanagemelll, used govemment wide, and is based on the Federal Employee 

Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) results. 

I also understand that the EEl is comprised of 15 questions that OPilJ has determined most 

exemplify "an employee's sense of purpose that is evident in their di!,play of dedication. 

persistence, and effort in tfteir work or overall attacftment to tfteir organization and its 

mission H. 

I believe it is important to ftave metrics that allow us to consistent(y measure employee 

satisfaction and engagement from year to year wit/lin DHS and to allow us to compare our 

progress to other cabinet agencies wfto in turn are also using a consistent metric. lt allows 

DHS to note developments and trends beyond just the most recent year's top level FEVS score. 

For example, I was tftrilfetlto note tit at DHS !tad the largest year to year increase in EEl of 

any cabinet-/eve/ agency from 2016-20 17,four percent. US CIS and USCG eacft /tad EEl 

rates ftigfter than any of lite cabinet-/eve/ agencies at 74%. If confirmed I look forward to 

discussing witft lite Under Secrelaryfor Management wftetfter tit ere are additional metrics we 

are, or sftou/d be, using. 

b) From your perspective, what are the key drivers of improving employee morale across Dl-!S'' 

Tfte s/wrt answer is I tit ink more people in tfte Department today understand tfteir role in 

enforcing tile laws and feel empowered to do it. I believe tit at morale relates direct(v to 

cohe.1·ion and cooperation, and those flow from 11 mutual, clear understanding of mission and 

risk-based priorities, clearly articulated roles and responsibilities, accountability and 

acknowledgement, support for lite enforcement of our laws, and ftaving the tools and 

resources 11eeded to do one's job. Ensuring that voices can be heard in an environment of 

trust ami respect is vital. I tit ink some progress we It ave made in tftese areas is driving the 

improvement in morale. I also believe it is important for employees who professionally and 

effectively conduct their congressionally mandated missions to be confident that lite Secretaty 

will support them in tlteface of public, media and otfter criticism. 

c) If conJlnned, how will you work to continue the progress made as reported in the most recent 

surveys'! 
181 

As previously mentioned, I was tltri/led to learn that DIIS employee satisfaction scores rose 6 

percent in the most recent FEVS survey. During my service fJS the Department's Chi~( of 

Staff, we initiated a leadership employee listening tour by the DIIS Deputy Secretary. Tit is 

tour reinforced lite need for Department leadership to clear(r articulate objectives, !told people 

accountable and acknowledge success. In addition to the FEVS metrics DIIS also uses, under 

t/w chairmanship of the Under Secretary for Management, an Employee Engagement 

Steering Commillee (EESC). Through lite EESC, DIIS component agencies ltave made 

concerted efforts to improve their approaches to employee engagement and address workforce 

issues. For example, Components now create and implement employee engagement action 

plans. The EESC serves as aforumto both ensure accountability to these plans and to share 

best practices emerging from them across the Department. I also believe unity of ef(ort and the 

belief/hat DIIS is one team is essential. {(confirmed, I/ookforward to fully re-engaging in 

tltese initiatives to identifv what the Department has learned and to develop specific 

implementation steps the Department can take 011 issues identified. 

6. In the past DHS has utilized special hiring authorities to on board individuals in areas where the 

agency has mission critical skills gaps such as in information technology, specifically, the 

cybersccurity workforce. 

a) In your view, what arc the primary harriers to recruiting and retaining qualified individuals for 

occupations at DHS facing skills gaps, and, if confirmed, what steps will you take to address 

these barriers? 

As l noted in the hearing, /tiring and retention overall is something that would be at t/te top of 

my priority list, should I he confirmed. Some Senators !rave mentioned, for example, very 

specific concems and difficulties we ltave inlriringfor certain geographies. Cybersecurity is 

an example of a particular area where we have difficulty in not only hiring hut retaining 

qualified people within/he Department hut it's not the only one. We need to look at recruiting 

ami retaining qualified individuals holistically und across the federal civilian and law 

enforcement interagency. The hiring system needs to keep up with the times. When I was 

Chief of Staff, I had conversations with the Deputy Secretary specifically about how DIIS 

advertises, the way we do recruiting, the way in which we're allowing people to apply, what we 

pay compared to the private sector for employees with certain skills, how long ittakesfrom 

application to hire, how cumbersome our background investigation process is, etc. We need to 

take the recruiting to the potential recruits and make the ask accessible to a wide array of 

potential applicant pools. From a holistic human resources pe"·pective, we've golfo have the 

intemal controls in place to ensure we are effective in/tiring through the cycle of training, 

career path planning, PN!(essional development and retention,. if confirmed Ilookforward to 

digging into these issues, because lite Departmell/ is ultimately only as good as its people. 

7. DHS's Headquarters Consolidation project at St. Elizabcths is the largest construction project on the 

books in the federal government To date, the project has received over $2.3 hillion dollars. or nearly 

two-thirds of the $3.7 billion the previous Administration estimated was needed to complete the 

project 

a) What is your vision for the DHS Headquarters consolidation project at St. Elizabeths? 
182 

I know from firsthand experience that the significant and far:flung number of locations where 

DHS personnel work is a challenge to unity of effort, leveraging DIIS capabilities across 

components, and to headquarters and leadership coordination and management. As such, the 

DHS Headquarters consolidation will provide greater opportunities for collaboration and 

enhance mission effectiveness. 

b) Do you believe. as your predecessor did, that the project is an operational necessity that will 

promote the unity of cftort initiative and enhance mission effectiveness? 

I do believe that maximizing collocation will facilitate unity of effort and enhance mission 

effectiveness. 

c) The Fiscal Year 20!8 budget request proposed $135 million for GSA but did not seck new DHS 

development funding for St. Elizabeths. Do you believe that this ftmding request will keep the 

project on track for the previous administration's estimated completion date of2021? 

If confirmed, I commit to assessing the latest plan for DHS Headquarters consolidation and, 

working with GSA, OMB and the Congress to take appropriate steps on thi' important project. 

d) In August 2017, DHS wrote to Congress noting that the agency is working aggressively to 

validate/update the previous Administration's consolidation plan and that DHS and GSA would 

be happy to brief the Committee once the updated plan is complete. If con tinned, will you 

commit to providing members of this Committee with an update on the consolidation plan as 

soon as possible'! 

Yes. 

8. According to media reports, several White House stutTers used personal e-mail accounts to conduct 

government business during your tenure at the White House. In your policy questionnaire, you state 

that you oversee two hundred White House employees as White House Deputy Chief of Staff. 

a. Please describe your role in ensuring compliance with presidential recordkeeping rules as White 

House Deputy Chief of Stall. 

There are a number of people and organizations wit/tin the Executive Office of the President 

who share responsibility for staff compliance with the record keeping rules. I received tbe 

policies and guidance on presidential record keeping rules when I joined tlte White House, I 

ensured that I a/tided by them and that tbey were in turn promulgated to those who worked for 

me. I also asked the WH General Counsel to issue any needed clarifications and to send out a 

White House wide emaift·eminder of the rules aud policies. I also asked the General Counsel 

to brief senior staff (Assistants to the President}, wlziclt he did lllld in conjunction with the 

Counsel's o,fftce we briefed the Deputy Assistants to the President. 

9. The National Protection and Programs Directorate at DHS currently employs fewer than ten 

cybersecurity advisors, whose ftmction is to provide a point of contact at Dl-IS for private sector 

companies in order to share cybersecurity best practices, conduct security assessments, and advise 

companies on how to avoid, prepare for. and respond to a breach. 
183 

a) Do you believe DHS needs additional resources in order to carry out its cybersecurity mission? 

!look forward, if confirmed, to (ISSessing what additional resources are needed and 

where/how to 1110/'e effectively curry out the Department's cybersecurity missions and will 

continually reassess whether we are both effectively allocating the resources we do have and to 

balance those resources between 'the field' and NPPD HQ. 

b) If so. if cont!nned, arc you prepared to advocate strongly for the resources and authorities DHS 

needs in order to carry om its critical cybcrsecurity mission? 

I am committed to educating OJfB and the Congress on any unmet needs or resources I 

believe that DHS needs to carry out its cybersecurity missiom, and all of its missions. 

I 0. Do you believe that renaming NPPD to the Cybersccurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency, or 

CIPA, woll!d be helpful in t(Jstering a sense of mission among the directorate's employees, and in 

the directorate's efforts to recruit and hire qualified cybersecurity professionals0 

I do not lwve a particular name in mind for such a reorganization but believe it is important that 

it denote clearly the cybersecurity, risk, resilience ami infrastructure aspects of its mission and 

would look forward, if confirmed, to working with Congress and other stakeholders to ensure the 

most effective name to support morale, our recruitment ami retention and mission. 

11. Do you believe that NPPD should be an operational component of DHS, rather than a directorate 

within DllS headquarters~ 

If confirmed, !would like the opportunity to review the details and discuss with NPPD leadership, 

but yes as I stated in tile policy questionnaire, ami during the hearing, I believe it should be an 

operational component to more effectively carry out its mission ratfter than be treated as a 

headquarters element. 

12. If confirmed, will you commit to working with members of congressional committees on a 

bipartisan basis to pass legislation authorizing restructuring of NPPD in order to elevate 

cybersecurity at DHS. eliminate unneeded silos, and to better address the cybersecurity threat? 

I do. 

13. In your meeting with Senator Carper, you stated that you supported U.S. investment to address the 

root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America, but that you 

would want to come back to Congress in a year or so and be able to point to results for the money 

spent. Plan Colombia, which provided the initial model l(Jr the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in 

Central America, involved a sustained investment over twenty years. 

a) How long, in your mind, shollld it take to address corruption, violence, and lack of opportunity in 

countries with endemic coiTuption and some of the worst violence outside of active war zones? 

I cannot answer how long it should or might take, lite conditions are complex, dijJerent 

between the countries and evolving. But I agree that it woulcllikely be a sustained multiyear 

investment that is needed to deliver the level of results that we would !cope for. To be clear this 

investment in time ami/or resources must be provided through tile federal government and the 
184 

private sector. While DIIS provides some of that assistance this is a much bigger interagency 

question involving the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of 

Justice, USAID and others as we/Ills the Congress. 

b) If confirmed. would you commit to working with Secretary Tillerson and bipartisan members of 

relevant Congressional committees in order to review the status of current U.S. efforts to address 

the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America? 

lllllve a close working rellllionsllip today with Secretmy Til/erson 11nd would, if confirmed, 

work wit/1 him lind !tis te11m liS we/Ills Congress to review these important Cllpacity building 

efforts in Central AmeriCll to 11ddress not only the root causes of migration but of 

destabiliwtionllfld trlln.mlltiona/ criminal organizations. 

c) Will you work with the heads ofCBP and relevant component agencies to ensure that efforts to 

address root causes are well understood, and accounted for. among leadership as part of efforts to 

secure the southern border, including in staffing, resource, and budgeting models? 

l will. 

14. In your policy questionnaire, you state that former Secretary Kelly's knowledge of and commitment 

to the region rof Central and South America! were of great benefit to you in understanding the 

drivers of migration into the U.S. Migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America 

accounts for almost all of the undocumented flow into the United States. If confirmed as Secretary, 

whose advice and knowledge will you seck out on questions regarding U.S. policy toward Central 

America and the Northern Triangle, if anyone's'' 

As mentioned above, l would certainly consult with DHS leadership, Secretary Tillerson and the 

Stale Department, Members of Congress, the intelligence community, other federal law 

enforcement partners, the Dep11rtment of Defense, NGO 's, and of course lite leaders of those 

countries. 

15. President Trump has issued an executive order calling for the construction of a wall along the entire 

border between the US and Mexico. Every estimate agrees that such an undertaking would cost 

several billion dollars; in your confirmation hearing, you acknowledged that construction of a wall 

from sea to shining sea was not likely to occur. Additional wall construction could sever wildlife 

habitat and irreparably damage numerous national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and wilderness 

areas that arc found along our border. Wall construction could also have severe negative 

consequences !(lf important regional ecotourism economies. For example, a wall through the Santa 

Ana National Wildlife Refuge would cut the Refuge off !h1m its visitor center. 

a) Should any portion of wall construction move forward, if you are contlrmed as Secretary, what 

will you do to minimize and mitigate damage to wildlife and related ecotourism economics') 

If confirmed, l will review current policies. I believe DHS, CBP and tire Army Corps of 

Engineers in previous border construction projects sought to mitigate environmental impacts 

to wildlife 1111d llllbitlll on public lands wherever pos.sible and worked wit/r slllkelto/ders to do 

.m, including tire Dep11rtment of the Interior and wildlife management ojjicillls. 
185 

16. Is CBP currently conducting preparation or construction activities for wall or physical barrier 

construction in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge'' Please describe what activities are 

underway, and the authority under which those activities are taking place. 

I am currently unfamiliar witlt the status of activities and plans by CBP in tit is area. If COilfirmed 

I will ask to be briefed on plans in tile area of the Sanfct Ana Wildlife Refuge. 

17. In January, the President issued an executive order mandating that CBP hire 5,000 additional Border 

Patrol agents, about a twenty five percent increase over the current force, citing a need for additional 

agents. CBP is cunently unable to hire and retain the 21,3 70 Border Patrol agents it is required to 

under law. 

a) Do you believe that a rapid increase of live thousand Border Patrol agents as directed by the 

President, during a period of historically low apprehensions at the border, is consistent with a 

risk-based approach? 

Threat, risk, and need are primary considerations in staffing and resource decisions at CBP. I 

understand tit at DI/S and CBP joint(y use numerous methodologies to ident[fy and validate 

border security initiatives and investment, including additional personnel. The USBP 

continues to refine its staffing methodology to determine its requirements to conduct border 

enforcement operations. I understand these methodologies are described in more detail in the 

soon to be released Border Security Improvement Plan. 

To determine a comprehensive staffing plan we first must understand the requirements of our 

leaders and operators in tlte field. I understand lite Border Patrol is currently working 011 a 

decision support too/which will support a staffing model with a combination 1!( existing data 

and field input. While apprehensions nwy be at ltistorically low levels, our border is not yet 

secure to the levels the American people expect and additional resources are required. 

b) If confirmed as Secretary, would you advocate for retuming to a risk-based approach, including 

use of CBP's Workload Staffing Model? 

Overall, as mentioned in other responses !have given to the Committee, I believe strongly in 

basing tlte Department's staffing ami resourcing decisions on evaluations of risk. I 

understand, CBP's workload staffing model has been used successful(v, particularly at the 

ports of entry as a too/.f{Jr projecting sflifjing needs. However, should I be confirmed I would 

seek to better understand the model. As I understand it now, it is not risk-based as it does not 

tie staffing models to threats but is driven by factors such as projected increases inflow 1!{ 

legitimate passengers and cargo. 

18. Last spring, the CBP Integrity Advisory Panel found that the agency needs to improve accountability 

among its law enforcement workforce. 

a) If confirmed as Secretary, will you work with Acting Commissioner McAlecnan to implement 

the recommendations made by the Integrity Panel, including incorporating additional random 

polygraph examinations f(Jr current Border Patrol agents? 

Yes, if confirmed I would work with CBP leadership to implement. I am not currently familiar 

with tl1e specific Panel findings and I would want to understand the specific recommendation 

ami its basis and also to gather itiformation 011 best practices from otlterfederalagencies that 
186 

use in service random polygraplting of employees to determine flow to best incorporate such 

practices into t/u workforce. 

b) lfnot, what alternative or additional accountability and integrity measures do you intend to 

implement? 

NIA 

19. The H-2B visa program plays an important role in providing a safety net for small and seasonal 

businesses to supplement their year round workforce when necessary. Congress has set the cap of 

available H-2B visas at 66,000 per fiscal year. However, earlier this year the Administration 

drasticallv lowered the nmnber ofll-2!3 visas available for seasonal workers during the summer, 

affecting ·employers throughout the country who rely on these workers to keep their businesses 

golng, 

a) What are your views on the need for H-2!3 and J-1 visas? If confirmed, will you work with 

Congress to ensure that sufficient numbns ofi!-2B visas are provided in a timely manner? 

Tl1e Department of State maintains the J visa program. The J visa program can sen•e a 

valuable purpose and is broad in scope- applicants include au pairs to physicians to students. 

The ll-2B program allows U.S. employers who meet specific requirements to bring foreign 

nationals to the U.S. to fill temporary lion-agricultural jobs. In past years, I understand 

Congress It as pmvidedfor temporary measures to allow "returni11g workers" to qualify for ll2B visas. From my time as DHS Chief of Staff, l also understand some /ate-season industries 

argue that the dates of the two cap openings (i.e., October 1 and April/) prevent them from 

obtaining H-28 workers. Under current regulations, USC/S cannot accept an ll-2B petition 

unless it is filed with an approved temporary labor cert{fication (TLC) issued by the 

Department of Labor. DOL regulations, in turn, provide tit alan employer cannot apply for a 

TLC wit It the DOL until 9() days before the start date of work to ensure tltat1w U.S. workers 

are able and available to perform the proffered temporary jobs. {{confirmed, I look forward to 

working with Congress on any improvements that can be made to the interagency process for 

administering these temporary worker programs to meet the goal of providing needed workers 

in various industries while reducing any opportunities for fraud all([ abuse and ensuring that 

the processes to protect American workers are followed. 

b) If confirmed, will you work with USClS and Congress to come up with a permanent solution for 

H-2!3 visas in order to provide predictability to our seasonal businesses? 

If confirmed, I look forward to working with Congress on any improvements that can be made 

to the interagency process for administeri11g these temporary worker programs to meet the 

goal of providing needed workers in various indmtries while reducing any opportunities for 

fraud and abuse am/ ensuring that the proces,fes to protect America/! workers are followed. 

20. On September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration announced it was rescinding the Obama 

Administration memorandum creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 

program, effectively ending the program and creating an elevated level of uncertainty for the 

hundreds of thousands of young men and women, known as Dreamers, who were brought to this 

country as children. In your conlim1ation hearing, you stated that you agreed that legislation must be 
187 

passed in order to solve this problem. 

a) If confirmed, will you commit to actively working with Congress to pass a law providing a 

permanent fix for Dreamers? 

As I also addressed in the hearing and my policy questionnaire, if confirmed, I will stand 

ready to work with Congress to provide any technical assistance needed towards a permanent, 

legal solution for DACA recipients and towards enacting measures that enhance border 

security, interior enforcement, and our immigration system generally. 

b) If confirmed, will you issue clear guidance to ICE and CBP ensuring that Dreamers arc not 

treated as enforcement priorities'' 

As I responded to similar questions in the hearing, DHS has established enforcement 

priorities that target criminal aliens, persons who pose a threat to national securi(v or public 

safery or those who have a final order of removal. All other categories 1!( removable aliens 

would be a lower enforcement prioriry. !f confirmed, I will work with ICE and CPB leadership 

to review enforcement priorities and emure that guidance is clearly articulated. 

21. In your policy questionnaire, you stated that'"! believe in performance evaluation and acting on 

lessons identified. not just observing or admiring them.'· On January 27,2017, President Tmmp 

signed Executive Order# 13769. banning travel to the United States from seven majority-Muslim 

countries effective immediately. During the campaign, the president had called for a "total and 

complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United Stales.'' Then-Secretary Kelly publicly took 

responsibility for the ban's chaotic rollout; at the time, you were his chief of stall 

a. Please describe your role in the development and issuance of the travel ban. 

I have been advised that because your question relates to the subject of ongoing litigation, it 

would not be appropriate for me to comment at this time, 

b. \Vhat lessons did you learn from the ban's rollout, and how did you act on lessons identified in 

the rollout of the second version of the travel ban, signed March 9, 2017? 

Orderly am/ comprehensive rollouts of Executive Orders and policy are vital to their effective 

implementation. DHS worked to ensure that the March EO rollout was comprehensive and 

order(y. T have been at/vised that because your question relates to the subject of ongoing 

litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to further comment at this time. 

22. The President in late September issued a proclamation implementing a travel ban allecting eight 

countries, six of which are Muslim-majority. According to the administration. the restrictions 

imposed under the proclamation arc based on findings from a '"worldwide review" of foreign 

countries' security. information sharing. and other practices conducted by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security. Paris of this report were shared with foreign governments. However. administration 

oi'Jicials have ini(mned congressional staff that the DIIS products cited in the proclamation, and 

used to inf(mn and develop the travel ban, will not be provided to Congress. 
188 

a. Please describe what role, if any, you played in the worldwide review and in development of the 

proclamation, directly or indirectly. 

As Principal Deputy Chief of Staff, I participated in early interagency policy meetings prior to 

my nomination. I have been advised, that because your question relate., to the suNect of 

ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to further comment. 

b. Will you commit to provide any documents DHS developed as part of the travel ban review to 

Congress'! Will you commit to doing so within 120 days of taking office? If not, why not'' 

I highly value the role Congressional oversight committees play and if confirmed, I commit to 

respond appropriately to all reasonable requests from Congress wit/tin tt reasonable time 

frame. I do not know at present tfte details of what these described documents entail and 

which, if any oftltem, may be the subject of ongoing litigatiou. 

c. Section (j) of the September 24'11 Presidential proclamation states, "Section 2 of this 

proclamation describes some of the inadequacies that led me to impose restrictions on the 

specified countries. Describing all of those reasons publicly, however, would cause serious 

damage to the national security of the United States, and many such descriptions are classified.'' 

ii) Do you agree that providing the reasons that restrictions were imposed on the specified 

countries to members of relevant oversight committees of Congress would not damage 

national security'? 

I high(v value the role Congressional oversigllt committees play and recognize that 

information can be provided at the classified level as appropriate. If COI!firmed, I will work 

with DHS leadership to ensure that needed information is provided to aid in oversig!lt 

dutie.fi. 

iii) Do you agree that Congress can receive classilied information° 

Yes. Persons with a clearance ami a need to know are eligible to receive classified 

il!formation as long as they ensure that the information is handled proper~v and not 

publicly disc!Oied. 

iv) If confirmed. will you commit to providing relevant information in response to requests from 

members of Congress? 

l highly value the role Congressional oversight committees play and if confirmed, l commit 

to respond appmpriately to all reasonable requests from Congress within a reasonable 

time frame. 

23. Please describe your understanding of why Chad was included in the latest travel ban, and why 

Sudan was removed. 

I have been advised that because your question relates to the subject of ongoing litigation, it 

would not be appropriate for me to comment. 
189 

24. The President's executive orders of January 27'", March 6'", and September 24'", by his own words, 

are geared toward barring Muslims [rom entering the United States. Later in summer. after the 

Supreme Court allowed much of the revised travel ban to proceed, the administration initially issued 

guidance interpreting the order to allow immediate tinnily but not grandparents from countries 

named in the order. though the Court"s ruling appeared to require no guidance. Later. the 

administration revised the guidance to allow grandparents as a bona fide connection. 

a) Please describe DHS's role, if any, in determining that grandparents specifically should be 

blocked fi·om entry. including any risk assessments conducted by DHS that concluded that 

grandparems pose a greater threat than other extended family members. 

I am not familiar with DIIS' role as described above. 

b) Please describe your role, if any, in coordinating with the Departments of Justice and State in 

issuing the administration· s guidance. 

I did not play a role in issuing the guidance described. 

25. !n general. do you believe that requests for ini(lrmation from members of Congress regarding DHS's 

role in developing or informing Executive Orders 13 769 and 13 780, and the Presidential 

Proclamation issued on September 24'", fall into the category of"reasonable requests," for the 

purposes of your willingness to respond to such requests in a timely manner~ 

I am not familiar with all previous requests and which ofthemmay cover matters under ongoing 

litigation or to which DHS may have responded. If confirmed, I commit to respond appropriately 

to all reasonable requests from Congress within a reasonable timeframe. 

26. Do you support the President's Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal to cut FEMA preparedness grants 

to states and localities 0 What analysis or evidence, if any, informs your position'? 

While the federal government should continue to support states and localities tlzrouglt 

preparedness grants and other assistance, the Fiscal Year 2018 budget reflects difficult budget 

choices balancing addressing various risks and available federal resources with expectations that 

state and local authorities are today able to shoulder more of the responsibility given the 

considerable federal investment nzade in recent years in preparednes:'i, response, and resilience 

capabilities. 

27. In your policy questionnaire, you note that your role as Special Assistant to the President for 

Preparedness and Response during Hurricane Katrina response was to ·'direct traHic," answer 

questions. and include requests for assistance and additional requests for information. In addition to 

a plethora of other findings describing what went wrong, the Katrina reports issued by both the 

House and Senate include findings that information sent to the White House was not getting to 

where it needed to be. Please respond to those findings and provide any additional information you 

think is relevant. 

I worked to clarify roles within the WH for incident management support, the gathering and 

transmission of requests for assistance and requests for information and communication and 

ouh·each to and from government officials, stakeholders, and citizens. My goal was to have one 

WH office communicate with one entity at DHS as much as possible to reduce potential 

overlap and double tasking and to ensure that needed attention was not unnecessarily diverted 
190 

from response and recovery operations. Upon receiving situation reports from DHS and 

interagency partners, HSC sent a situation report to relevant \VH offices to provide collated 

information collected from the interagency. 

28. To whom did you report during your tenure as Special Assistant to the President for Preparedness 

and Response'' 

I served a.> a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Prevention, Preparedness 

and Response. As I stated in the Policy Questionnaire, I reported to Fran Townsend, the 

Homeland Security Advisor. 

29. At any time during Hurricane Katrina. did you advise President Ilush or other White House ot1icials 

with relevant decision-making authority that he should make a public statement regarding the 

ongoing crisis, or that he should visit the affected area'' 

I can say that my role on the Homeland Security Council at the time did not involve advising the 

President directly on /lis public statements or travel. However, in light of the confidentiality 

interests that attach to Executive Branch decision-making, I am unable to reveal the substance of 

conversations !may It ave !tad with othet· presidential advisors during the course of my time at the 

White House or what pre-decisional advice I may It ave provided. It is critically important, in my 

view, tit at tlte Preside/1l is able to receive confidential advice wit/tout concem tit at tlte advice 

might later be divulged. l have always been !tones/ and candid in my interactions witlt the 

President and will continue to do so as lite Secretary of Homeland Security, if confirmed. 

30. On Thursday, November 2"d, 43 days after landfall, FEMi\ approved permanent work designations 

C-G for Puerto Rico, through the FEMi\ 428 program. Officials in Puerto Rico have raised concerns 

about the use of this program, given that damage assessments on the island are ongoing, power is not 

yet restored to many parts of the island, and hazardous conditions in many areas threaten to worsen 

the current damage, 

a) Please describe your understanding of the FEMi\ 428 alternative procedures program. Is it 

appropriate to apply these procedures to the entire island while response is still under way'? 

Even as Puerto Rico, FEJIIA, and other federal partners continue to sustain response activities 

to stabilize the island, it is appropriate to begin to plan for and look forward to tlte long road to 

recovety ahead. As I understand it, a/temative procedures, as authorized by section 428 oftlte 

Stafford Act, enable F/o~HA to work wit It lite Commonwealth to consolidate projects at a sector 

level, and to operate using capped, fixed estimates for projects rather titan having tlwusands 

of individual projects that could drag out recovery for many years. Alternative procedures also 

provide financial incentives and disincentives for the timely and cost-effective completion of 

projects witlt FE1lfA assistance, such as allowing cost undermns to be utilized to fund 

mitigation projects ami overruns not being reimbursed by lite Federal government. As l 

understand it, tlte alternative procedures and permanent work designations were agreed to by 

tlte Governor after in deptlt discussions with the federal government. 

I believe !Ita! FEMA also plans to use lite alternative procedures to support Puerto Rico in 

providing appropriate project management alldfisca/ oversight infrastructure to protect tlte 

significant Federal investment we are poised to make towards Puerto Rico's recm•ery. We are 
191 

unable to take this step under standard procedures in the way we ca11 wlu:n we use Section 

428. As I understand the situation a11d considering the magnitude of the damage, alternative 

procedures is an appropriate approach to guide FEMAfunded recovery efforts by providing 

Puerto Rico tlte flexibility to drive its recovery with less administrative burden, and FE!'.fA the 

appropriate control' to protect the taxpayers' investmelll. 

b) In Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands, designations C through G were approved ten days and two 

weeks, respectively, after storms made landfall. 

i) Please explain why Puerto Rico's designation took so much longer than the others. 

As we !mow from a lithe public reporting, the clwllenges in respo11ding to the immediate 

impacts of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico were significant. Efforts to ,,tabilize the islam/ 

through life saving and life sustaining re,,pome activities extended far beyond the time in 

which similar actions were required in either Texlls or the USVT. During this time lam 

told, category A and B provided FEMA and Puerto Rico all the authority and funding 

required, and category C through G authorities were no/needed. In addition, the 

magnitude of the damage required thoughtful consideration oflww to approach recovery, 

wltile continuing to maintain response activities. The time frame for approval of categories 

C through Gfor Puerto Rico did no/limit ongoing response activities uor slow or 

otherwise impact the pace of recovery for Puerto Rico. If confirmed, !look forward to 

being briefed o11a11y lessons leamedfrom this timeline, Ofllhe i11vocation of the various 

authorities, and as to whether there woufll be any reason to do so differently in future 

situations. 

ii) Please explain why cost sharing was approved for Texas and USV!, but not Puerto Rico. 

As [understand it present~p.just a,, in Texas and USVI, on November 2tfte Admi11istration 

llpproved au adjustment to the cost share for Public Assistance Category C through G to a 

90% federal cost share. Previously, lite President established a cost share of I 00% j{!r 

Category A and B work for a11eriod of 180 days. 

31. Evidence shows that investments in pre-disaster mitigation save roughly $4 for every $1 spent. You 

have described yourself as a proponent of risk-based investments. Do you believe that investment in 

PDM should be increased or decreased'' 

As noted, pre-disaster mitigation (PDil4) It as a ftigft returu on taxpayer investment. And PD!If can 

he targeted to projects that It ave tfte greatestlikeliftood to reduce ri-'k to a community. By reducing 

risks prior to a disaster, commtmities and taxpayers will lower their fill alicia/ exposure and 

enhance their resilience. This will benefit/he community and federal taxpayers alike. I belie>•e we 

should do more witft PDM if possible. 

32. What was your role. if any, in reviewing or developing the President's FY18 budget request for 

DHS0 

A., Chief of Staff, I supported then-Secretary Kel~y in his decision-making process and as 

decisiom were made witfti11 tlte Administration to finalize the President's Budget Reque.,t. 
192 

_,_,_ On September 11. 2017, GAO issued a report which found that TSA needs to evaluate the cost and 

effectiveness of all of its passenger aviation security countermeasures in order to dctem1ine whether 

its investments in various areas, including the FAMS and !300 programs and other layers of 

security. arc yielding results. 

a) Arc you familiar with this report? 

I am not familiar with tit at particular report a/this time. 

b) If confirmed, will you work with Administrator Pckoskc to review GAO's findings, and to 

develop a plan to address them'' 

I will. 

c) According to media reports. in 2015, internal testing ofTSA's ability to detect prohibited items 

produced a 95% failure rate. Following these leaks, Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger was 

confirmed to lead the TSA. Administrator Neffenger implemented a series of initiatives to 

improve screening perf(mnance and processes through training improvements, management 

reforms, and other steps, but substantial challenges remain. 

i) If confirmed, will you work with Administrator Pckoske to review these reforms, and to 

continue them where needed'' 

I will. 

d) Administrator Ncffenger also implemented a series of initiatives working with the private sector 

to reduce wait times at airports, and to make needed investments in upgrading screening 

technology and equipment These included creating the Innovation Task Force, standing up the 

Incident Command Center, and others. 

i) If confirmed, will you commit to learning about these initiatives and working to ensure that 

programs to improve screening technologies and reduce wait times are implemented and 

evaluated appropriately') 

I will. 

34. Please provide a list of all of your official travel, including dates, with DHS Secretary John Kelly or 

Acting Secretary Elaine Duke during your tenure as DHS Chief of Stall. Please list whether this 

ofticial travel was on chartered or military aircralt 

While I was DHS Chief of Staff I never officially travelled on my own or with Deputy Secretary 

Duke. I did accompany Secretary Kel(v multiple times for official travel on tlu military aircraft 

typically used by the Secretary. As you know, under OMB Circular A-126 governing "required 

u.5e" and subsequent guidance issued after DHS was brought into existence, the Secretary of 

Homeland Security is one of the designated federal cabinet/eve/ officials (along wit/111w 

Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and the Attorney General) who is required to utilize 

military or ot/1er govemment aircraft for travel due to the need for instantaneous, secure 

emergency communications. Accordingly, the Secretary did no/use chartered or commercial 

aircraft for travel. I have attaclled a record that DHS was able to produce that summarizes tf1e 
193 

dates and locations of travel tlwt Secretary Kelly undertook and wlzich shows me manifested. 

This chart appears accurate to me matching my own recollection of travel in which I 

accompanied the Secretary. 

35. During the 1141h Congress. the Senate voted 91-3 to approve an amendment that would authorize 

TSi\ to nearly double the number of Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response, or VIPR teams. 

following the March attack in the Brussels airport. That amendment ultimately became law (sec 

Subtitle F ofP.L. 1 14-190). 

a) Do you agree with the President's FY I 8 budget proposal to cut the number ofVIPR teams 

funded from 3 I to eight'l What analysis or evidence, if any, informs your position? 

As I stated in the Policy Que.flionnaire, I believe it is important that the Department have some 

specia/~J! trained personnel who are deployable anywherefor enhanced deterrence or response 

to threats against critical mass transportation modes. The Vi.fible lntermodal Prevention and 

Re~ponse (VIPR) teams of TSA serve that role. However, the primary security and law 

enforcement response at airports around and olltside TSA checkpoints is local municipal or 

transit authority police. For other modes a,[ transportation, the federal government offen 

support, training, and technical assistance to the local or transit authority or port authority 

law enforcement agency tit at has primary responsibility am/jurisdiction. To respond to 

evolving threats, TSA continues to prioritize its canine program- am/ supports state and local 

law enforcement with those assets. lf COI{{irmed, !will work with Administrator Pekoske to 

ensure tit at the resources and means provided by Congress advance tlte very best security 

capabilitie,, possible in the protection of our tramportation systems. 

36. You have indicated that DHS is currently undertaking an ongoing review ofterrorism and violent 

extremism prevention related activities. 

a) What arc the parameters of this review? 

As the nominee, I have not been briefed 011 the parameters of tlte review, but if confirmed, 

look forward to being briefed on this. 

h) Which organizations within and outside ofDHS arc contributing to this review either through the 

submission of data or through direct discussions of existing programs and recommendations for 

the iiJturc? 

A.f tlte nominee, I do not yet know exactly which organizations within or outside DHS are 

contributing but I hope to be full informed soon, if confirmed. 

c) \\'hat mctrics are being used to assess past success or failure, and what metrics will be used to 

j udgc future success or failure? 

As tlte nominee, !also do not know the current metrics being used to asse!>S past succesus and 

failures and I am sure those will in turn inform metrics to assess future success, but !look 

forwrll'd to being ful~l' bri~fed, if confirmed. 

37. You have stated that today we are "much more concerned" with addressing the ability of!SIS to 

inspire lone wolf attacks throughout the world. Please describe the role DHS has in reducing the 
194 

ability oflSIS and other extremist groups to inspire lone wolf actors, including new initiatives you 

are currently considering that are not yet being implemented. 

Tile biggest clwllengefor DHS and all of the interagency partners from the federal law 

enforcement and intelligence community is in reducing the ability of extremist groups to inspire 

lone wolf actors and finding creative ways to reduce the avai/abili(v tmd impact of materials that 

lead to radicalization within the limits of the First Amendment and the realities of the internet. As 

I responded to a question in the hearing from Chairman Johnson, !would offer that I think we 

need to have a ~·erious discussion, frankly, in conjunction with the executive brandt and the 

legislative branch to really look at this issue of content intended to radicalize or provide "how to" 

manuals for conducting attacks to see if we are doing all we can do withiu Constitutional limits on 

wllere we draw the lines on inherently dangerous content. Obvious~y, our rules and the values that 

we hold dear enable eaclt one of us to speak free~y within til is country but we must eliminate the 

ability l!{ terrorists to direct or inspire others to violence. As a fir,,t step, inherently dangerous 

content may violate the terms of service of the hosting entities. As we have seen, some of the 

Internet companies responded recent~!' by taking down white supremacist and neo-Nazi sites that 

violated use policies as they lwve done previously with terrorist content- it can be done. I do 

think we have to have that conversation and then work with those who provide and enable that 

information on the internet to find a way to identij}' it ami remove it, should we determine that it's 

not appropriate. 

38. You have stated the security of our homeland depends on close relationships between law 

enforcement and the communities in which they serve. 

a) Would you agree that community partnerships arc an essential part of countering violent 

extremism and radicalization? Why or why no(1 

Both community organizations and local law enforcement play a critical role in helping us to 

deter, detect and disrupt potential terrorist or extremist activiry. They provide tools and 

resources to those, and in some cases to their families, who are on a path to radicalization 

o.f.fering a dijjerell/ path. Tltey are also tlte eyes and ears closer to and more attuned to 

potential warning signs of radicalization in their communities. 

b) Would you agree that providing more resources to the Oftice of Community Partnerships is vital 

to building relationships with the communities which law enforcement and DHS serve'' 

I believe public outreach is a vital DHS role. Should I be confirmed, !will review all outreach 

focused offices to include the Office of Partners/tip and Engagement, tire Office of Civil 

Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of Community Partnersltips.Iwouldfirst, if 

confirmed, want to ensure we are using existing resources wi.~ely and effectively. If additional 

resources are needed for their missions, !will work with the Administration and the Congress 

to ensure they are sufficiently funded. 

c) Do you believe it would be helpful to have specific Congressional authorization for the Office of 

Community Partnerships at DHS? Why or why not? 
195 

ff confirmed, 1 will review the ongoing effort.\· t~f the Office of Community Partnerships, as well 

as its hut/get and authorities. mul if specific authorization would be helpful in ensuring 

eJfectil·'e mission e.t:ecution, 1 will work with the Congress accordingly. 

39. Atler briefly halting the CVE grants program earlier this year, DHS announced a revised list of grant 

awardecs. The new list of grantees did not include any organizations focused on countering violent 

messages fi·om white supremacist groups. 

a) Do you believe CVE grants should be awarded to groups and organizations that are specifically 

dedicated to combatting violent messages and actions fl·om white supremacists? 

As !understand it, more titan half of the grants awarded under the CVE Grant Program were to 

organizations witlt proposals to combat all forms of violent extremism, wllicll includes violent 

white supremacy. As we reviewed this program, it was our belief that any proposal to combat 

violent extremism, in whatever form, deserved consideration. If confirmed, Twill ensure the 

Department doe.f all that is appropriate and wit/tin its autlwrities working with its interagency 

partners and Stale and local law enforcement to ltelp protect Americans from violet white 

supremacy groups and other violent extremist groups. 

b) To your knowledge, has the threat of violence from white supremacy groups subsided or grown 

in the past year? 

While l do not have 11 current asse.umentfrom DHS or tlte FBI on specific trends in violent white 

supremacy, it is clear to me that it is a real and serious tltreat to our communities, and il confirmed, 1 

will ensure the Department does all //tat L1· appropriate and wit/tin its authorities to !te/p protect 

Americans from such violent extremist groups. 

c) Do you consider violence perpetrated by white supremacists or white supremacist groups to be 

terrorism"' 

I consider any form 1~{ ideo/ogical~r motivated violence meant to intimidate or coerce the population or 

to influence government policy to fit within the general definition f~{ terrorism. While domestic 

terrorism is defined in U.S. law, there are no designated donteYtic terror groups in the U11itetl States 

and domestic terrorism is not a SIJec{fical~r enumerated crime tmfler federal law. 

d) You have stated that if confirmed you plan to be forward leaning in driving DHS terrorism 

prevention activities and programs, including through enhanced engagement with at-risk 

communities targeted by terrorists. Do you believe enhanced engagement is needed with at-risk 

communities targeted by white supremacist, environmental extremist, and other non-Islamic 

extremist groups'' 

We must work to counter oil forms of violent extremism. I do think enhanced engagement should be 

considered with and within such communities, and if confirmed J will ensure our terrorism prevention 

posture is risk-based and intelligence-driven. 
196 

c) You have stated in response to questions regarding the CVE grants that were awarded to groups 

countering white nationalist messages by the previous administration, and then subsequently rea warded to other groups under the Trump administration earlier this year, that you believe all 

types of violent extremism must be countered and that if confirmed, you plan to assess the 

effectiveness of CVE grants based on data. How will you assess the effectiveness of Dl IS grant 

expenditures aimed at countering white nationalist or white supremacist violent extremism if no 

such grants exist? 

The previous administration did not issue CVE grants- Dl!S, at the time, issued a press release 

noting 1111 "intention to issue grant~·" at some future date. Tlte current administration issued the CVE 

grants. As noted previously, more than Ita if of the grants awarded under lite CVE Grant Program by 

lite currellf administration were to organizations with proposals to combat all forms of violent 

extremism. which includes violent wl1ite supremacy. If COilfirmed, I will ensure lite Office of 

Community Partnerships continues with its proposal to comprelwm·ively assess the results of awarded 

grants, including assessing how the terrorism prevention constructs funded were used--or could be 

used-to mitigate threats such us violent white supremacy. 

40. Do you believe the designation of election inlrastructure as critical infrastructure should remain in 

place'' Why or why not? 

Yes, because of the importance of election infrastructure to the very foundation of our democratic 

institutions and its continued vulnerability this designation should absolutely remain in place. I 

believe tile designation of election infrastructure as critical infrastructure serves to underscore 

and formalize the support, services, and data provided by DHS to it.• election related partners. 

41. Please detail policy recommendations lor how DIIS. and ~PPD specifically as the sector-specific 

agency, can better inform state and local election officials of the types of guidance and assistance 

they arc eligible to receive and encourage local election officials to take advantage of often free 

resources provided by DIIS to better protect their election infrastructure. 

The Election fl1{rastructure Subsector was establislted in January of this year. As I understand it, 

the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) has been 

established to further the partnership between federal, stale and local partners and to develop am/ 

strengthen information sharing protocols and processes, including providing Security Clearances 

to Chief Election Officials. DHS, and NPPD specifically a.\' the sector-specific age/Uy, continues 

to provide guidance and assistance upon request to state and local election officials. Should I be 

confirmed, I will work with the leadership of NPPD to ensure tltat DHS is 1loing all it canthwugh 

a variety of outreach mechanisms to i11{orm state and local election officials of the types of 

guidance and assistance provided by DHS and how to best leverage them. 

42. Do you believe DHS needs additional resources or authorities to provide needed resources to states 

to protect our election critical infrastmcture'' 

As the nominee, I have no reason to believe that at this time. Should I be confirmed, I look 

forward to working with NPPD leadership to ensure DHS is doing all it can to provide assistance 
197 

ami support in the protection of our nation's election infrastructure. As I responded during the 

[tearing, the primary role of DllS, as you know, is to respond to requests from those state ami 

local officials, ensure that they have the clearance so that they can receive the information, and 

then offer a varie(r of tools to emure infrastructure protection against supply chain threats all the 

way tit rough to tile dissemination of the voter rolls. 

I would also offer that redundancy and the ability to audit are vital. So whether it's paper ballots 

or whether it's pflysical~y moving the ballots as they do in Califomia, as chaperoned by the 

highway patrol, we need to work to ensure tile integri(l' of our electoral system. 

43. What is the role ofDHS within the inter-agency in protecting election critical infrastructure? How 

will DHS leverage the resources of other federate, state, and local agencies to best protect election 

inlfastructurc? 

Elections are administered by state and local governments. DHS leads federal efforts to share 

information and provide technical assistance in order to help these officials protect tlteir 

systems. DllS has created the Government Coordinating Council which I have discussed 

elsewhere in tile Questionsfor the Record. From a cybersecurity perspective, within DlfS's 

National Protection ami Programs Directorate, tile National Cybersecurity and Communications 

Integration Center (NCCIC) serves as a 2417 cyber monitoring, incident response, ami 

management center and as a national hub of cyber and communications integmtion. NCCIC 

operates at the intersection of, and includes representation from, the private sector, state and local 

governments, federal civilian govemment agencies, law enforcement, intelligence, defense 

communities, and intemational partners. The mission of this civilian flub is to apply unique 

ana(vtic perspectives, ensuring slrared situational awareness, provide tecflnical a,'fsistance, and 

orchestrating synchronized response efforts while protecting tile civil liberties and privacy rights 

of Americans. 

In addition to leveraging the expertise within state and local governments and tile private sector, 

DllS works closely with other federal agencies. DllS works closely with tile National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) on cybersecurity standards and guidelines ami the volunlatJ' 

cybersecurity framework. NIST cltain tile Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

(TGDC). TGDC assists the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent, 

bipartisan commission charged with creating Voluntary Voting System Guidelines and operating 

thefederal govemment's.first voting system ct'l·tification program. Specifical~v, NTST is working 

with E1 C to develop Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). VVSG are a set of 

specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested. Some .factors 

examined include basic functionality, accessibility, and security capabilities. NTST is also 

conducting an evaluation of independent non-Federal laboratories to carry out tile testing of 

voting systems and to submit recommendations of qualified laboratories to EA Cfor 

accreditation. EAC is also re,lponsiblefor maintaining the National Voter Registration form, 

cotuluctiug research, and administering auatioual clearinghouse on elections til at includes 

sltared practices, information for voters and other resources to improve elections. 

ln addition to its cyber responsibilities, lite Department of .Justice Voting Section enforces the civil 

provisions of federal laws that protect tile rigltt to vote. The Department of Defense runs the 

Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) to ensure military service members, their eligible 

fami~l' members, and overseas citizen,s are aware of tlteir right to vote and have the resources to do 

so--from anywltere in lite world. 
198 

EAC, NIST, DOl, FBI, and DOD FVAP have been valued partners in guiding DHS through 

the complex policy environment of State am/local elections. The.se agencies have facilitated 

opportunities for DllS to connect with chief election officials, to speak at the Technical 

Guidelines Development Committee, and maintain situational awareness with FBI's Election 

Crime Coordilwtors. 

44. You have indicated that you have on several occasions led and overseen policy development and 

implementation related to critical infrastructure. Please detail what, if any, election infrastructure 

policy recommendations you have made or played a significant role in implementing. 

!have had no policy development role with respect to election infrastructure otber than 

recommending to then Secretary Kef~)' that DHS maintain the designation of election 

infrastructure as critical infrastructure. 

45. DHS has been attempting to strengthen information sharing between DHS and state and local 

authorities by providing security clearances to select state election officials. 

a) Will you commit to working to ensure tbat all designated election officials in all states and 

territories will have a security clearance at least ninety days before the 2018 U.S. Congressional 

elections'' 

!understand that the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (!&A) has contacted state chief 

election official., on behalf oftlte NPPD-Ied Election Infrastructure Subsector Sector-Specific 

Agency (SSA) to begin the security clearance process and to support the processing of clearances 

ji1r state chief election officials in eacll state. It is anticipated that tile clearance nomination 

process will be expanded to inc/cede additional.state election personnel to allow for additional 

election-related st<![f to receive classified information at tlte state and local/eve/. 

As I understand it, ensuring that appmpriate election officials in the States have security 

clearances is a top priority for the Department. However, other agencies also play a critical role 

in tlte timely processing of security clearance applications-for example tltose agencies tit at 

conduct background investigations. Also, some ,,ecuri(y clearance applications can take longer to 

process due to derogatOIJ' information in the applicant's background, potentially leading to tlte 

denial of" clearance. 

If confirmed, I am committed to ensuring tlwt election officials receive appropriate tltreat 

information. W!tile it is t!te goal of Dl/S, and would be my goal if confirmed, to provitle tllese 

clearances as quickly as pos.,ible, it should be noted tit at tlte Department It as otlter tools to provide 

officials witll classified information wlten necessary. For instance, tit rough DHS pmcesses or by 

leveraging those of partner agencies, DHS can provide one-day read ins for classified information 

wlten appropriate. 

i) If you encounter delays in achieving this goal, will you commit to advising Congress of the 

delays, and actions you are taking to address them, in a timely manner? 

If confirmed, I am committed to keeping Congress informed regarding tlte status of providing 

security clearances to election officials, as well as our broader efforts related to election 
199 

sec uri()'. Safeguarding our elections is a shared responsibility, and we must work together 011 

this importa11t issue. 

b) How will DHS, through !&A. task forces, or other department entities, work lo downgrade 

classified information so it can be expeditiously shared with state and local oflicials? 

It is important to recognize that the Department of Homela11d Security seeks to share 

information at tlte lowest classification level whenever possible, and when possible in an 

unclassified form. Through the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and other direct 

partnerships with other elements of the intelligence community, DHS has extensive experience 

am/ commitment to these objectives. Through tear-line processes and other methods, DHS can 

often provide network defenders with actionable technical information while still protecting 

semitive, classified sources and methods. 

46. What threshold do you believe DHS and the government as a whole should use when determining 

what infom1ation should be made public about attempted or successful meddling in elections by 

!'orcign actors? 

I believe that DHS ami the government should provide the public with actionable information that 

enables state and local officials, i11cluding network defenders, to better protect tlteir networks and 

election il!frastructure. To the extent that the government is aware of attempts by foreign actors 

to threaten our election process, the govemment should make every effort to appropriately 

dec/ass!fj• and share this information. Often, we can share declassified assessments o_{threat 

actors, while still protecting sensitive, classified sources and methods. 

a) Do you believe the public has a right to know if foreign actors are attempting to meddling in our 

elections? 

Our electiom are run by state and local govemments in thousands ojjurisdictions across the 

country. In order to provide all o_{them with information necessary to understand and respond to 

the threllt, it is most practical to declassify this iliformation so it can be shared broadly. To the 

extent that the government is aware o.f attempts by foreign actors to threaten our election process, 

the govemment ,>lwuld appropriately communicate that threat to the public. 

4 7. What changes do you believe OilS needs to make to best position itself to combat foreign 

interference in our elections? 

DHS needs to build upon its partnerships with state and loclll election officials, including the 

estllblishment of formalized information sharing protocols. In so doing, DHS will ensure that 

threat itiformation reaches appropriate election officials. If confirmed, I will be briefed 011 all 

DHS efforts to combat foreign interference in our elections and will work with NPPD and I&A 

leadership to ensure that DHS is effective(r leveraging its capabilities and capacities towards that 

end. 

48, In order for Congress to fultlll its constitutional duty to conduct oversight, members of Congress 

must able to receive testimony, brielings and other information from the executive branch upon 

request. To ensure that you and your agency fulfill its obligation to respond to congressional 

inquiries in a timely and comprehensive manner, l ask the following: 
200 

a. If con tinned. do you commit without reservation to comply with any request or summons to 

appear and testify before committees of Congress? 

If confirmed, I would comp~v without reservation to all/awful requests. 

b. If confirmed, do you commit without reservation to make any subordinate ofticial or 

employee available to appear and testify before, or provide information to, committees of 

Congress? 

If confirmed, I would comp~v without reservation to all/awful requests. 

c. If confirmed. do you commit without reservation to respond fully, completely. and promptly 

to all congressional inquiries and requests for documents. communications, or any other 

material or information from members of Congress. including request from members in the 

minority? 

If confirmed, I would comply without reservation to all/awful requests. 

d. If confirmed, do you commit without reservation to take all reasonable steps to ensure that 

you and your agency comply with deadlines established for requested information? 

If confirmed, I commit without reservation to taking all reasonable steps to ensure that 

DHS provides time~y information in response to all/awful requests. 

e. If confirmed, do you commit without reservation to protect subordinate otiicials or 

employees from reprisal or retaliation for any testimony. briefings or communications with 

members of Congress? 

If confirmed, !would comply without reservation. 

f. Arc you aware of any Department policy restricting congressional committees from 

interviewing 01-IS personnel below the GS-15 or Senior Executive Service lcveP 

I am not aware of such a policy. 

g. If confirmed, what would Of-IS's policy be under your leadership regarding the appearance of 

personnel, at all levels of seniority, to testify before or be interviewed by congressional 

committees? 

rr confirmed, my policy would he to cooperate witft all reasonable requests for officials at 

DHS at all levels to provide needed information to Congress. 

49. Was anyone who assisted with your nomination process or attended your meetings with Senators 

during your nomination process a special government employee? 

No. 
201 

a) Please provide any legal advice provided by the White House Counsel's Office, the White Ilouse 

Oftice of Presidential Personnel and/or DI IS addressing whether voluntary assistance provided 

by any individual or entity in your nomination process is consistent with the gift rules and laws 

applicable to federal employees and the Trump Administration Ethics Pledge, 

Proper legal advice was sought through While House Counsel's Office lo ensure that any 

volunrary assistance related to my nomination, as is done for all volunleers who work with the 

federal gorernment, complies \Filh all applicable legal authorities. I have been advised that 

given the con(identiali(v of all Hill Counsel legal advice given to WH officials, lam not a hie to 

prm·ide additional infimnation. 

b) Please provide any legal advice provided by the White House Counsel's Office, the White House 

Office of Presidential Personnel and/or DHS addressing whether voluntary assistance provided 

by any individual or entity in your nomination process is a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act 

under 31 U.S.C. § 1342. 

Proper legal advice was sought through White House Counsel's O!fice to ensure that any 

voluntary assistance related to my nomination, as is done.fiJr ail volunteers who work with the 

federal government, complies with ail applicable legal authorities. I hal'e been advised that 

given the confidentiality of' all Wll Counsel/ega/ advice given ro I·VH officials. I am not able to 

provide additional infimnation. 

c) Please describe what steps \Viii you take, if confirmed, to ensure that any individual or entity 

involved in your nomination process will not have greater access to you or undue influence over 

Dl!S policy or contracting than any other interest group or constituent? 

If' confirmed, I \rill, as I have in previous roles in government comply with all applicable ethics 

guidelines which ensure that any past relationship.\· by gm·ernment officials, whether of'a 

personal or professional nature. do not result in greater access or undue influence over any 

matier. 

50. During your time at DI-IS, did you receive any requests for information from DHS's Office of 

Inspector General? 

a) If so, please describe those requests and indicate whether you cooperated fully with any such 

requests. If not, please explain why. 

As the DHS Cllief of Staff, I met periodically with the IG and flu Secretary. The IG and I also 

fwd conversations about routine agency oversight mailers. To my knowledge, I did not receive 

any specific requests for information addressed to me. 

51. If confirmed, what guidance do you plan to implement to ensure covered employees in DHS are in 

compliance with all applicable federal recordkeeping laws? 

If confirmed, I would ask the Department Office of General Counsel to review current guidance 

in place from the DHS Office of General Counsel and other Department organizations 

responsible for assisting in compliance. Further, if the review determined guidance was unclear, 

not widely circulated, conflicting aml/or not complete, I would ask that the guidance be revised 
202 

and updated according~v in order to ensure compliance with applicable recordkeeping 

requirements. 

52. What is your stance on agency and White House compliance with the Federal Records Act and the 

Presidential Records Act'' 

I believe it is important to comp~v with such record keeping requirements umler law. 

53. Arc you aware if President Trump is using a secured, encrypted smartphone for his personal usc? If 

so. please indicate when President Trump hcgan using a secure, encrypted smartphone. 

In the interests of the security and confidentiality surrounding what devices the President of the 

United States has access to or their capabilities, I cannot comment. 

54. Are you aware of any Department of Homeland Security officials engaging in prohibited political 

activity under the Hatch Act'' 

I am on~v aware of media reporting that alleged possible Hatch Act issues. 

55. During your time as Deputy Chief of Stafl at the White House, were you aware of any otiicials 

engaging in prohibited political activity under the Hatch Act'' 

I tvas not. 

56. If confirmed, please describe the eflt)rts you will undertake to ensure compliance with the llatch 

Act. 

~l confirmed, I will ask the Department Office of General Cowuel to review current guidance in 

place from the DHS Office of General Counsel and other Department organizations responsible 

for a.uisling in compliance. Further, (f'tlte review determined guidance was unclear, 1101 widely 

circulated, conflicting and/or not complete, I would ask that/he guidance be revised and updated 

according~v to ensure compliance with the Hatch Act. 

57. If conlirmcd, please describe the etfmis you will undertake to secure. modernize, and properly 

resource all ports of entry around the country. 

How we resource the ports of entry require., additional focus to more e.!Jeclive~v.find tlw "needle" 

of hidden drugs or other contraband among the "haystack" oflwge volumes of legitimate trade 

ami/ravel. We wan/to impose greater security without 'thickening' the border in a way /Ita/ is 

economically damaging. if confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the draft strategic plans to 

better wulenland what can realislical~y be achieved, how quickly, and with what mix of resources 

to better secure all of our borders in tire view of our expert., and then working with the 

Administration and Congre.u to close any gap.,. 

58. If confirmed, please describe the efforts you will undertake to secure, modernize, and properly 

resource the United States Postal Service's lntemational Service Centers at the airports in New 

York, Los Angeles, Chicago. Miami, and San Francisco. 
203 

!understand tlwt CBP is committed to addressing the growing threat in tl1e international mail 

environment, with an eye particular~v on the growing opioid crisis. CBP is current~)' working with 

the U.S. Postal Service to implement electronic systems to locate high risk shipments, targeted by 

CBP,for inspection. CBP is also looking to increase staffing at the intemationalmailfacilities to 

help address the increased volume (}{shipments. if confirmed !will ensure CBP am/ the 

Department continue these efforts to better secure, modernize and proper~)' resource these 

facilities. 

59. If contirmed, will you pursue further expansions in the TSA-Pre Check and CBP Global Entry 

Programs? Please discuss in detail. 

I believe strong~v that these programs have provided significant benefits for DHS and for lite 

traveling public and, if confirmed, I would certainly like to see even greater growth and 

participation in such trusted traveler programs as they help us focus resources more on the 

unknown. As I understand it, there are currently more than 5.4 million individuals enrolled in the 

TSA Pre-Check Application Program. Another 6. 7Jll are enrolled in CBP's trusted traveler 

programs who are also eligible for I:'IA Pre-check expedited screening at the airports. The TSA 

pre-check application program alone is growing by about I. 7Af new enrollments per year. Global 

Entry membership in FY/7 over FY/6 increased by 25 percent. CBP has projected expecfltfions of 

Global Entry membership growth in FY18 to exceed 25 percent based upon ongoing and pending 

negotiations to e:xpand bilateral arrangements with new countries. So, I believe further expansion 

is wellwulenvay already. These programs can also serve as instructive models in other future 

areas where the Department can both increase security JVhile facilitating and expediting lauful 

travel and con1n1erce. 

60. Since 2012, DHS has received nearly two million DACA applications. Applicants are required to 

provide DHS with sensitive information such as their address. biometric, and employment 

information. DHS has previously stated it would not share this information with U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If confirmed, will you keep this 

pwmise to applicants') 

As I understand it, currently there are limited circumstances wit en such information might be 

shared to include national security or public safety. To my knowledge, there are limited reasons or 

exceptions to enable that information to be slwredfor any other enforcement purpose. 1 also 

understmu/ this to be consistent with the policy implemented and observed by tlte previous 

Administration. If confirmed, 1 will review whether there is any ambiguity in the current policy 

such that additional communication to personnel is required. If confirmed, 1 commit to meeting 

with Acting Commissioner JllcA/eenan, Acting Director Homan, and Director Cissna to ensure 

tlwt all DHS policies are clearly understood by personnel at all /epefs. Written guidance will be 

issued to reiuj(Jrce existing policies when necessary. 

61. Based upon your tenure in the White House during Hurricane Katrina, and your role in the current 

administration during preparation and response to the most recent storms and wildfires, what is the 

most significant lesson learned regarding the Federal response to natural disasters that you believe 

still needs to be implcmcntcd'1 If conlirmcd, how will you work to implement it" 

Should I be confirmed, I look fonvard to reviewing the lessons learned report and any after action 

documentation produced by FE1liA as part of their standard proce.u post disaster. In general, I 
204 

believe as a nation we still need to instill a culture of preparedness in every American. As culled 

for in Katrina LeHons Learned and more recently embraced by Administrator Long, this culture 

of preparing for man-made and natural disasters takes time am/ concerted effort. If confirmed, I 

will ensure DHS, principally tltouglt FEMA, will lead an effort to build upon previous efforts 

tit rough advocacy, stakeholder engagement am/ partners/tip., to en.wre we as a nation are better 

prepared for future disasters. 

62. In response to former Secretary Johnson's announcement that slate election infrastructure would be 

designated as critical inJrastructure. some state election officials expressed concern about potential 

ICdcral overreach. If con firmed. how will you work to address those concerns? 

If confirmed, I will work to reassure state election officials and better inform them tliat lite DHS 

role, under current authorities and laws, i., NOT to "take over" election equipment or processes. 

Tlte DHS role i., to serve as a resource to tlte state official\· wfto are responsible for elections, to 

provide them with tltreat information about vulnembilities, to offer tools, training and best 

practices and financial resources in the form of grants. I will strive to better inform them about 

/tow the Department can help them, and I will also do my be.>t to assure them tit at the relations/tip 

is a voluntary one, and that DHS will not seek to mandate as a regulator. 
205 

Senator Thomas R. Carper 

Additional Post-Hearing Question for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

:'\omination of Kirst.ien M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

1. The Washington Post has reported that the President's chief of staff. John Kelly and top homeland 

security advisor. Tom Bossert. had unsuccessfully pressured Acting Homeland Security Secretary 

Elaine Duke to reverse a decision she had made to extend the residency permits given to certain 

I Ionduran citizens living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status due to conditions in 

their home country. lt is my understanding based on reports that Acting Secretary Duke intends to 

take additional time to further study the Hondurans' status. and that her decision to do so is within 

the law and consistent with the statutory authority granted to her as the acting head ofDHS. 

a) Do you agree with Acting Secretary Duke's decision'' 

Given my nomination status, lam not familiar with the specific information Acting Secretary 

Duke reviewed to arrive at Iter decision. By law, the decision is within the DHS Secretary'.•· 

autltori~v and re!.ponsibility to make and I have no reason to doubt that she reviewed all 

appropriate il~formation in accordance with the law in making her decision. 

b) 1 f confirmed. how would you balance the views of the President and his senior staff with your 

statutory obligations on this matter and others where you might disagree'' 

l believe it is my duty to always make determinations that are in the best interest of the United 

States pursuant to the lrnv. As discussed elsewhere, I also believe that it is my duty to give my 

best advice al1{/ counsel to the President al1{/ all govemment officials and to ensure that all 

decisions of which lam a part are fully informed by facts and made pursuant to the law. 

Should! be confirmed, I will endeavor to always meet all of the Secretary's obligations to 

make timeZv, fact informed and fully considered- including any and all appropriate 

consultations with stakeholders within the interagency, Congress and the private sectordecisions. 

c) If confirmed, what steps would you take to examine the status of Honduran TPS recipients in the 

United States, and also that of other TPS recipients from El Salvador and Haiti that you would be 

required to make decisions on, as well? 

Should I he confirmed, in reviewing any TPS related decision, I will cons nit with the State 

Departme111, DHS leadership, ami other experts to ensure that l fully wu/erstand all/ega/ TPS 

considerations to include the country conditions. 

d) If conllrmed. how will the ability ofTPS-designated countries to absorb TPS recipients who 

become deportable from the United States factor into your decision to extend or end TPS 

designations for any given country? 

Sfwu/d I be cOI!firmed, I will asse.,s all facts pursuant to the law. 
206 

e) If confirmed, will you commit to ensuring that TPS recipients who have not committed crimes 

other than immigration or civil violations will not become ICE enforcement priorities once their 

designation ends? 

It is my understanding that it is current DHS policy that enforcement priorities focus on those 

here illegally who have committed crimes. I do not intend to change tit at enforcement priority. 

Should I be confirmed, l will work with Acting Director Homan to ensure that enforcement 

priorities are c/ear~v articulated. 

2. i\rc you aware of any plans by any senior DHS onicials to leave the Department should you be 

confirmed'' 

No. 
207 

Senator Jon Tester 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjcn M. Nielsen to he Secretary of tbe Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

Airport Security 

l. During your confirmation hearing, you committed to working with me on strengthening 

airport security, particularly the Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program. As 

mentioned during the hearing, I understand the program is still at risk of being eliminated 

despite its utility in keeping our nation safe. 

Should you be confirmed, do you commit to immediately informing me and members of 

the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security of ill:!Y proposed changes to the 

Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program by either DHS or TSA'' 

Yes. 

REAL ID 

2. Do you commit to working with me and the State of Montana to ensure that Montana is 

allowed the flexibility and time it needs to come into full compliance with REALm~ 

Yes. 

Border Security 

3. What tccbnological resources do you believe are necessary for adequate patrolling of our 

northern and southern borders and egresses'? 

The sheer size and diver.~ity of terrain on the Northern Border, from seaway and Great 

Lakes, to .flat, rolling plains, to high-mountain and dense forest, require a diverse array 

of technology to increase domain awareness and position patrol assets for effective 

response. As I understand it, a variety of technological resources are needed to 

include: On the maritime borders and Great Lakes, the ability to detect small boat 

traffic and en.wre it is lawful and compliant require.1· a combination of radar, cameras, 

and electro-optical and infrared sensors; On the plains,jtxed and air assets providing 

mrveillance and sensors that can pro~·ide detection capability are critical; In the highmountains, fixed cameras on trails and egress routes assist patrol elements. 
208 

In all cases, partnersllips and cross-border intelligence sharing is fundamental, and 

access and mobility with trained Border Patrol Agents, US Coast Guard personnel, and 

other Federal, state, and local partners, witlt effective communications capability 

renmin essential elements to interdict any activity that is detected. Should I be 

confirmed /look forward to discussing in detail witlt CBP and USCG, as well as other 

parts of the Department whiclt bring important resources and technology to the table, 

suclt as the Joint Requirements Council, !&A, and S& T. 

4. What roles do you believe Canada should play in our joint security? 

Canada plays a critical partnersliip role in our joint security, and, if confirmed, I 

intend to maintain and strengtlien our bilateral and multilateral security efforts. DHS 

maintains a robust and multi-faceted partnership with multiple Cabinet Departments 

and operational agencies. On one of his first international trips abroad as Secretary, 

then Secretary Kelly met witli multiple Ministers covering partners/zip areas from 

immigration and counterterrorism, to infrastructure protection and emergency 

response. 

Operationally, Dl!S shares intelligence with Canadian partners at the national/eve/ 

and regionally through Integrated Border Enforcement Teams. DHS relies on 

partnership with Canada to secure travelers headed to the United States through 8 

Preclearance locations in Canadian airports. 

Canada has also joined DHS and State, as well as Mexico, in supporting security 

capacity building and economic development in Central America to lie/p address 

migration flows and criminal activi(v. 

Finally, our partners/zip with Canada is vital with respect to the security and resilience 

of our mutual and interconnected critical infrastructure and the provision of essential 

functions. 

5. What do you see as our most significant national security threat from Mexico? From 

Canada') 

Tile most significant threat on the Southern Border is the potential for exploitation by 

Transnational Criminal Organizations who attempt to smuggle a variety of threats into 

the United States. These organizations are smuggling liard narcotics, including deadly 

synthetic opioids, engage in II uman trafficking, and can bring individuals to our 

border fmm conflict zones and countries at risk for terrorist aclivity outside the 

Western Hemi~p/zere. 
209 

With regard to our Northern Border, we must be vigilant against movement of 

potential securi(y and criminal threats, and protecting and securing our critical 

infrastructure. 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to discussing potential threats in greater detail. 

6. What specific measures do you believe DHS should undertake to keep our Northern 

Border secure? 

Based on the findings of the DHS Northern Border Threat Analysis, former Secrettuy 

Kelly recognized the need to update the DHS Northern Border Strategy. If confirmed, 

I look forward to reviewing the threat analysis in detail and the strategy 

recommendations to ensure that the update is risk and intelligence-based, and designed 

to integrate DHS capabilities with our Canadian partners in order to investigate, 

interdict, disrupt, and dismantle terrorist, transnational, and other criminal 

organizations that may utilize the Northern Border to introduce threats into the United 

States. The strategy must also ensure we facilitate lawful international travel and 

trade. 

The revised Northern Border Strategy and its associated implementation plan will serve 

as key management tools and should recognize the unique nature and challenges of 

the Northern Border. If confirmed, I would look forward to working with the 

Committee on implementation. 

7. Describe your plans to enhance border security along our land ports of entry. 

The land border ports of entry along our Northern and Southern border are gateways 

to the economy am/ process hundreds of millions of legitimate travelers each year. 

CBP is charged with screening all foreign visitors, returning American citizens am/ 

imported cargo that enters the U.S. at more than 300 land, air and sea ports. To 

enhance security, DHS must continue to pursue solutions based on teclmo/ogy, 

partnerships, and effective counter-network investigations and operations. 

If confirmed, I will plan to support and pursue balanced investments in innovative 

tec/uwlogies and enhanced staffing, while deepening collaboration with interagency, 

State and local, and international partners. For example, to address the flow of hard 

narcotics through ports of entry on the Southwest Border, DHS must increase its 

capacity to exttmine vehicles with non-intrusive inspection equipment. 

Terrorism 

8. What anti-terrorism initiatives have your predecessors undertaken that you plan to 

expand upon'1 Any that you plan to scale back? 
210 

To name a few: 

Terrorists continue to look for vulnerabilities in our aviation system, and should I be 

confirmed, I plan to continue Secretary Kelly and Acting Secretary Duke's work to 

raise the baseline of aviation security measures to make it harder for terrorists to carry 

out attacks against civil aviation. 

DllS's ability to prevent terrorists from coming into the United States relies on having 

access to all relevant, available intelligence to inform the visa process, to screen and vet 

travelers, and to vet anyone applying for an immigration benefit. If confirmed, I 

intend to continue and intensify these efforts to make sure DHS has access to all 

relevant, available intelligence to inform our decisions, and to make sure tftat the right 

intelligence gets into the hands of field personnel for mission execution. 

In general, should I he confirmed, I will review current programs and initiatives to 

ensure that they both address evolving risk and do so in a cost effective and efficient 

manner. If confirmed, I plan to use metrics and performance reviews and other 

intema/ control and oversight measures to ensure the terrorism prevention programs 

we support are able to demonstrate results. 

9. What will be your highest anti-terror priority should you be confirmed? 

In general, the highest anti-terror priority is protecting the Homeland, the American 

people, and our interests from terrorist attack. One of the greatest threats at this time 

comes from Homegrown Violent Extremists who are inspired by terrorist groups 

overseas such as ISIS or a/-Qa 'ida, and who have been radicalized by a combination of 

direct contact with other terrorists am/ through terrorist propaganda found on the 

Intemet. DHS's core mission for counterterrorism is to identify previously unknown 

terrorists or facilitlltors, and to prevent known and previously unknown terrod~ts from 

entering the United States am/from carrying out attacks on our homeland. 

10. What resources should DHS invest in to combat the rise of homegrown violent 

extremism (liVE)? 

Addressing tfte challenge of 1/VEs through terrorism prevention is one of the most 

important terrorism problems we face. Secretary Kelly initiated a review of both DHS's 

strategy and the level and direction of resources to address the challenges from HVEs. 

This review extended both to the organization and staffing of our personnel and the level 

of grants funding to promote community-level programs. In June, DHS announced 26 

grants totaling S/0 million, focusing on developing community resilience, training and 

engagement witft local partners, support for programs tlwt di~rupt the radicalization 

process, challenging terrorists' narratives, and building the capacity of local partners to 

sustainably address the problem of radicalization. {f confirmed, I intend to evaluate tftese 
211 

and any prospective programs that addre,fs HVEs to ensure they are effective and are 

having tile impact we need to help protect the Homelcmdfrom the threat of HVEs. 
212 

Senator Heidi Heitkamp 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, NovemberS, 2017 

l. Each year, the Partnerships for Public Service releases a survey of the "Best Places to 

Work in the Federal Govemmcnt." TSA is ranked number 303 of305. 

a. What do you think is contributing to TSA 'slow ranking? 

Employee morale surveys have repeatedly shown tlwt the people of Dl/S 

are inspired by and motivated by the mission. At the same time, they raise 

challenges regarding quality of life within the workplace and interactions 

with management. I also understand there are requests for additional 

career planning and professional development and training throughout the 

Department 

As a leader, it is important to clearly articulate objectives, hold people 

accountable and acknowledge success. If confirmed, I look forward to fully 

engaging with TSA leaders/tip and tfte frontline workforce to identify 

specific issues, address them and to ensure that they have the tools, 

resources and support they need to execute tfte mission. 

I understand that TSA Administrator Pekoske is making employee morale 

one of his flighest priorities and, if confirmed, I /ookfonvard to working 

with and supporting f1im in his ~fforts. 

b. What Policies will you implement to improve morale at TSA and what metrics 

will you usc to measure effectiveness') 

During my service as tfte Department's Chief of Staff, we initiated a 

leadership employee listening tour by the DHS Deputy Secretary. This tour 

reinforced the need for Department leadership to clearly articulate 

objectives, /wid people accountable and acknowledge success. General 

Kelly also ensured that DHS employees- including those at TSA were no 

longer inappropriate(!' abused by the public, media and others for 

professionally and effectively doing their jobs and enforcing the laws 

Congress bas adopted. I plan to continue this form of /eadersl!ip. If 

confirmed, I lookfonvard to fully re-engaging in initiatives to identifY what 

the Department has learned and to develop specific implementation steps 
213 

the Department can take on issues identified. I will also work with 

Administrator Pekoske to both assess the specific steps TSA can be taking 

to improve morale am/ measure progress and to develop performance, 

hiring and retention metrics to help us better understand the effectiveness 

of planned activities. 

2. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, when the Aviation 

and Transportation Security Act was enacted in 2001, TSA was given extraordinary 

authority over the labor rights of Transportation Security Officers (TSO). As a result. 

there arc two personnel systems at TSA that are separate and unequal. Unfortunately, 

TSOs are not provided the same labor rights and standards that other categories of 

TSi\ employees enjoy. 

a. What percentage of the TSA workforce is employed in the TSO 

classification? 

DHS has advised me that the percentage is 75.3%. As the nominee, I am not 

otherwise familiar with the specific percentage. 

b. Why does TSA extend rights to a minority of its employees and limit or deny 

rights to the majority that work as TSOs? 

lam not fully briefed at this time on the complete history or background of 

policy determinations made about tlte wor~force under the preceding two 

Administrations ami previous Congresses regarding the TSA workforce. I 

am generally aware that under the Aviation and Transportation Security 

Act, provisions of Title 5 do not apply to the TSA screeners. I am also 

aware generally that Congress vested in the TSA Administrator the 

authori~v to set the terms and conditions of employment for the screening 

workforce notwithstanding any other provision lif law and to estah/islt levels 

lif compensation and other benefits for those employees. If confirmed, I 

look forward to working with Administrator Pekoske to better understand 

tl1ese issues alii/ ensure the TSA workforce is best able to fulfill its security 

111ission within the authorities and resources we have been provlded. 

c. If confirmed, will you commit to examine the labor rights and standards 

provided to TSOs and assess whether they should be provided the same rights 

as standards that are provided to other categories ofTSA employees" 

Ronler Security 

If confirmed, !look forward to working with Administrator Pekoske to 

better understand tflese issues and ensure the TSA workforce is best able to 

fit/jill its security mission within lite authorities and resources we have been 

provided. 
214 

-'· A few months ago, Senators Tester, McCaskill. and I wrote to CBP Acting 

Commissioner McAleenan about Border Patrol radio failures. The letter discussed 

severe shortfalls in secure, reliable communications systems along the Southern and 

Northern borders that have been brought to our attention by the National Border 

Patrol Council and individual Border Patrol agents. We have heard reports that the 

radios many agents use can't talk with state and local law enforcement, and in remote 

areas of the border, the radios often simply don't work. If confirmed, will you 

commit to resolving this problem? 

If confirmed, I will work with the leadership of CBP to examine this issue and 

develop a plan to resolve it. 

4. As we discussed at your confirmation hearing, it is very important to me to see the 

new Northern Border Strategy implemented quickly and with DHS 100% committed 

to supporting following through with the desired outcomes of the strategy. Once 

again I want to ask you: 

a. If confirmed will you commit to budgeting for sufficient funds to execute the 

Northern Border Strategy including funds to begin improving facilities, and 

smart investments in technology to improved domain awareness? 

Yes, I will commit to reviewing the strategy andfol/owing through with the 

desired outcome of the strategy and work with the Committee on any additional 

resources or authorities that might be required. 

b. Will you commit to me that Northern Border Security will be a priority of 

yours if you are confirmed? 

Yes, I will. 

5. CBP is experiencing tremendous difficulty with filling vacancies in rural and remote 

locations along our borders. Recently several Minnesota ports, just across the border 

ffom North Dakota, had their operating hours reduced partially due to such staffing 

challenges. 

a. Will you commit to reviewing CBP's current staffing models and move 

forward with creating new initiati vcs that increase recruitment and retention in 

rural and remote areas') 

Yes, I will. 

6. How would you improve the acquisition and deployment of border security 

technology, especially in remote areas along the Northern Border where domain 

awareness is at a disturbingly low level? 

If confirmed, I will be briefed immediately on tlze forthcoming strategic plans for 

managing and securing our Northern and Southern borders, including the 

Northern Border Strategy. That will include assessing CBP's priorities for 
215 

acquisition and deployment oftecluw/ogy along the northern border. I believe that 

technology can be particularly useful in meeting domain awareness needs. 

DHS Management 

7. What is the role of the DIIS Deputy Secretary? How do envision working with 

Deputy Secretary Duke if confirmcd0 

The Deputy Secretary assists the Secretary in developing and implementing policy 

as well as overseeing de/h•ery of the Department's critical missions and operations. 

The Deputy Secretary is part of the Department's core leadership team, providing 

general direction and management support consistent with the Secretary's 

"commander's intent." The individual is trusted and capable of serving as Acting 

Seaetary in the Secretary's absence. The Deputy also participates in federal 

interagency policy meetings at the "Deputy-/eve/" speaking on behalf of and 

representing the Secretary and tire Department as a whole. I have great respect for 

Depu~J' Secretary Duke and expect we will work tts a team to support the great men 

and women of DHS should I be confirmed. 

8. What in your view is the difference between the role of DHS Chief of Stan: and the 

role ofDHS Secretary? 

The Chief of Staff serves as the principttl advisor to the Secretary and Deputy 

Secretary on all Department risk, policy and operational issues, and manages the 

Secretary's office. The Chief of Staff works close~Ji with the heads of the seven 

operational components and eighteen directorates and offices to ensure the 

Secretary and Depu~Ji SecretmJ' 's guidance is conveyed, track progress against the 

Secretm:v's priorities, and determine when and how issues requiring the Secretary's 

awareness or action are raised. 

The role of Chief of Staff of a complex organization or entity is also to serve as the 

coordinator of all of the supporting staff An effective COS must encourage all 

feedback and keep communication open across all levels. He or she must engage 

witlt staff at all levels of tlte organization constantly to identify and address 

underlying issues. The Chief of Staff also works witlt tlte Chief~ of Staff 

throughout the interagency to ensure that missions amongst departments are 

aligned and to facilitate Principal discussions and to help resolve any conflicting 

plans, policies, etc. 

Tire role oftlte Secretary, to name a few roles, includes setting risk-based priorities, 

clearly articulating mission and corresponding roles and responsibilities, ensuring 

that tire men and women of DHS It ave the resources, tools and support tltey need to 

execute tlteir missions, creating a culture of trust and respect, accountability and 

acknowledgement, and strategically assessing tomorrow's challenges and threats. 

The Secretary represents tlte Department in interagency discussions, advises the 

President, and works wit It other Cabinet officials on cross-cutting initiatives to 

bring a whole of government approach to specific risks when needed. 
216 

Ideal~y, within a large Department context, the Deputy Secretary can focus on 

operations, modernization and long-range planning, while tile Chief of Staff 

manages the Department serving as tile E'Cecutive Officer, ensuring that direction 

and guidance from the Secretw:v and Depu~v Secretary is executed through a 

vttriety of avenues, and tile Secretary leads the Department, determines homelaml 

security policy, executes statutory duties and serves as the Chief Executive Office of 

the Department. Obvious~)', any specific division of roles and responsibilities will 

account for the unique skill sets and capabilities of the Secretary, Deputy Secretary 

and Cllief of Staff and would be determined in consultation. 

a. If confirmed. how will you establish those boundaries with your Chief of 

Staff? 

Should I be confirmed, I will discuss roles and responsibilities with the 

Chief of Stl!ffto ensure they are clear, not COI!flicting and not unnecessarily 

overlapping. I will ask the Chief of Staff to always give me his or her honest 

assessment, to ensure that issues that are brought to me or to the Deputy 

Secretary have received review by the relevant components, that operational 

context and limitations are considered, that stakellolder outreach has been 

conducted and that the information I need to make an informed decision 

has been collected, assessed and provided. I value dissenting opinions and 

would ask that d!ffering opinions be presented in addition to any consensus 

view. If coJ!firmed, I would execute my role and responsibilities as 

Secretary pursuant to the law ami as described above. 

9. DHS is a department that employs 229,000 people: CBP alone has over 45 thousand 

law enforcement officers. One of the greatest challenges in an agency of this size is 

the consistent application of law and policy across components. As Secretary. how 

will you ensure that consistent guidance and policies will reach and inform the 

actions of ti·ont line officers') 

Should I be confirmed, I will work with the component !leads to ensure t!latfront 

line officers have a clear understanding of commander's intent, the application of 

the law and that of policy. I believe such an understanding begins with clellr and 

consistent communication, the availability of related information and ensuring that 

employees and officers have opportunities to request any needed clarification, 

consistent training and performance reviews. I also believe tlwt guidance and 

policies should be consistently reviewed, updated, rescinded or swtsetted as risk and 

operational requirements mandate. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that internal 

controls are in place to ensure a robust policy process from development through to 

issuance and review. 

1 0. Why do you think issues such as employee morale continue to persist despite a long 

acknowledgement that they have been problems and what would you do about it as 

Secretary'? 
217 

Employee morale surveys have repeated()! shown that tlze people of DHS are 

impirell by and motivated by the mission. Slzould I be confirmed, I will work to 

ensure tire men and women of DHS have clarity of mission, are empowered to 

pe1jorm their duties, have all the necessary tools to do their jobs, are both held 

accountable and acknowledged for their performance and lwve opportunities for 

professional development and career advancement. I see these actions as essential 

to strong job satisfaction and fligh employee morale. As I stated in prior answers, I 

also will engage fully with Department leadership and tfle frontline workforce to 

identify ~pecijic issues am/ address them. 

Hiring Challenges 

11. What steps can OPM and Congress take to help DHS address challenges in recruiting 

qualified cyber security and information technology professionals to the agency? 

It is my understanding that DIIS flus partnered with a variety of entities to include 

nonprofits, allle>•els of educational institutions and school boards across the 

country to encourage the teaching of cybersecurity concepts. D/IS has also 

partnered with the nonprofit National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center 

(NICERC) to provide cybersecurity curricula and teacfler professional 

development. I /rave also applauded DHS efforts in sponsoring tfle CyberCorps 

Sclwlarslzipfor Service which provides sclwlarslzips towards cybersecurity degree 

programs in retum for service in Federal, State, local, or tribal governments upon 

gruduation. Should I be confirmed, I would look to strengthenund expand DHS' 

efforts in colluborution with other federal partners und the Administration's overull 

STEAl efforts to recruit and retuin cybersecurity personnel. I would also look to 

identify opportunities across the existing talented DHS workforce and provide 

training opportunities to enhance cybersecurity expertise. I believe a clear()! 

articulated mission and adequate tools and resources support strong recruiting, and 

the abili(l' to grow in one's job and /rave access to continual training and education 

support retention. Recognizing the importance oftbis issue as a cornerstone of 

DHS cybersecurity efforts, slwuld I be confirmed I would assess current efforts and 

work with Department leadership to strengthen related campaigns and programs. 

Finally, if confirmed, /look forward to working with Congress and 0Pll1 to ensure 

we are fully utilizing the unique hiring authorities granted to the Department for 

cyber securi(v efforts. 

12. Do you ever believe it's appropriate to have different hiring standards for federal 

workers and contractors for the same job'J 

As we have discussed, I recognize tile Department must improve its ability to 

recruit, l1ire and retain talented people. It is a top priority. While I am not 

specijical(v familiar with the differences, if any, in hiring standards utilized for 

federal workers and contractors, I know tftat current law, regulations, and policies 

exist in tit is area. If confirmed, /look forward to working wit It t!te Under Secretary 

of Management, tfte Chief Human Capital Officer and Department leadership as 
218 

well as OPM, OMB and Congress to develop creative solutions where needed and to 

ensure tlwt standards appropriately reflect and lead to mccessful mission 

execution. 

a. If so. in what circumstances') 

If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Under Secretary of 

Management, the Chief Human Capital Officer and Department leadership 

as well as OPM, OMB and Congress to consider appropriate actions to 

address hiring issues with respect to bot/1 federal workers and contractors. 

Congressional Oversight 

13. DHS answers to over 100 congressional committees and subcommittees. Oversight 

ofDHS components such as FEMA is often split between multiple committees and 

subcommittees. This is an extensive amount of jurisdiction. How problematic is this 

for DHS? How would reducing the number of committees responsible for oversight 

increase the efficiency of DHS'J 

It is widely acknowledged tltat a key 9/I I Commission recommendation regarding 

consolidation of congressional oversight remains unfulfilled. I strongly support 

~fforts in Congress to consolidate Congressional oversigltt jurisdiction over 

homeland security. The current number of oversight Committees itself makes it 

difficultfor DHS officials to befitlly responsive to Congress while executing their 

mission. As context and as ]understand it from DIIS, DHS has participated in 80 

hearings and provided 120 witnesses since January 1 of this year which averages to 

about two per week. DHS has also participated in approximately 2, 018 nonhearing engagements with Congress and Congressional staff (e.g., meetings, calls, 

briefings, CODELs). 

14. I am very interested in DHS's Countering Violent Extremism program and the Oi1ice 

for Community Partnerships. I place a lot of value on building relationships within 

the community in order to prevent radicalization and homegrown extremism. 

a. Will you commit to evaluating the CVE program at DHS and reporting back 

to this committee within 90 days on your initial plans regarding the program, 

the goals of the program, grants within the program, and how you plan on 

prioritizing the mission of the program? 

Yes, 1 will. 

First Responders 
219 

15. On December 19, 2016, President Obama signed into law my legislation called the 

RESPONSE Act. I wrote that legislation after a very serious train car derailment in 

North Dakota in 2013. That law requires FEMA's National Advisory Council (NAC) 

to pull together the private and public sectors to issue recommendations on how to 

improve first responder training f(lr handling incidents involving the transport of 

hazardous materials incidents on railroads. The law requires that these 

recommendations are submitted to the NAC no later than December 16, 2017. 

a. If confirmed, will you commit to ensuring that the NAC fully evaluates and 

properly implements approved recommendations provided by the RESPONSE 

Act Subcommittee in a timely fashion, and that you will push to ensure 

sufficient support for such training is included in the next DHS budget? 

Yes, I will work with FEMA and DOT to ensure that such training is 

offered, 

Threat and Hazard Identification Model 

16. In conversations my staff has had with the North Dakota Department of Emergency 

Services, we have heard that there needs to be a single overarching threat and hazard 

identification model across the nation that states can use to identify risk and make 

investments. Currently, DHS uses the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk 

Assessment (THIRA) and the Federal Management Agency uses the Hazard 

Identification and Risk Assessment (!·liRA). 

a. In general, what are your thoughts on the utility and importance of the THIRA 

and HIRA assessments? 

First, let me reiterate my belief that we must continually assess our risks 

and that risk assessments and preparedness evaluations should go hand in 

It and, I also agree that standardized risk assessment methodologies enable 

us to compare risks across sectors, components, vectors and enterprises to 

ensure that we are effectively and efficiently addressing risks in 11 prioritized 

Jnanner. 

We must have tools to establish the baseline capability levels, identijj• 

remaining gaps, and work to close those gaps. Botlt the THIRA and the 

HIRA are tools meant to get at tit is problem, We must continually build on 

and improve tltese tools. If confirmed, I will work witlt FEMA leaders/tip to 

improve our ability to assess risk, measure capabilities and identijj• gaps. 

b. Do you see opportunities to merge these assessment processes in a way that 

would provide states more clarity on where they should make investments? 

The States are key partners in the homeland security enterprise, and given 

the myriad threats and limited resources we have today, we must work 

together to ensure these tools effective(J' measure preparedness and risk ami 

assist in prioritizing investments. 
220 

c. If confirmed, will you commit to evaluating these assessments and collecting 

input from emergency services like the NODES that are calling for a single 

threat and hazard identification model across the nation? 

Yes 

Cybcr-Hygiene 

17. I appreciate your background and expertise on cybersecurity issues. Cyber threats 

pose a grave threat to U.S. national security, and we must take a comprehensive 

approach to keeping our citizens, businesses, government, and critical infrastructure 

secure. As you know, cybcrattacks rely on vulnerabilities to exploit and infiltrate 

systems and networks. At times, these vulnerabilities arc created and compounded 

when people usc bad cyber practices, such as clicking on unverified links, relying on 

weak internet protocols, or accessing secure systems from unsecure locations. 

Ensuring that people know how to remain safe online is critical to maintaining a 

cyher secure environment. 

a. Could you brie11y discuss your perspective on the role DHS should play in 

educating the general public on cybcr-hygiene? 

The Department has a public education campaign called 

Stop. Think. Connect. and has developed toolkits and associated outreach for 

this effort. If confirmed, I will assess the Department's activities in this area 

and identi[v areas that can be strengthened. Studies continue to show how 

great a difference basic cyber hygiene makes in improving our overall 

security to cyberattack.1·. I believe DHS, with its interagency partners, plays a 

vital role in educating the general public. In today's lryperconnected threat 

environment, your cyber risk becomes my risk and so the importance of and 

need for a whole of nation approach cannot be overstated. Raising the bar 

of cyber.~ecurity across t/1e nation begins with awareness and education of 

the threat posed and basic hygiene measures that every citizen can take to 

increase our nation's cyber security and resilience. 

b. If confirmed, will you commit to reviewing DHS's efforts to educate the 

public on cybcr-hygienc practices and reporting back to my office within 90 

days regarding the effectiveness of these efforts and what additional steps you 

will take to encourage end-users to adopt cyber-hygiene practices? 

Yes, I will. 

Information Sharing 

18. The sharing of information in homeland security is absolutely critical. Unfortunately, 

across the federal government, there are still issues with information silos. 

a. In your view, what are the most effective ways to break down silos and foster 

environment of information sharing') 
221 

I view information sharing with and among our federal, state, local, tribal, 

territorial and private sector partners as a vital part of effectively securing 

the l10me/and. I co-drafted and oversaw the federal implementation of all 

Bush Administration Executive Orders (EOs) and Presidential Memoranda 

regarding information sharing and the Information Sharing Environment 

(ISE]. In creating and instituting the IS£, we spent time categorizing the 

types of information we needed to share and the stakeholders who needed to 

share and receive such information. The basic frameworks, policies and 

procedures have expanded and been updated over the years, but the 

underlying goal- to connect the dots - has remained. I believe that 

information sharing silos are most effectively broken when individuals can 

articulate clear mission needs and objectives and when leadership is 

engaged to solve those real problems. Information sharing must also be 

driven from a clear sense of what information is needed for mission 

execution. Once people begin to work together, additional opportunities for 

collaboration and information sharing become clear. 

b. Are there existing efforts in DHS that you have found particularly conducive 

to promoting an environment where information is shared across agencies and 

with the private sector? 

I am somewhatfamiliar,Jrom my time as DHS Chief of Staff, with some of 

the Department's recent initiatives to enhance and improve information 

sharing, including efforts led by the Office of Community Partnership, 

Office of Partnership and Engagement, !&A, and NPPD. I have recently 

had conversations with a number of representatives from state and local law 

el!(orcemenl and first responder organizations, including the fusion center 

community and their private sector partners, to gain their perspective on 

how DHS is doing and how it can do better. If confirmed, I look forward to 

working with such representatives and other federal partners to expand the 

use of be.\'1 practices, address gaps in sharing, identify innovative tools and 

processes to ensure that such sharing is accurate, timely and actionable and 

in genera/to continue to strengthen the Department's relationship with 

federal, stale, local and tribal officials and the flow o_(injormation in both 

directions. These officials are on the front line of our nation's homeland 

sec uri(~·. and we all benefit great(v from improving our information sharing. 

c. If confirmed. what steps will you take to break down information silos? 

If confirmed, I will set the lone from the top of the organization on the 

importance o.l information sharing across agencies am/with our partners in 

state, local, tribal and territorial government, the private sector, and 

international partners to protect the !tome/and. I will hold my staff 

accountable for ensuring information is shared '>J'Siematica/ly and 

appropriately to meet mission needs and ensure that investments support 
222 

information sharing capabilities. I will review classification requirements 

and restrictions, security clearance processes for DHS non-federal partners 

and work with DHS leadership to identify additional types of information 

that can and should be shared, within the law, across components and 

mission spaces. Assessments that identify information types and categories 

needed for mission execution should be shared across t!te Department to 

identify potentia/additional existing sources that can be cross leveraged 

within the law. 
223 

Senator Gary Peters 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

Questions for Ms. Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Nominated to be Secretarv, Department of Homeland 

Security 

l. Cybersecurity: The U.S. faces an ever-growing threat from increasingly sophisticated 

cybcrattacks and we must remain vigilant to safeguard our national security. In a recent report, 

the President's National lnfrastmcture Advisory Council (N!AC) concluded, "there is a narrow 

and !lceting window of opportunity before a watershed, 9/l 1-level cyberattack to organize 

effectively and take bold action:· The challenges identified are well-known and reflected in 

study after study. 

a. Could you tell me how your previous experience has prepared you to address our 

nation's cybersecurity needs? 

M:v experiences within government am/ supporting govemments (federal, international, 

State and local); within the private sector; supporting owners and operators of critical 

infrastructure; supporting cybersecurify firms; serving as a subject matter expert in 

various studies, assessments andforums; and collaborating with international partners, 

NGOs and non profits have given me a unique view into the evolving threat environment; 

l)'Stem, asset and data vulnerabilities; potential consequences within systems and entities 

and cascading between and amongst sectors, regions and essential functions; pace of 

technology innovation and its use as both a weapon and as a protection force multiplier; 

the implications for risk and /tow we address it from iuues such as tile ilyperconnectivity 

of our environment, the patchwork of laws and legalframeworkJ amongst states and 

nations, am/ tile speed, ease and low cost of attacks. 

I have experience as a government employee and in supporting governments in a full 

range of cybersecurify related activities including identifying and assessing cyber risk; 

assessing our posture and capability; developing and coordinating policy; determining 

roles and responsibilities; identifying needed authorities; developing strategies, pltms and 

operational plans; developing situational awareness policy, processes, sources and 

initiatives; designing information sharing frameworks; creating public-private 

partnerships to share information and take collective action; designing cyber exercise 

programs, developing scenarios and moderating and executing exercises; supporting the 

development of DHS cybersecurity tools and programs; identijj;ing cyber related research 

and development needs for critical infra,~tructure security !llld resilience; conducting 

stake/wider outreach; and raising cybersecuri(v awareness. 

I It ave also supported private sector companies and NGOs seeking to increase their 

security and resilience to cyberattack. 1lfy experiences, capabilities and knowledge stem 

ji'om a wide range of cybersecurity activities including providing support in crisis 

communications; exercises design and execution; reviewing and revising operational 

concepts of operations; aligning witlt tlte NIST cybersecurity framework providing 

education and awareness support to Boards of Directors; assessing ways in whiclt to 
224 

share sensitive information with the govemment; assessing mec/wnismsfor partnering 

with governments and otlter private sector companies; assessing operational implications 

of various cybersecurity policies; designing bring your own device policies; and creating 

performance metrics for cybersecurity programs. 

Finally, !It ave also served as a subject matter expert, convening various platforms and 

groups of stakeholders from various sectors, levels of govemment and regions of the 

world to identijj• and determine !tow to assess systemic cyber risks, to identify measures 

we as a community call take to increase security and resilience, to assess consequence 

quantification methodologies, to align/ega/frameworks, and to assess the benefits and 

limitations of cyber insurance. 

In sum, my experiences It ave provided me with perspectives, insigbts and operational 

understanding from all sectors and parts of our cybersecurity community. 

b. What priority will cybersecurity have under your leadership at DHS? 

If confirmed, I will enmre that cybersecurity is prioritized in line with the risk it poses to 

the Nation. Report after report highlights tlte efforts nation-state actors, cyber criminal 

gangs, political(v motivated groups, and others, ttre taking to target tire U.S. Tire 

Department It as a unique role in leading lite Federal network protection efforts of the 

government's civilian, non-national security system, as well as tlte lead coordi11ator for 

working witlt tlte critical infrastructure community and the private sector. I will ensure 

tit at tlte Department's cybersecurity leadership team has the necessary resources ami 

support they need to be effective. To that em!, for instance, [will work to accelerate 

Federal network protection efforts to instill a more effective governance model across 

Federal civilian systems, ensure network defenders have actionable and timely 

illformation to make risk-informed decisions, drive towards automation of basic network 

defense actions, and offer more scalable service offerings, including "SOC as a service" 

to consolidate security investments across the Federal govemment. Similarly, !will 

prioritize NPPD efforts to work witlt private and state and local network defenders, 

sharing actionable threat information, automating response efforts, and addressing 

systemic risk across our key services afl(/ functions. Among those efforts, [will prioritize 

the protection of election systems nationwide, working with the EAC, NIST, vendors, and 

otlters to ensure state am/locals have the tools necessary to ensure the security of the 

ballot box. 

c. What do you sec as DHS' role in supporting state and local governments that lack 

the resources to adequately respond to cybcr-attacks? 

DIIS plays a role in providing tools, resources, threat information and support to state 

and local governments. DIIS also plays a role in articulating roles and responsibilities 

and clarifying who will do wit at wlten. Towards that end, the National Cyber Incident 

Response Plan, released earlier this year, describes a national approach to cyber 

incidents, addresses the important roles that tlte private sector, state and local 

governments, and multiple federal agencies play in responding to incidents and flow the 
225 

actions all fit together for an integrated response. The NCIRP al.m serves as the Cyber 

Annex to the Federal Interagency Operational Plan (FlOP) that built upon the National 

Planning Frameworks and National Preparedness System developed purmant to PPD-8. 

DHS is also deploying personnel throughout the country to assist state and local 

governments in developing incident response and recovery pfmts. DIIS is providing 

technical assistance via remote or om·ite engagements to identify vulnerabilities and 

provide mitigation plans. These initiatives assist state and local governments to prioritize 

the development of their capabilities to respond to cyberattacks. If a state or locality 

requests it, DHS can also provide onsite incident response teams to assist an entity in 

driving the adversary out of their networks and restoring tlteir .~ystems quickly. DHS is 

working with the National Governors A.uociation to develop additional plans to 

.wpplement state and local response should their capacity be overwhelmed in a significant 

cyber incident. 

Should I be confirmed, I also intend to draw on my experience in incident management to 

improve cyber incident response and support to State and Local governments. 

According(!', I'll prioritize current efforts to study scalable workforce options and flexible 

funding models, such as those employed by FEMA responders. FEMA 's Surge Capacity 

Force (SCF) ensures that sufficient responders are available to support response 

operations. A cybersecurity incident response surge force would likely include crosstraining existing DIIS employees, employees from other Departments and agencies, as 

well as innovative uses of existing contract vehicles with private sector companies to 

include surge contract lines. In addition, FEMA 's ability to draw on the Disaster Relief 

Fund to direct, coordinate, manage, and fund eligible response and recovery efforts under 

the Stafford Act may serve as a model for a future cybersecurity emergency assistance 

framework to State and Local governments. Similarly, existing FE'IfA grant programs 

will be reemluated to ensure preparedness grant expenditures are in line with the 

findings of the National Preparedness Report, which has year after year highlighted the 

low level of cybersecurity preparedness across the nation. 

d. With your background in infrastructure protection, how will you seek to improve 

DHS' engagement with the priYale sector entities that own and operate much of the 

country's most uitical infrastructure'? 

We mnst continue to assess information- whether it be vulnerability, consequence or 

threat information - and provide it in a timely, tailored and accessible way so that private 

sector entities can act on it and manage their risk accordingly. To do this and provide the 

necessary context, we must seek to further our understanding of how critical services and 

functions are connected and dependent on cyber infrastructure. This is increasingly 

requiring not just a sophisticated understanding of how an individual industry is 

connected (mch as the financial services sector) but necessitates an understanding of 

cross sector dependencies and interdependencies. If confirmed, my goal is to ensure tlte 

Department and critical ilifrastructure owners and operators have a sltared 

understanding of tflese dependencies and the risk that results from them. 
226 

I will alm seek to advance our work to improve our ability to provide both rapid tailored 

information that is most useful to network defenders as well as information that would 

assist critical infrastructure executives in their risk management decisions. ln addition, 

my experience in the private sector underscored the need for DHS to more clearly 

articulate both the interconnected risk we face today as well as the value proposition for 

industry engagement with the government. In some cases, industry does not clearly 

understand the Department's role or its capabilities, and due to the voluntary nature of 

Df-TS engagements, absent any requirement to work with DHS, entities either chose not to 

work with DHS or did not know how to. I believe that DJJS can overcome this challenge 

by developing a more comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy ami related 

campaign, including improved branding, marketing, and au understanding tif industry 

requirements, incentives and common outcomes. 

c. What more can be done to reinforce tbe cybersecurity posture of those networks? 

DHS must do more to work alongside our partners, including improving the quantity ami 

quali(v of touchpoints we hm•e with industry. In many cases, the nation's critical 

infrastructure operators engage via Sector Coordinating Councils and Information 

Sharing and Analysi5 Centers (!SACs) or Organizations (ISAOs). Some partners have 

seats in or have access to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration 

Center. I believe further integration with industry is key. We should review options such 

as sending DJJS personnel into the field to embed in industry for short term assignments. 

Similarly, we should consider prioritizing industry technical persounel sitting in the 

NCCIC on slwrt term ana(vst exchange assignment5. These exchanges build trust and 

understanding tif industry requirements and operational realities, as well as build 

capacity and proficiency tifthe re;pective workforces. This will help refine DJJS's 

.mlution development and its abiliry to tailor solutions to specific sectors, systems, assets 

and information (vpes, as well as inform industry's understanding of what capabilities 

DJJS can bring to bear once the requirement is defined. 

ln addition, I believe that critical infrastructure owners and operators should continue to 

embrace the NJST cybersecuriryframework. 111any have done so but we have more work 

to do, particularly in securiry control systems. DJJS is expanding its ability to provide 

assessments and recommendations to assist this community with the implementation of 

the Framework- this includes both highly tee/mica/assessments, as well as strategic 

reviews. More broadly, DHS, in partnership with NIST, plays a leadership role in 

engaging the control systems community to ensure that tfte gaps are bridged between 

security and safety and that the Framework readily applies to the operational and 

information technology environments. 

f. How will you work to improve DHS' information sharing processes to ensure tbe 

appropriate private sector individuals receive actionable cyber threat information"? 

Processes must support rapid, accurate, tailored and actionable threat information. 

DHS's information sharing programs are focused on two major areas: (I) sharing 

known threat indicators with as wide an audience as possible (via Automated 
227 

Indicator Sharing, alerts, reports, and bulletins), and (2) enhancing our ability to 

provide tailored information based on an improved understanding of systemic risks, 

single points of failure within an industry, and the govemment's unique position to 

provide context to technical infornwtion. We must continue to improve the quality of 

the threat information we share, including by implementing a reputational scoring 

process that pmvides additional information on indicators. We also need to improve 

feedback processes around indicator sharing- not just from DHS, but from our 

information sharing partners. If a piece of threat information was useful, or not 

useful, that information can help inform further di~semination of indicators. 

g. Describe how DHS' cybersecurity mission could support a broader, whole of 

government cyher deterrence strategy. 

Within the framework of Presidential Policy Directive 41 and the National Cyber 

Incident Response Plan, DHS is an active contributor both to the deterrence by denial 

and deterrence by cost imposition aspects of the nation's current approach to 

cybersecurity deterrence. The U.S. Secret Service and ICE Homeland Security 

Investigations, through their law enforcement authorities, seek to inve.~tigate, arrest, 

ami support the prosecution of cyber actors domestically and abroad. Working 

alongside other law enforcement partners such as the FBI and the private sector, these 

efforts create a climate hostile to cyber criminals. 

On the deterrence by denial side, DllSfocuses on network protection and incident 

response efforts that aim to minimize the attack surface tmd dramatically reduce 

vulnerable systems, manage consequences of an incident, and generally create a safe, 

secure, and more resilient cybersecurity eco.~ystem. NPPD is tl1e lwb for tflese efforts, 

coordinating defense actions such as providing network defenders actionable threat 

and risk management information, conducting hunt and incident response actions, 

training and exerci~es, directing cross-govern me II( operational planning efforts, and 

developing scalable solutions and tools that enable more effective network d4ense 

activities. DHS has unique statutory authorities under FISiiiA 2014, including the 

Binding Operational Directive authority, that allow DIIS to direct agencies to take 

certain information security risk management activities. This directive authority has 

been proven to be incredib(l' effective in managing risk and reducing vulnerabilities. 

Combined with tire Federal Enterprise wide understanding of risk posture provided by 

the Continuous Diagnostics and liiitigation (CDMJ dashboard, DHS is in a position to 

help other agencies manage risk and improve their security posture. 

2. !3ioterrorism: A bioterrorist attack could have a devastating impact in a major city, both in terms 

of human life and our sense of safety and security. However, reports such as the !3luc Ribbon 

study panel's repm1 on biodefense have indicated that our national defense against bioterrorism 

is lacking in both detection capability and response. In the 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment, 

the CRISPR gene editing tool was identified as a key enabling technology that could be used by 

terrorists to more easily create a biological weapon. 
228 

a. What do you see as DHS' role in research and development, including against 

bioterrorism and nuclear terrorism? 

DHS plays a critical role in protecting the homeland against biological and nuclear 

terror threats. On tile biodefense side, DHS conducts antrrray ofresearclr and 

development (R&D) activities internally, including sensitive R&D regarding biological 

tlrreats that could be weaponizedfor use against tile U.S. population. By better 

understanding the danger, DHS R&D activities allow us to calibrate our defenses to 

protect against tire nefarious intentions o.fstate and non-state actors. DHS also 

leverages partners/lips with the Department of Defense and other agencies for access to 

basic research, ongoing pilots, and tire testing of late stageR &D efforts. Tire 

Department is currentlyfocused on developing more effective ear(y warning 

mechanisms to detect the release of biological threats-including tlrrough new 

technology, enhanced systems, and first-responder awareness. 

On tire nuclear defense side, DHS is responsible for a wide range of radiological and 

nuclear R&D through the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The Department's 

research plays an important role in helping to improve detection of radiological and 

nuclear threats and to conduct attribution after incidents. DHS also leverages R&D 

conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration and in the Department of 

Energy National Laboratories primari(v for the nuclear mission. If confirmed I will 

work with DHS leaders/rip to reiliforce that DIIS R&D supports frontline operators in 

ensuring they have effective tools to detect and interdict radiological and nuclear 

threats entering or transiting our territory. 

b. How would you prioritize the R&D efforts of DHS? 

The Administration is currently developing a National Biodefense Strategy and I look 

jiJrward to reviewing should I be confirmed. lf confirmed, I will also ensure DHS R&D 

efforts to counter biological threats prioritize the rapid deployment of technologies that 

improve situational awareness, detection, and response. This includes collaborating 

with interagency partners tlwt are also working on early warning sensors to ensure 

that we avoid waste, overlap, and duplication. I willa/so make it a priority for DHS to 

continue to aggressive(v assess the biothreat landscape so that advances in technology 

are not used to endanger our homeland and our people. 

c. What capabilities or resources docs the DHS need to develop to be prepared for a 

biotcrrorist attack'? 

As noted, tile Administration is currently developing a National Biodefense Strategy 

that will help guide the Department's decision making regarding capabilities ami 

resources needed for biodefense. If confirmed, I will ensure DHS examines 

deficiencies in our previous biodefense architecture and /row we can close security 

gaps-such as reducing delays in threat notification-to better safeguard our 

homeland. We must be able to detect threats more quickly after they are released, 

adjudicate them with trained personnel, and ensure the appropriate response 

organization It as the right information to rapidly mitigate the danger. I will also 
229 

examine the Department's existing resources, authorities, and capabilities in tit is space 

to ensure they adequately align with the pending strategy and the seriousness of the 

threat. 

~. Space W cather: In order to protect critical infrastructure, like the power grid, from the threat of 

space weather, we are dependent on observations and predictions from various science agencies, 

like ~AS/\ and NOAA. 

a. To fulfill your mission, how important is it that we improve our ability to forecast 

space weather? 

A vital component of risk management is understanding the threat. Just as information 

related to terrestrial weather events, earthquakes or terrorist attacks is important to help 

DHS manage risk, improving our ability to forecast and understand the threat space 

weather can pose will support DHS situational awareness and risk management. 

b. What types of preparations will you emphasize to prepare the nation for space 

weather events, both for government and the private sector? 

Space weather events can have high potential consequences and more work needs to be 

done to understand and address the threat to critical infrastructure. As I understand it, the 

Department of Defense, NASA, and NOAA are partners in understanding the risk, ensuring 

resiliency and developing response and recovery planning. Partnership remains the 

cornerstone of addressing such threats as much of our nation's critical infrastructure is 

owned and operated by the private sector. We must better understand the panoply of attack 

vectors and attack types against our critical infrastructure- both through modeling and 

information .~flaring. If cot~firmed, I will continue DHS' work with its interagency partner 

to better understand the risk space weather poses to critical infrastructure and to identify 

measures to increase our ~·ecurity and resilience to suclt threats. 

4. Muslim Registry: 

a. Will you commit to ensuring that religion docs not become a basis for U.S. 

counterterrorism or law enforcement policy particularly as it relates to the targeting 

of individuals with ancestry from Muslim-majority countries? 

Yes. 

5. Travel Ban: As you know, Saudi Arabia is not on any version of the executive orders despite the 

fact that 15 of the 19 September 11'11 terrorists were from that country. In contrast, no terrorist 

attack has been committed by individuals from the countries banned by the President's executive 

orders. 

a. Please explain how executive orders banning entry by people from six Muslimmajority countries and suspending the refugee program for 11 countries deemed 

"high risk" increase public safety. 
230 

I would note that DllS has a responsibility to anticipate and prepare for the next terrorist 

attack- not the last one. DllS prioritizes allocation of resources to include screening 

and vetting- based on where the intelligence indicates the risk is coming from. While we 

must learn from past events which in turn influence risk allocation, we must focus on 

what is happening currently and could !tappen in the .future. 

Given pending litigation, for relevant details, l would refer to the President's public 

proclamation on September 24, 2017. As tlwt proclamation states, the travel restrictions 

announced by the President were not determined in any way based on race, religion, or 

creed. The restrictions were bused on a comprehensive interagency review and extensive 

engagement with foreign partners around the world. The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), in coordination with interagency partners and the intelligence 

community,establislted a new information-s/taring baseline to ensure that the United States 

could appropriately vet nationals of foreign countries in order to identify terrorists, 

criminals, and other threats to public safety. 

6. Northern Triangle: People from Central America are presenting themselves at the U.S. southern 

border, often fkeing violence. I had the opportunity to spend time in the Northern Triangle a trip 

I found very informative. 

a. Based on your experience, what would be your first steps to address the influx of 

unaccompanied minors fleeing the Northern Triangle? 

The causes of the influx, so called "push and pull factors" aud the solutions are both 

simple and complex. While I was Chief of Staff to Secretary Kelly we spent considerable 

time discussing this issue, and I benefited greatly from his knowledge of and 

commitment to the region and from meetings we held with Central American leaders. l 

coucur with his assessment given to thif Committee that the continued "push" driven 

for illegal migration from Central America are the crime and instability in those 

countries that are largely a consequence of drug demand in the United States and the 

resulting destabilization from drug tn(/Jickiug organizations using these countries as 

transit zones. Tfte "pull" factors continue to be economic opportunities in the United 

States that are substantially better than those available at home to most citizens of these 

countries and also a continued, but decreasing, perception that if a person can 

succes,~fully get to the U.S. border they will either not be caught or be allowed to stay. 

In terms oftlte solutions available to us, I believe we can and should continue to seek 

greater cooperation with willing partners in these countries and devote greater energy 

and resources to help tltem combat DTO's and criminal gangs as well as assist them to 

provide economic opportunities for their citizens at home so they will not be "pushed" 

to make a dangerous journey in the first place. We also can continue to improve all 

aspects of our immigration enforcement process from border security, to certainty of 

deportation and return, to employment verification in order to reduce the "pull" for 

illegal immigrants from Central America and elsewhere and to act as a powerful 

deterrent to the choice of illegal rather than legal means of migration. Finally, if 

confirmed, I will work with my Cabinet colleague~· on a comprehensive drug demand 

reduction strategy and to further combat transnational crimina/networks. 

b. What do you sec as the future of the Alliance for Prosperity? Do you think that the 

Northern Triangle countries (Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala) are fully 

committed to their obligations under the agreement'! 
231 

During my time at DHS, !found our Northern Triangle partners to be engaged and 

willing partners. This was highlighted during the Conference on Prosperity and Security 

held in June. I understood the Northern Triangle Countries to be mobilizing their 

domestic resources to implement the Alliance for Prosperity. Likewise, I believe the U.S. 

needs to continue to support Central America Ill rough foreign assistance. It is my 

understanding that the FY18 budget request includes an additional $460M to advance 

the goals of the Alliance for Prosperity. Should l be confirmed, l look forward to 

receiving an update on the status of these efforts, and l will collaborate closely with the 

Department of State in engaging our Central American partners to achieve their 

obligations under the agreement. 

c. How will ~·ou ensure that people seeking asylum in the U.S. receive fair hearings 

regarding their fears for their safety should they return to their home countries? 

7. Trade: 

Should I be confirmed, I will work with DHS component leadership at CBP and ICE to 

review our directives and training to field personnel to en.wre they are abiding by all 

legal obligations Sllclt that those claiming credible fear are provided the appropriate due 

process to which asylum seekers are entitled. 

a. \Viii enforcement of our trade laws be a priority for you, and what other measures 

do you have in mind to help protect our domestic industries from unfair trade 

practices at the border? 

11~e Department',5 responsibilities in the area of trade law enforcement are very important 

and will be u priority for me. The President hu,5 mode clear that ensuring American 

competitiveness against unfair foreign trade practices is a priori(!' for all federal agencies 

with trade responsibilities in their portfolio. U.S. Customs & Border Protection has been 

active in implementing recent legislation, lite Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA), which 

provides additional tools and autlwrizationfor stopping the evasion of anti-dumping duties. 

[understand that in fiscal year 2017, CBP collected over $1.5 billion in anti-dumping and 

countervailing duties deposits and levied penalties tif over $253.6 million for importers 

committing fraud and negligence. DHS works closely with the Department of Commerce, 

Department of Labor, the Patent and Trademark Office and Department of Justice on 

various initiatives and litigation to enforce trade laws including those related to products 

()(forced labor and the theft of intellectual property. We also rely on cooperation with the 

private sector through representatives tif affected U.S. industries. If confirmed, I will look 

to build upon the work being done and enhance our partnership with interagency, private 

sector, and international partners to bring renewed energy and ideas for doing even more 

to foster and protect Americans from unfair trade practices. 

8. Civil Rights: 

a. Do you support laws and policies that allow police and other authorities to demand 

proof of citizenship or immigration status based on their perception that an 

individual might be undocumented? 
232 

As I understand it, tfte Supreme Court recently affirmed, federal immigmtion 

authorities can only be exercise</ by federal personnel, or personnel specifically trained 

hy DHS under .ICE's 287(g) program. The Department supports the 287(g) program, 

through which particular state and local law enforcement personnel are deputized with 

limited federal immigration authorities under the supel'l•ision of ICE, and following 

extensive training that includes appropriate safeguards on racial or ethnic profiling. 

While recognizing that state and local law enforcement agencies operate under their 

own authorities, DHS strong(y opposes unlawful profiling by any of our law 

et~forcement partners. 

The Department's own personnel, including officers deputized under the 287(g) 

program, follow the 2013 DHS policy statement and the 2014 Department of Justice 

Guidelines. As explained in a public fact sheet DHS released concurrently with the DOJ 

Guidelines, existing DHS policy prohibits all racial profiling at all times, by any 

employee of DHS. It also makes clear that DJJS personnel may only use race or etlmicity 

as a factor "when a compelling governmental interest is present, and only in a way 

narrow(y tailored to meet t/wt compelling interest." Although I d~fer to DOJ with 

respect to its guidance, I would note that tlte guidance expanded both the covered 

activities and scope of personnel and agencies that are covered at DHS. Tfte DOJ policy 

applies stringent and expanded anti-profiling requirements to many DHS activities 

previously not addressed. 

Finally, I would note that the DHS' Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ltas been 

involved in the selection process for new 287(g) jurisdictions. Their role is to ensure 

that a new jurisdiction does not have a record of racial profiling or show other red 

flags that may cause DHS to reject tlte application. Additionally, CRCL has been 

involved in training for local law enforcement on the issue of what constitutes 

reasonable suspicion and racial profiling. 

~f confirmed, I will work to ensure that the Department's enforcement of the 

immigration laws continues to be within tlte bounds of our legal authorities and 

consl1·tent with proscribed Constitutional protections and standards regarding due 

process. 

b. If so, what would constitute reasonable suspicion, and how would this differ from 

racial profiling? 

If confirmed, I will work to ensure that the Department's enforcement of the 

immigration laws continues to be within the bounds of our legal authorities and 

consistent with proscribed Constitutional protections and standards regarding due 

process. 

9. Enforcement Priorities: Congress allocates a set amount of money to DHS to enforce immigration 

laws. and DHS currently prioritizes its limited resources based on priorities. 
233 

a. What is your approach to prioritization? 

As I stated during my confirmation hearing, I intend to continue DHS' policy of 

prioritizing enforcement for tltose with a history of having committed violent and serious 

crimes and those who otherwise post a risk to national security or public safe(v. 

10. H-2B Visas: The employment visa program known as H-2B that provides a safety net for small 

and seasonal businesses to supplement their year round workforce when necessary. This visa 

program is very important to the tourism industty in my state as well as to the state fair and 

carnival industry among others. As you know, the program is capped at 66,000 visas. 

a. What are your plans for this visa program -specifically, do you have plans for the 

treatment of returning workers? 

The ll-28 program allows U.S. employers wlw meet specific regulatory requirements 

to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. to jill temporary non-agricultural jobs. lam 

aware that in past years, Congress has provided for H-28 returning workers to app~v 

for visas notwithstanding the statutory cap. DHS does not have the unilateral 

autlwriry to provide visas in excess of the 66,000 cap established by Congress. Under 

the law, the number of workers who may be granted H-28 classification in aji.~cal year 

(the H-28 "cap") is limited to 66,000, and the cap is allocated semimwual~v, allowing 

for up to 33,000 ll-28 workers in thefirst half of the fiscal year, and for the remaining 

H-28 visas to be allocated to workers during the second half of tlu ji.~cal year. I 

understand some late-season industries (e.g., salmon workers in Alaska and seasonal 

workers on the coast of Maine) argue that the dates of the two cap openings (i.e., 

October I and April I) prevent litem from obtaining H-28 workers. ln order to obtain 

one or more vim numbers during either half of the fiscal year, an employer must It ave 

a start date of work on or after October I'', or on or after April I". 

/understand that wtder DHS regulations, US CIS will not accept an H-28 petition 

unless it is filed with an approved temporary labor certification (TLC). DOL 

reguhttions, in turn, provide that an employer cannot apply for a TLC with the DOL 

until 90 days before tire start date of work to ensure that no U.S. workers are able and 

available to perform the proffered temporary jobs. 

If confirmed, /look forward to learning more about utilization of litis visa category 

and current .~ticking points or areas of concern. /look forward to working wit It 

USCIS, Congress and stakeholtlersfrom employers utilizing this visa category to 

understand better !tow we may seek additional improvement, efficiency and 

transparency in how the program parameters and administration are working to jill 

key jobs with labor shortages while protecting Americans seeking work and preventing 

fraud and abuse. 

II. Private Prisons/Detention Centers: The last administration had instructed the Department of 

Justice to phase out the use of private prisons in the federal court system because they were 

deemed less safe and a poor substitute for government-run facilities. The DHS announced are-
234 

evaluation of its own use of private prisons to hold undocumented immigrants. Since then the 

new administration has announced plans to expand private, for-profit detention centers in many 

states including Michigan. 

a. Do you intend to oversee new construction of for profit detention centers? 

I understand that ICE utilizes detention facilities managed by contractors, including 

through Intergovernmental Service Agreements with state and local governments. The 

facilities are required to meet ICE requirements and are subject to inspection from the 

Inspector General in addition to other oversight mechanisms. I do not know whether 

ICE deems its current detention capacity sufficient to meet its operational needs 

consistent with ICE's authorities and available resources. As such, at this time, I cannot 

answer whether new .facilities, either contract or government-run, are necessary. 

b. Do you see a conflict of interest between for-profit detention centers and American 

tax payers? 

I do not understand the premise of this question. Consistent with legal authorities and 

available resources, departments and agencies must assess how best to meet their 

mission needs and deliver for the American people in a cost effecth•e manner. Should I 

be confirmed, I will strive to do just that. 

12. Federal Disaster Response and Communications: On September 25th, just five days after 

Hurricane Maria made landfall, the President tweeted: "TX and FLare doing great but PR, which 

was already suffering from broken infrastructure and massive debt is in deep trouble ... " This was 

just one of a number of tweets that maligned the people and government of Puetio Rico and 

seemed to imply the devastation that occurred was not worthy of assistance. We now know that 

Texas suiTered significant flooding that was due, in part, to rapid growth and inadequate drainage 

infrastructure but no one is suggesting their damage is not worth billions in federal funding. and 

rightfully so. Federal assistance is based on a number of factors but I don't believe we can penalize 

disaster survivors for things largely outside their control. The President's communication could 

be interpreted as signaling policy change or at the very least, inOuencing how the public interprets 

FEMA policy and certainly impacts how FEMA coordinates with State, local, and tribal oHicials 

across this country. 

a. Have you been directed to review or do you know of any effort to change how the 

federal government assesses whether a disaster declaration is warranted to include 

a determination of whether local decision-making has increased risk? 

To my knowledge, there has been 110 cltange in the process by wlticlt the federal 

govemmeuf asse.ues the impact of au event, or if a presidentictl disaster declamtion is 

warmnted. 

b. If you arc confirmed, would you commit to reviewing how communications from 

around the Federal government, including from the President's various methods of 

communications, impact FEMA's ability to accurately communicate the facts to 

those impacted by disasters? 
235 

!'rtJI'iding tlw public timely and accurate l[fesal'ing injiJrmation during major incidents 

remain\' rTMA 's highest priori(}'- The Emergency Support Function (ESF) #15 

Stmulard Operating Procedure.f is FEli'/A 's primm:v guiding document to coordinate 

outreach aut! ensure consistent public it({ormation tllroug!t an integrated Fedeml 

incident communications 5ystem. ff cot((irmed, I w;t/ work with Administrator Long to 

ensure t!tat I:TlHA is able to accurate~v communicate needed facts and guidance to 

those impacted by disasters. 

c. If the J>resident used inaccurate or unhelpful language in future disaster situations, 

how would you address this and limit the impact on both the FEMA workforce in 

the field and disaster survivors'! 

If confirmed, as Secretary it would be my responsibility to communicate clearly with tile 

White House if I believed that actions or communications from lite While House were 

impeding the ability of FEMA to effectively respond during a disaster. 

13, Congressional Oversight of FEMA: As you know, this Committee has already begun examining 

the federal government's ongoing response and recovery from HuiTicanes Harvey, Irma. and 

Maria. Based on your experience in the post-Katrina interagency lesson's learned process. I 

assume you recognize and appreciate the work that must be undertaken after large events to 

identify challenges and oppotiunities for improvement 

a. Will you commit to empowering FEMA to share their expertise with this Committee as 

we seek to first do no harm and ensure they are not unduly limited by DHS? 

Yes. 

14. National Preparedness: In your questionnaire, you indicated interest in reviewing the metrics and 

reporting tools used for the suite of preparedness grants administered by FEMA. 

a. What are your initial thoughts on the programs as they are currently structured and do you 

envision a holistic shift away from the National Preparedness Report/TH!RA/BSIR model 

of assessment? 

1 believe tlwt we owe it to those affected directly by disasters and all taxpayers to ensure 

tit at we understand the ri1·k matwgement valu<! '!(various preparedness grants. F'Eli'L4 's 

preparedne.u grants are structured to meet the ,\·tatutory requirements; for example, the 

Homeland Security Gram Program is designed to support state, local and tribal efforts to 

prel•ent terrorism aiUI other catastrophic events llfl{l to prepare the Nation for the threats 

and hazards tlwt pose the greate,,t risk to the securi(r oftlte United States. Similar~!'. the 

National Preparedness Report satisfies a number of requirements in the Post-Katrina 

Emergency 1Hanagement RefiJrm Act (PKDHRA). 

The THIRA is 11 risk assessment process that llelps the whole communi(v-inc/uding 

itulividual1·, businesses,.faith-ba,,ed organizations, notzprofit groups, schools muf 

academia and all levels ofgovemme/ll-understttnd its riskf and estimate capabili(l' 

requirement.\'. 

The Biennial Strategy Implementation R<!port (BS!R) is a legacy tool that will be replaced 
236 

when FEMA completes its Gmnl!i 1"'fanagement Modemization (Gi'vlilf) effort, in the next 

lew reaPs. 

If cm1firmed, I will work wit It Administrator Long to review the effectiveness and 

e.fficienq of all DHS grant programs and ensure adequate metric\' and reporting 

stmctures in place 

IS. The National Preparedness Goal (NPG) was mandated by l!SPD-8 which, as you indicated in 

your questionnaire, you oversaw the development of while at the Homeland Security CounciL 

a. What is your impression of how the Goal has been implemented thus far and is it a 

relevant tool for the federal government? 

Tlte .National PreparedneS.\' Goal is "A secure and resilient nation with the capabilities 

required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, 

and recover from the threats and hazards that pose tlte greatest risk." It includes 32 

core capabilities--{listinct, critical elements necesslliJ' .fill" success-organized in Jive 

mission areas and was refreshed in October 2015. Tlte Goal continues to evolve as do 

the type and deJinition of the core capabilities. The Goal is de••eloped through a varie(r 

1~( outreach meclumiwns to en.Hire that the perspectives and experiences 1!{ 

stakeholders in.fimn tlte next iteration. 

b. Do you believe the current National Planning Frameworks are meeting their stated 

ob,jcctive of guiding how the whole community achieves the National Preparedness 

Goal'! 

The National Frameworks--{)nefor each oftltejive mission areas, ttame~y prevention, 

protection, mitigation, response, and recovery-address lite mle~· and responsibilities 

across the whole comnwni(l' to deliver tlte core capabilities necessary to achieve the 

National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation. Tlte Frameworks were 

updated in June tif 2016, al1{/ each guides activities in the mission areas. In 

conjunction with otlwr N1Ttional Prepuredness .'>)•stem documents sucfl as the Federal 

lnteragenLJ' Opemtional Plans, the frameworks provide guidance ou roles and 

re.\'{Jomihilities und need capabilities- witlt targets- to support community achievement 

oftlte National Preparedness Goal. 
237 

Senator Maggie Hassan 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 

I. You said at the hearing that the reason that you eliminated the Countering Violent 

Extremism grants was that it was meant to only serve as a temporary grant program that 

would allow the Department to assess the viability and e!Tectiveness of the grant 

program. However, you did not address why the staffing levels of the office had been so 

drastically cut. You specifically suggested that best practices would need to be gleaned 

from the grants process, but when the ofTice personnel is cut and half and its support staff 

have been eliminated, it is pretty hard to measure etTectiveness. 'Il1is office was located 

in the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, which was directly under your 

purview. When combined with the abrupt resignation of the Director and the elimination 

of the grants as a whole, this certainly paints a picture the of11ce was not given the chance 

to achieve its goals. 

a. Why was the Office's staJTand its support elements so dramatically reduced 

during your time? 

To be clear, we did not eliminate any grant programs. T!te CVE Grant 

Program was not renewed by Congress in 2017 and did not receil'e additional 

funds in t!te President's 2018 bwlget, as the current grants fwd not yet been 

disbursed long enoug!t to yield clear remits. Tit is reflects the majority of recent 

changes in fum/ingfor DHS CVE efforts. I do uot believe, however, it is 

accurate to state that OCP permanent staff has been cut in Ita({. While certain 

contracted .field staff'lwl'e been elimiwtted, most oftlte core 

permanent staff' remains in place and is vet:J.' focused on terrorism 

prevention. If confirmed, 1 will examine ways to strengthen and enhance DllS 

activities iu this mission space to ensure our efforts are ri.\·k-based, intelligencedriven and eff'ectiPe. 

b. If confirmed, will you commit to reporting to the Committee--within 120 days of 

being sworn in as Secretary-

• Your strategic objectives for this office; 

The metrics you will use to evaluate the performance of this of11ee; 

The optimal level of staffing of the oHice; 

• An assessment of whether the Department will continue with the CVE grant 

program: and 

Any additional authorilies, authorizations, or legislative changes needed in 

order to achieve the strategic objectives laid out for the oftice. 

Hassan QFRs l 
238 

Yes, I will. 

2. During the hearing, you and I discussed election security and there was a discrepancy 

between us about the current state ofDHS's official outreach to states in regard to the 

security of voting systems and the ability to defend against malicious hacking efforts. 

Could you please provide the committee with the following: 

a. A full Jist of the steps taken so far to conduct outreach to states to improve the 

cyber defense of their voting systems. 

As the nominee, I do not have access to the full list of steps taken so far to 

conduct outreach to states to improve the cyber defense of their voting systems. 

Should I he confirmed, I will provide you with the requested information. DHS 

through the Sector Coordinating Council ami Government Coordinating 

Council continues to engage with State and local governments and election 

officials to ensure they are made aware of the various tools, support and 

guidance DHS has to offer. 

From what I am aware of because of my prior time at DHS or because of public 

accounts of actions taken I can additionally provide the following summary 

injimnation at this time. 

In 20I6, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took unprecedented 

action to alert chief state election officials of relevant cybersecurity threats. 

DHS issued several public statements between August and Election Day to 

share information regarding the threat and urged election officials to seek 

cybersecurity assistance from either DHS or other experts. DHS and the Office 

of the Director of National Intelligence declassified attribution and alerted the 

public to malicious activity directed to wants our elections on October 7, 2016. 

Several days later, DIIS's National Cybersecurity and Communications 

Integration Center (NCCIC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 

published and shared with election officials a joint analysis report containing 

recommendations and over 650 technical indicators of compromise to assist 

election officials with detecting malicious activity on their networks. Some of 

these indicators fwd previously been classified and were pulled from analysis of 

previous incidents relevant to tile threat. Between August and Election Day, 

DHS and other interagency partners shared several other products, including 

best practices specific to election infrastructure, intelligence assessments, risk 

assessments, and technical information to assist election officials with network 

protection. Further information relevant to officials was declassified in tile 

January 2017 intelligence communi(v assessment, "Assessing Russian 

Activities am/ Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections." 

In 2016, through intelligence and information sharing efforts with trusted third 

parties like the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MSISAC) and state and local cyhersecurity officials, the Department and its 

partners learned of specific communicatiom or attempted communications 

Hassan QFRs 2 
239 

from malicious infrastructure to known state or local government networks in 

at least 2I states. At the time these communications were identified and 

highlighted to network operators, the United States Govemment had not yet 

completed its attribution work and therefore did not attribute the 

communications to Russia. In some cases, state and local government network 

operators further shared reports with election officials, but not in all cases. The 

decision to share was at the discretion of the network operators. In more recent 

discussions with some of these network operators, it is clear that a major reason 

for not sharing further with elections officials was the fact that the majority of 

the observed communications were preparatory in nature and indicated no 

evidence of compromise -low-level activity that genemlly does not require 

further notifications. Some Secretaries of State and other state chief election 

officials expressed frustration at not being informed whether their states were 

included in the 21 states referenced in DHS's June 20I7 testimony before 

Congress. To address these concerns, DHS reached out to Secretaries of State 

and State Election Directors to let them know ((their state was or was not 

included in DHS's a~·sessment. 

DHS is committed to improving the effectiveness a_( information sharing 

protocols, both from DHS and among state officials. As the sector-specific 

agency, DHS is providing overall coordination guidance on election 

infrastructure matters to subsector stakeholders. As part of this process, the 

Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) 

was established. The Election Infrastructure Subsector GCC is a representative 

council o.f federal, state, and local partners with the mission of focusing on 

sector-specific strategies and planning. This includes tlevelopment of 

information sharing protocols and establishment o.f key working gmups, among 

other priorities. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also stood up an Election 

Task Force (ETF), to improve coordination with and support to our 

stakeholders. DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) is 

leading the task force. The task force includes personnel from the Office of 

Cybersecuri()J and Communications, the Office of Infrastructure Protection, 

and the Office of Intelligence & Analysis, among others who have been 

designated by the Department to prioritize their efforts in support of the ETF. 

As we are ramping up these efforts, DHS is cross-purposing personnel andreassigning personnel over the course of the next month. Firm numbers on 

personnel and budget are changing as often as daily. The ETF focuses e./forts 

on: 

Improving communication with election officials in order to provide 

understanding and actionable information to assist them in strengthening the 

security of their election infrastructure as it relates to cybersecurity ri~k. 

Ensuring coordination of these activities across the Department. 

Increasing coordination with intelligence community and law 

enforcement partners. 

Hassan QFRs 3 
240 

Supporting regional efforts to ensure they are coordinated and provide 

election officials with the support and expertise they need. 

On August 4, 2017, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (/&A) 

contacted state chief election officials on behalf of the NPPD-Ied Election 

Infrastructure Subsector Sector-Specific Agency (SSA) to begin the security 

clearance process. The Election Infrastructure Subsector SSA continues to 

work with state election officials and DHS /&A to support the processing of 

clearancesfor state chief election officials in each state. It is anticipated that 

the cleamnce nomination process will be expanded to include additional state 

election personnel to allow for additional election-related staff to receive 

classified information at the state and local level. 

In October 20I7, the Election Infrastructure Subsector SSA, in conjunction 

with state partners, chartered an EJS Government Coordinating Council 

(GCC). One oftlte main goals of Election Infrastructure Subsector GCC is to 

develop information sharing protocols and processes to better speed-up 

information sharing and enhance current election-related intelligence sharing. 

Overall, the process will leverage existing intelligence sharing resources that 

DHS has coordinated at the state level, including DHS field intelligence 

officers, NPPD regional directors, state and local fusion centers, and other 

accessible facilities critical infrastructure stakeholders use to receive classified 

briefings. 

b. If confirmed, a commitment to update the committee, in writing, every 30 days 

after your swearing-in-and terminating on election day 20 18-the subsequent 

steps taken within that month to improve the security of voting systems across the 

country'7 

I commit to regularly updating you on this issue and the steps taken on a 

mutually agreed to schedule, should I be confirmed and after I am able to 

consult with NPPD leadership to better understand current efforts. 

3. In New Hampshire, the Indonesian community includes many people who came to our 

country years ago fleeing religious persecution. They have since become members of the 

community, they have worked jobs and paid taxes, and they have raised their families in 

the Seacoast. 

Beginning in 2009, an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

allowed members of this community to remain in the state and obtain work permits so 

long as they regularly cheeked-in with ICE. Yet over the past few months, ICE has 

reversed course and prioritized deporting members of the New Hampshire Indonesian 

community. 

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241 

Fortunately, a federal judge has issued an order protecting these individuals from 

deportation. But that protection is temporary and I am concerned that ICE prioritized 

deporting these members of our community in the first place. 

• Why did ICE end the longstanding agreement allowing members of the Indonesian 

community to stay and obtain work permits so long as they regularly checked-in with 

ICE? 

I'm unfamiliar with the details of this particular case. Should I be confirmed, I 

commit to looking into this issue. 

• Why did ICE prioritize deporting these members of the Indonesian community 

beginning earlier this year? 

See above response. 

• Why is ICE continuing to seek to deport these members of the Indonesian 

community? 

See above response. 

Do you agree that ICE should prioritize depmting these members of the Indonesian 

community, many of whom are members of a church community in New Hampshire, 

and who fled religious persecution in their home country years ago? 

Again, as I am unfamiliar with the details of this case, I cannot opine on the 

actions asserted. I will note tltatforeignnationals in tlte United States who fear 

persecution upon return to their country of origin can apply for asylum. I commit 

to looking into tit is case. 

• lf confirmed, will you commit to re-instating the agreement that allowed members of 

New Hampshire's Indonesian community to stay and obtain work permits so long as 

they regularly check-in with ICE0 

See above response. 

4. This committee has recently examined the critical role that specially trained detectioncanines play in DHS' ability to stem the flow of drugs, in particular fentanyl, from 

coming across our Southern border. I understand that DHS is limited in this effort by the 

supply of qualitled canines, as well as costs associated training and ccrtitlcation 

programs. Could you share your thoughts on the Cllrrent investments being made by DIIS 

in canine procurement and training and how DHS is working with the private sector to 

expand options for certification and secure more canines from the private sector? 

As the nominee, I do not have access to information regarding 

current investments, procurement plans or plans to engage the private sector. I can 

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242 

offer that CBP is the first federal law enforcement agency in the United States to train 

canines to detect fentanyl. CBP currently has over 100 canines trained to detect 

fentanyl and is planning to expand fentanyl training to existing teams that operate in 

the border sec uri~)' environment as well as ensuring all new canine teams have the 

ability to detect fentanyl. As I understand it, the USBP Canine Program continues 

investing in the training and e:xpansion of the number of canine teams certified in the 

detection of illicit narcotics, which includes opioids. We must do more to combat the 

spread of fentanyl as part of comprehensive border security and drug demand 

reduction strategies. If confirmed, I will work with CBP to expand options for qualified 

canine mpply to aid in this important work. 

I would also note that TSA is looking to expand its canine certification options through 

development of a third party canine program for air cargo. This program, once 

implemented, will provide an option for airlines to use canine teams that are owned, 

trained, and certified to TSA standards by third parties to screen air cargo for explosive 

threats. If confirmed, I would look to see what lessons learned other DHS canine 

programs could gleam from this innovative program. 

5. As a cyber expert, I'd like to get your opinion on the challenge of the internet-ofthings. It is estimated that 8.4 billion internet-connected devices will be used this year 

alone, which opens us up to a lot of risks. lfwe are to prevent the ability of hackers to 

disrupt our economy and the flow of information, we arc going to have to take action to 

try to raise the cyber defenses of consumer's internet connected devices. That's why I 

joined Senator Warner's legislation, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement 

Act (S.l691 ), which requires that anytime the US government purchases an internetconnect device, that device must adhere to certain baseline cyber standards. This 

committee focuses on government information security and government purchasing 

efforts, so Sen. Warner's Internet of Things bill is directly in our jurisdiction. Therefore, 

I would appreciate your position on the following: 

Would you support this approach and specifically the provision specified in 

S.l691? 

I share your concerti regarding the internet of things. I would note that how we 

define what we call the "Internet of Things" (JOT) can be an elusive endeavor 

with working definitions evolving as technology evolves. Given the pace of 

teclmologica/ innovation and today's hyperconnectivity, threats can be 

introduced in and through any number of vectors and devices. Overall, I 

support encouraging more in.formedpurchasingfor Federal acquisition, 

including providing guidance and standards for minimum security 

requirements for all connected devices. I am not specifically familiar however 

with S./691 and have not discussed witfl DHS leaders flip. In general, if 

confirmed, I intend to meet this challenge by working with the General Services 

Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to 

Hassan QFRs 6 
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continue ongoing efforts to identify best practices in this area that can be 

applied to devices across the Federal government, including JOT devices. 

• Since DHS is in charge of securing all of the ·'.gov'' domains. then do you 

believe-in general--that requiring all government-0\vned internet connected 

devices to meet baseline cybcr standards would help to address ".gov" security? 

To clarify, Dl!S is charged with protecting tltefederal '.gm•' domain ofciviliau 

government networks (uot all ".gm·"). Consistent, improved cybersecurity 

practices can only help improve .gov security. In addition to policy changes, 

Df!S supports agency efforts to manage their cyber risk through tlte 

implementation of shared services, and capabilities such as the Continuous 

Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program. CDM allows DHS and the 

agencies to know exactly wlwt is on .gov networks ami identify the associated 

vulnerabilities and risks. Once risks are identified, tit en agencies and DHS can 

work together to mitigate them and ensure the security and resilience of our 

networks. DHS tools and capabilities are designed to give agencies wit at they 

need to It ave a well-managed and controlled IT environment, leading to 

improved securi(v. 

6. I introduced S.1281, the Hack DllS Act with Senator Rob Portman in early May and in 

October, the Committee passed the bill. This bill requires DHS to establish a bug bounty 

pilot program within ISO days of passage that would allow white-hat vetted hackers to 

probe DHS" public facing websites in order to identify vulnerabilities. The hackers 

would report these vulnerabilities to DHS and in return, DHS would compensate these 

hackers for each previously undiscovered vulnerability reported to DHS. Would you 

answer the following questions for us: 

Would you suppoti establishing a bug bounty pilot program at DHS? 

As a part of trlarger cyber effort, Bug Bounties It ave value for security and 

networks defenders. l believe that the Office of the Chief Information Officer 

could get ••alue out of such a program if implemented well. In addition, NPPD 

also o.ffers similar services as well as more in-depth identification of 

vulnerabilities and, importantly, mitigation plans to remediate those 

vulnerabilities. If confirmed, l will discuss a bug bounry pilot program and 

current related efforts with NPPD and CJO leadership. 

• Do you think that an appropriately constructed permanent bug bounty program 

could be of value to the Department'l 

As a part of a larger cyber effort, Bug Bounties have value for securiry and 

networks defenders. I believe that the Office of the Chief Information Officer 

could get value out of such a program if implemented well. In addition, NPPD 

also offers similar services as well as more in-depth identification o.f 

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vulnerabilities and, importantly, mitigation plans to remediate those 

vulnerabilities. 

7. As you know, TSA personnel have endured low morale rates. According a Partnership 

for Public Service study, out of 305 total agencies evaluated for morale, TSA was 303'd 

Perhaps more than any other agency, TSA needs to improve its morale. We need to make 

sure that screeners and aviation security workers arc focused on their critical tasks and 

not on personnel issues. 

a. How would you go about improving morale at TSA and what experiences would 

you draw upon to help achieve increased moral? 

Employee morale surveys have repeatedly shown that the people of DHS are 

inspired by and motivated by the mission. At the same time, they raise 

challenges regarding quality of life within the workplace and interactions with 

management. 

As a leader, it is important to clearly articulate mission objectives, priorities, 

and roles and responsibilities, !told people accountable and acknowledge 

success. It is also important to ensure that career paths are specified, and 

professional development and training are offered. If confirmed, I look 

forward to fully engaging with TSA leadership and the frontline workforce to 

identify specific issues and address them. 

b. Would you consider making TSA employees full-fledge federal employees? 

I'm not familiar with the assertiotr being made by this question. lf confirmed, I 

commit to supporting the needs of TSA employees in meeting their mission. 

8. We discussed at the hearing the concrete steps you would take to address the challenges 

of the foreign fighter population that may return to Western countries in the aftermath of 

the collapse of the so-called caliphate. We also talked in my office about whether you 

would support the Unity-of-Effort initiative undertaken by Secretary Jch Johnson and you 

suggested that this initiative and the Joint Task Forces at the Department might be 

expanded. We discussed the possibility of a Joint Task Force focused on cyber and you 

suggested at the hearing the possibility of a Joint Task Force on foreign fighters. 

Additionally, my state and other states are faced with the crippling effects of the opioid 

crisis and we suggested to your predecessor that that Department of Homeland Security 

needs to bring its full resources to bear on addressing the opioid crisis. Therefore, I 

would respectfully ask from you that, if confirmed, you will provide me within 90 days 

of your swearing in your assessment of the viability and value of establishing separate 

Joint Task Forces at DHS that focus on cybcrsecurity, foreign fighters and the opioid 

crisis. 

Yes, as stated in tlte Policy Questionnaire and in the /waring, I support tlte Unity of 

Effort initiative undertaken by Secretary Johnson. If confirmed, I pledge to assess the 

value and viability of establishing additional Joint Task Forces to further integrate 

DHS capabilities and capacities. As tlte nominee, I cannot commit to a 90 day 

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timeframe at tit is time witlwut having the benefit of knowing all current related efforts, 

and operational and resource constraints. If confirmed, I will provide you witl1 a 

time line as soon as possible. 

9. We have recently discovered instances in which nominees, cabinet members, White 

House staff or campaign staff for the President have had previously undisclosed 

relationships with Russian nationals. to include Russian government personnel. 

a. Have you maintained any personal or professional relationships with Russian 

nationals in the past seven years? 

No, I It ave not. 

b. Have any of the contacts been with Russian government personnel'7 

No, not to tlte best of my recollection. 

c. If the answer is yes to either (a) or (b), please briefly describe the extent of these 

relationships. 

NIA 

d. Do you have any business dealings with or partnerships that include Russian 

nationaJs0 

No, I do not. 

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Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to DHS Secretary-designee Kirstjen M. Nielsen 

From Senator Kamala Harris 

"Nomination ofKirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security" 

November 8, 2017 

Deferred Action (or Childhood Arrivals (DACA! 

At your nomination hearing, you committed that the information submitted by DACA 

applicants will not be shared for enforcement purposes outside of limited circumstances, to make 

this policy position clear to DHS employees and a response to the letter I sent to Acting 

Secretary Duke on this matter. Yon also committed to me that young people who have received 

DACA will not be enforcement priorities. 

1. If you arc contlrmed, by what means do you plan to make the infom1ation sharing policy 

related to DACA information articulated above clear? 

As I understand it, currently tbere are limited circumstances when such information 

might be shared to include national security or public safety. To my knowledge, there 

are limited reasons or exceptions to enable that information to be shared for any other 

enforcement purpose. I also understand this to be consistent with the policy 

implemented and observed by the previous Administration. If confirmed, I will review 

whether there is any ambiguity in the current policy such that additional 

communication to personnel is required. If confirmed, I commit to meeting with Acting 

Commissioner JlfcA/eenan, Acting Director Homan, and Director Cissna to ensure that 

all DHS policies are clearly understood by personnel at all levels. Written guidance 

will be issued to reinforce existing policies when necessary. 

2. Within how many days of confirmation would this be done? 

I do not have a definite time table as I am not certain any further articulation is 

necessary until, if confirmed, I have a chance to review current guidance in place and 

consult with the relevant components. 

At your nomination hearing, you committed consider extending the now-passed October 

5, 2017 deadline for DACA renewals. You also committed to considered the extraordinary 

circumstances that DACA recipients faced in meeting that renewals, including the hurricanes and 

wildfires that occurred in that time and the fact most Americans are unable to pay an unexpected 

$500 bilL 

l. What is your deadline for completing this reexamination of the DACA renewal deadline? 

Should I be confirmed, I commit to looking into the concerns raised by some on the 

committee that persons in disaster areas were unable to renew their applications. As 
247 

the nominee, I do not lwve a definite time table for such a review. Should I be 

confirmed, I will work with DHS leaders/tip to determine lww best to address and 

prioritize the Committee's requests for various reports wit/tin current resources to 

ensure that DHS is providing to the Congress all needed oversight information 

including meeting statutory reporting requirements. 

2. Please provide the number of individuals eligible to renew their status by the October 5 

renewal deadline? 

As the nominee, I am not privy to that information at this time and do not know the 

Department's abili(~' to produce it. 

3. Will you transmit an explanation of your decision on extending the DACA renewal 

deadline to HSGAC, including how the extraordinary circumstances of natural disasters 

and an unexpected $500 bill weighed in your decision? 

If confirmed and if a review determines there is the need for an additional decision on 

the current Administration position on DACA, I will of course communicate such 

it!formation to the Committee and Congress. 

Previously. DHS directly notified DACA recipients of the need to renew their status as 

their DACA expiration date approached. It is my understanding that this practice was changed 

under this Administration. 

l. Were you involved with this policy change? 

I am not aware of such a policy change if it exists, nor was I involved in such a 

decision if it took place. 

2. If so, please describe the reason DHS stopped providing this notification to DACA 

recipients and provide any related memo or guidance effecting his change. 

I am not aware of such a policy change if it exists, nor was I involved in such a 

decision if it took place. 

During your nomination hearing. you represented that you were part of the decision to 

end the DACA program in a policy-coordinating role, and that you attended a late August 2017 

meeting where to decision to end DACA was made. 

1. Did you or any other Administration officials from DHS. DOJ, or the White House, 

consult outside stakeholders on the decision to end DACA prior to September 5, 20 17? 

I did not consult outside stakeholders. I have been advised that because your question 

relates to the subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to 

comment further. 

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2. If so, can you provide a list of those stakeholders') 

Generally, as a nominee, I do not have access to fists of stakeholders who may have 

been consulted. I have also been advised that because your question relates to the 

subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further. 

3. Did you or any other Administration ofllcials !!·om the White House, DHS, or DOJ 

discuss the decision to end DACA with any of the state attorneys general or 

representatives of the state attorneys general threatening to me suit to end DACA? 

I did not have such discussions. I have been advised tlwt because your question relates 

to the subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment 

further. 

4. The Center for American Progress has estimated that the rescission of DACA will cost 

the U.S. $460 billion in gross domestic product over ten years and cost California $11 

billion annually. Other economists and business leaders have agreed that ending DACA 

will not only hurt those with DACA, but our economy as a whole. Did you consider the 

adverse economic impact of rescinding DACA as part of your decision? If so, please 

detail any related research, data and findings as part of that consideration. 

To be clear- I did not make a decision. The DHS Acting Secretary made the decision 

upon advice provided by tl1e Department of 1 ustice. I lwve been advised that because 

your question relates to the subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate 

for me to comment further. 

Immigration Enfim:ement Priorities in Fehruarv 20'" Jmplementationlv!emo 

At your nomination hearing, you agreed that immigration enforcement should prioritize 

violent criminals, serious criminals, and national security risks. You committed to issuing written 

guidance to agents that prioritize immigration enforcement. 

1. If confinned, within how many days of confirmation will you issue this guidance? 

If confirmed, I will review whether tl1ere is any ambiguity in tire current policy such 

that additional communication to personnel is required. If confirmed, 1 commit to 

meeting witlc Acting Commissioner McAfeenanand Acting Director Homan to ensure 

that all DIIS policies are clearly understood by personnel at all levels. Written 

guidance will be issued to reinforce existing policies wlten necessary. I do not /wve a 

definite time table as I am not certain any further articulation is necessary until, if 

cotifirmed, I lwve a chance to review current guidance in place and consult with tire 

relevant components. 

2. Will you provide me a copy of this written guidance? 

Written guidance will be issued to rei11{orce existing policies if and wl1en necessary, 

and appropriate information will be shared with Congress. 

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3. Will you also provide me a copy of previous guidance that has been given to ICE and 

CBP agents about the February 20'11 implementation memo, including any broadcast emails from agency or department leadership? 

I am not aware of the formats of previOlL5 guidance issued by D/IS or its components, 

if confirmed l will ensure appropriate information is shared with Congress. 

4. Will you commit to providing training to ICE and CBP agents that prioritizes 

immigration enforcement to focus on violent and serious criminals as well as on sensitive 

location policy? 

Yes. 

Immigration Enforcement at Sensitive Locations 

At your nomination hearing, you committed to keeping DHS's policy of immigration 

enforcement at sensitive locations, including churches, schools, and hospitals. You also 

committed to issuing guidance to ICE and CBP about the sensitive locations policy in light of the 

recent apprehension of Rosa Maria Hernandez. 

1' rr confirmed, within how many days will you issue this guidance? 

If confirmed, l will review whether there is any ambiguity in the current policy such that 

additional communication to personnel is required. If confirmed, l commit to meeting with 

Acting Commissioner M~cA/eenan and Acting Director Homan to ensure that all DHS 

policies are clearly understood by per.wnnel at all levels. Written guidance will be issued 

to reinforce existing policies when necessary. I do not have a definite time table as I am 

not certain any further articulation is necessary until, if confirmed, I have a chance to 

review current guidance in place and comult with the relevant components. 

2. Will you provide me a copy of this written guidance? 

If confirmed, written guidance will be issued to reinforce existing policies if and when 

necessary, and appropriate informlttion will be shared with Congres.1·. 

Unaccompanied lvfinors 

At your nomination hearing, you committed to learning more about the human impact of 

deporting unaccompanied minors, as well as to providing me with any policy memos that the 

department is planning to implement am~cting the processing of unaccompanied minors. 

1. What is your time line for completing this outreach? 

l do not bave a definite time table as the nominee because l do not yet know efforts the 

Department It as already undertaken or has underway to take these inputs. Should I be 

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confirmed, I will work with DHS lea£1ership to determine how best to address and 

prioritize the Committee's requests within current resources to ensure that DHS is 

providing to tlte Congress aiiJteededfollow up actions including meeting statutory 

reporting requirements, 

2. Who do you plan to meet with during this outreach? Do your stakeholder groups include 

organizations that represent unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings, nonprofits advocating for unaccompanied minors, or unaccompanied minors themselves? 

I do not have a particular set of stakeholders in mind as the nominee because I do not 

yet know efforts the Department has already undertaken or has underway to receive 

inputs and from which stakeholders. I would certainly ensure the Department includes 

appropriate stakeholder organizations in gathering input. 

Temporary Protected Status 

Over the next several months, you will be deciding whether to extend Temporary 

Protected Status for approximately 300,000 people-mostly Salvadorans, but also Haitians, 

Syrians. Hondurans, and more. Without TPS, virtually all of these people would go from having 

work authorization and being lawfully present to being undocumented. For most, ending TPS 

would strip lawful status that they have had for more than 10 years-for some even 20 yearss. 

I. What process will you go through to analyze whether conditions continue to support 

TPS for each of the countries? 

Should I be confirmed, I will meet with the Department of State to understand what 

data is available to meet the legal determinations requirements under the INA as 

passed by Congress. The process of TPS review requires the Secretary of Homeland 

Security to review conditions in each country designated for Tempormy Protected 

Status (TPS) and, after consultation with appropriate U.S. government agencies 

(including the Department of State), to determine whether the requirements for 

designation continue to be met and whether an extension, re-designation, or 

termination is warranted. As I underl·tand it, the factors the Secretary must 

consider when determining whether the requirements for the temporary 

designation continue to be met are based on the criteria identijie£1 in the statute that 

accortl with the specific basis for designation. If confirmed, I will ensure that all 

TPS decisions consider all factors allowable under the laws as passed by Congress. 

2. Will you take into account the assessments of experts with deep knowledge of the 

conditions in the country at issue? 

Yes 

In recent years, the United States has invested heavily in partnerships with the 

governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and neighboring countries to promote security and 

prosperity. In addition to working to increase citizen security and opportunity in those countries, 

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these eiTorts also have been motivated by a desire to address the root causes of migration. Over 

the past years, many experts in the Western Hemisphere, including organizations that work in 

and around Central America. have argued that ending Temporary Protected Status and forcing 

the return of more than 250.000 Hondurans and Salvadorans could jeopardize much of the work 

we have been doing. That could both worsen conditions in the region and increase the number of 

people seeking opportunity further north along our borders. 

l. Several big TPS decisions are coming up in the weeks and months ahead. As 

Secretary, how will you weigh these important factors when making your decision? 

I will ensure that all TPS decisions consider all factors allowable under the laws as 

passed by Congress. Tlte process of TPS review requires the Secretary of Homeland 

Security to review conditions in each country designated for Temporary Protected 

Status (TPS) and, after consultation witlt appropriate U.S. government agencies 

(including the Department of State), to determine whether the requirements for 

designation continue to be met and whether an extension, re-designation, or 

termination is warranted. As I understand it, the factors the Secretary must consider 

when determining whether tlte requirements for the temporary designation continue to 

be met are based on the criteria identified in tlte statute that accord with the specific 

basis for designation. 

In May, then-Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly extended TPS for Haiti, 

concluding conditions on the ground warranted an extension. Since that time, the country has 

been hit by two devastating hurricanes--Irma and Maria--and is in the midst of a steady increase 

in diphtheria cases. 

I. Given that conditions in Haiti warranted an extension ofTPS in May, it seems they 

would certainly warrant a further extension when that decision is set to be made in two 

weeks. Docs that sound right? 

!would not, as nominee, pre-judge any future TPS decisions in either direction at this 

time whether they would be made by me or Acting Secretary Duke depending on the 

timing. If confirmed, I will ensure that all future TPS decisions made by me in the role 

of Secretary would consider all factors allowable under the laws passed by Congress .. 

With so many people and families directly affected by the decisions you will make on TPS, it is 

extremely important that the basis for those decisions be transparent and clearly explained to the 

public. 

1. Will you commit to explaining in full how you arrived at the decision in each case and 

what factors were important to your decision? 

If confirmed, I would intend to follow current practice in which the Department shares 

significant information with Congress and the public whenever 11 TPS decision is made 

by tile Secretary. 

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Asvlum Seekers 

In 2015, The Office of Inspector General expressed concern that DHS was violating international 

law by referring individuals who express fear of persecution for criminal prosecution for illegal 

entry and re-entry prosecutions before it is determined whether they might have a valid claim for 

protection under U.S. law. 

l. What will you do to end the practice of referring asylum seekers for criminal 

prosecution'' 

I am not familiar with tfte specifics of this practice as referred to in the question. 

Should I be confirmed, I will work with relevant DHS leadership including Acting 

Commissioner Jl1cA/eenan, Acting Director Homan and Director Cissna to understand 

the practice and ensure that those claiming credible fear are provided tfte appropriate 

and legal hearing for a~ylum seekers. 

2. Are you aware of a recent report by Human Rights First documenting cases of asylumseekers being turned away at ports of entry and complaints that CBP otllcers are coercing 

or pressuring applicants for admission, including asylum seekers, from withdrawing their 

applications? 

I am not aware oft/lis particular report. 

·'· What steps will you take to support the investigation of the aforementioned complaint 

and to ensure that CBP o!Ticers are complying with the law and held accountable where 

they are noncompliant? 

If confirmed, I will work with Acting Commissioner McA/eenan to review the report 

and ensure CBP follows a// laws, regulations and policies. I will alw work with CBP 

to ensure CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents receive any needed training, are 

complying with the law, and held accountable in accordance with the law and 

Department policy. 

4. What steps will you take to ensure that both Border Patrol agents and Office of Field 

Operations officers are trained on this legal obligation and how referral of asylum-seekers 

for prosecution constitutes a violation of U.S. law? 

I believe training is critical for success. I commit to working with Acting 

Commissioner McA/eenan to ensure that Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers are 

adequately trained on all legal obligations and that the related Jaws, policies and 

guidance are clearly articulated and disseminated. 

5. What will you do to ensure that border enforcement operations, policies or practices in no 

way dissuade or prevent genuine asylum-seekers from seeking protection in the United 

States'7 

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253 

I will work with DHS Leadership to ensure all personnel urefollowing all applicuble 

laws, regulutions, and policies. 

Separating lvfothers [ionz Children 

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights has reported a dramatic increase in 

the number of requests for Child Advocates for children separated from parents by immigration 

authorities this year. For example, in New York, there has been nearly a fourfold increase in such 

requests as compared to the same quarter of the prior year. 

l, If confirmed, will you issue written guidance to make clear that mothers are not to be 

separated from their children at the border? 

I am notfumiliar with the increase cited in the question nor its causation. Should I be 

confirmed, I will work witlt Acting Commissioner McA/eenan and Acting Director 

Homan to understand the current practice and policy and if necessary work with them 

to isme additional guidance. 

2. What arc you doing to ensure families are not being systematically separated, and if they 

are, what steps is the Department taking to ensure reunification and communication of 

separated family members? 

As the nominee, I currently hal'e no role in wlwt you describe. If confirmed I will 

review current policies to ensure DHS is not unnecessarily separating families. My 

understanding is that while ICE has limited-capacity fami(y residential detention 

facilities to house alien family members, the separation of alien families generally 

occurs outside the United States when one or both parents, particularly tlwsefrom 

countries in Central America, depart their countries and illegally enter the United 

States, leaving behind tlwir children, or, the parent(s) arrange for illicit human 

smuggling organizations to smuggle their children into the United States. In either 

case, the children arriving at or between ports of entry entering the United States 

without their parents or legal guardians are processed as unaccompanied alien 

children (UA CJ upon appreltension 1111d, pursuant to the Trafficking Victims 

Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), the Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS), not DHS, has tlte sole statutory 1IUtlwrity and obligation to provide 

for the care and custody ofsuclt children am/ to seek reunification witlt their parents 

or suitable sponsors in tlte United States. I am mvare that ICE does have 1111 Online 

Detainee Locator System to lte/p family members locate individuals in immigration 

custody. 

3. If you are confirmed, will you report to me whether OJ-IS is currently drafting or 

considering a policy to separate families at the border~ 

If confirmed, I commit to sharing additional policy guidance ami appropriate 

information with Congress. 

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4. Will you commit to review what procedures exist when U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) makes such a decision (i.e, reviews, opportunity for parents to be 

represented in challenging a separation)? 

I will. 

Detention o(Pregnant Immigrants 

A recent report by the Women's Refugee Commission found that 292 pregnant women 

were held in immigrant detention during the first four months of this year. ICE policy has been 

that pregnant women are not to be detained unless they are subject to mandatory detention or 

extraordinary circumstances existed. 

1. Do you commit to maintain this policy and to issue guidance to ensure that the policy is 

being f(Jllowed~ 

I commit to reviewing the policy as I am unfamiliar with current policy and practice with 

regard to pregnallf detainees. !would notify Congress if any change to existing policy 

were to be recommended. 

Detention Srandards 

There have numerous reports of inhumane treatment in detention facilities that includes 

abuse of force by oHicers, excessive use of segregation and lockdown, and medical negligence 

leading to deaths. Despite this, ICE has shut down the Office of Detention Policy and Planning, 

which \\;as charged with overseeing detention reform, and has announced plans to weaken 

governing standards in many detention facilities. 

1. Will you commit to maintaining or strengthening standards for immigration detention, 

which is civil in nature? 

Yes. 

2. Will you commit to a review and overhaul of the current inspections system, as 

recommended by the Homeland Security Advisory Council in December 2016? 

I am tmfamiliar with the specific recommendation of the liSA C but if confirmed will 

review the status of implementation of that recommendation with DHS leadership. 

Parole Programs 

There have been reports that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 

reviewing parole programs. 

1. If confirmed, do you commit to reporting to me which parole programs is USC IS 

reviewing and what is the status of those reviews'? Will you also specifically report if the 

USCIS is reviewing the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP)'? Is so, 

what is the status of that review? 

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If confirmed, I commit to sharing the status of such reviews and appropriate 

hiformlllion with Congress. 

2. According to the most recent data from USCJS, there are 282 pending applications to the 

FWVP program. What will you do to ensure that processing these applications is 

prioritized? 

{f confirmed, I will consult with the Director of USCIS on this topic. 

Removal o(Refi1gees 

ICE's position is that countries have an obligation to accept their nationals, regardless of 

repatriation agreements sel in place between the U.S. and foreign governments. 

l. What are your thoughts on detention when no proof of citizenship can be established (e.g. 

people born in refugee camps)? 

.~Iy understanding is that for aliens without a known country of nationality or 

citizens/rip who are ordered removed from the United States, ICE will endeavor to 

locale an appropriate removal counll}' in accordance with the law. In addition to one's 

country of nationality or citizenship, the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes 

removal of aliens to the country of their birth, last residence, or one that is willing to 

accept them. ICE does not imle_finitely detain aliens, regardless of their citizenship or 

nationality, or lack thereof. ICE detains aliens for the purpose of removal, and the 

merefactlhat an alien lacks proof of citizenship does not necessarily preclude removal. 

2. ln cases when ICE is detaining individuals who do not have travel papers issued under 

repatriation agreements, what will you do as Secretary to ensure meaningful oversight of 

prolonged detention? 

ICE does not indefinitely detain aliens, regardless of their citizenship or nationality, or 

lack thereof. Should I be confirmed, I would ensure tlwt ICE continues to comply with 

all constitutional and statutory requirements related to the detention of aliens pending 

their removal fi'omthe United Stales pursuant to a .final order of removal. Further, I 

understand that DHS has regulations in place that are consistent with Supreme Court 

precedent (Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001)) and does not generally detain 

aliens for whom removal in the reasonable foreseeable future is not significantly likely. 

Management Challenges at DHS 

At your nomination hearing, you represented that you had read the DHS Inspector 

General's report from last week that found that. "DHS often fails to update and clarify guidance 

and policies, ensure full and open communication between employees and management, offer 

suflicient training. and reduce administrative burdens. Our reports are replete with examples of 

insufficient training to enable and enhance job perfmmance." You also represented that you read 

a previous DHS IG report that found the same thing. You then committed to report to me on 

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what you will have done to increase training and clarify guidance and policies to frontline 

employees. 

l. If confirmed, by what date do you expect to make this report? 

As I stated at the !tearing, I agree with you about the importance o,{training. As a 

nominee, I do not ltave a definite time table for such a review. Should I be confirmed, I 

will work with DHS leadership to determine how best to addre.u and prioritize the 

Committee's requests for various reports within current resources to ensure that DHS is 

providing to the Congress all needed oversight information including meeting statutory 

reporting requirements. If confirmed, I commit to working with the Under Secretary for 

Management to increase management training throughout tlte Department and ensuring 

that clear guidance is slwred with frontline employees. After meeting with the Deputy 

Secretary, Under Secretary for .Management, and other component heads, I will be able to 

provide you wit It a timeliue for the report. 

2. What do you expect to do to respond to the DHS IG's ongoing concerns about clarity of 

policies and training around policies? 

I share the DHS IG's concerns. I also believe tit at guidance and policies should be 

consistently reviewed, updated, rescinded or sunsetted as risk and operational 

requirements mtmdate. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that iutemal controls are in 

place to ensure a robust policy proce.H from development through to issuance and review. 

I al.w commit, if confirmed, to working with the Deputy Secretary tmd Under Secretary o.f 

111mzagemeut to develop a unified plan to increase training and ensure all DHS employees 

are given clear policy guidance. 

Election Securi!v 

On September 22. 2017, state officials elected to oversee elections were officially 

notified by DHS for the first time of attempted or actual intrusions into their election systems 

during the 2016 election. 

1. Why did DHS wait for over a year to notify secretaries of state and other elected officials 

of actual or attempted security breaches in their states? Has DHS considered the 

implications of this delay on securing such systems in advance of upcoming elections? 

As the nominee, I do not lwve access to fill of tlte step I that DRS took to notify state and local 

officials of actual or attempted security breaclzes in tlteir election systems prior to the 2016 

electiou. However, I am aware that DHS mrd other fedeml agencies shared with election 

officials information regarding election-related tltreats, including the DIIS issuance of several 

public statements between August and Election Day to share information regarding the tltreat 

and urging election officials to seek cybersecuri(V assistance from either DHS or other 

experts. As I understand it, the Secretary per,wually held multiple pit one calls with election 

officials to highlight the seriounzess of the tlueat. As early as August 2016, DHS broad~p 

shared specific tactics and indicators observed against some states-specifically information 

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regarding targeting of voter registration systems-with state and local governments to 

increase awareness of the threat and asked recipients to check their systems for similar 

activity. 

DHS and tile Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified attribution and 

alerted tile public to malicious activity directed towards our elections in early October 

2016. Several days later, DJIS's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration 

Center (NCCIC) and tfte Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published and shared with 

election officials a joint analysis report containing recommendations and over 650 technical 

indicators of compromise to assist election officials witll detecting malicious activity on their 

networks. Some oftlzese indicators llad previous{v been classified and were pulled from 

analysis of previous incidents relevant to the threat. Between August and Election Day, DHS 

and otller interagency partners sllared several other products, including best practices specific 

to election infrastructure, intelligence assessments, risk assessments, and technical 

information to assist election officials with network protection. Further relevant iliformation 

was declassified in January 2017 twd provided in an intelligence community assessment. 

In 2016, tit rough intelligence and information sharing efforts with trusted tflird parties such 

as the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and state alllffocal 

cybersecurity officials, the Department and its partners learned of specific communications or 

attempted communications from malicious infrastructure to known state or local govemment 

networks in at least 21 states. At the time these communications were identifietland 

fliglzligftted to network operators, tile United States Government fwd not yet completed its 

attribution work and therefore did not attribute tile communications to Russia. In some cases, 

state and local government network operatorsfurtfter shared reports witll election official~, 

but not in all cases. The decision to share was at the discretion of the network operators. As I 

understand it, and should I be confirmed wouftl ask for a complete briefing-In more recent 

DHS discussions with some of these network operators, it was communicated that a major 

reason for not sharingfurtller with elections officials was t/wfact til at the majority of the 

observed communications were preparatory in nature and indicated no evidence of 

compromise. 

I understand some Secretaries of State and other state chief election officials expressed 

frustration at not being informed wllether their states were included in the 21 states referenced 

in DHS's June 2017 testimony before Congress. To address these concerns, DHS reached out 

to Secretaries of State and State Election Directors to let them know if their state was or was 

not included in DHS's assessment. 

If confirmed, I will ensure that DHS remains committed to improving tfte effectiveness of 

itiformation sharing protocols. As the sector-specific agency, DHS is providing overall 

coordination guidance on election il!fi·astructure matters to suhsector stakelrofders. As part of 

this process, the Election bifrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) 

was establislred as described above. The Election Infrastructure Subs ector GCC is a 

representative council of federal, state, and local partners witlr tl1e mission of focusing on 

sector-specific strategies and planning. This include.~ the development of information slwring 

protocols and establishment of key workiug groups, among other priorities. 

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2. At a June Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, DHS Acting Under Secretary for 

Cybersecurity and Communications Janette Mantra asserted that DllS was developing a 

policy to help states secure their election systems. What is the timeline for establishing 

such a policy? 

DHS has been actively working with election officials to improve the security of the 

Nation's election infrastructure (~ee previous answer). DHS's National Protection and 

Programs Directorate (NPPD), in collaboration with the Election Assistance Commission 

(EAC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and others, engage directly with election 

officials. Since the summer of 2016, DHS has focused on prioritizing cybersecurity 

assistance to election o_fficials. 

With tlte establishment of election infrastructure as a critical infrastructure subsector, 

DHS It as been formalizing policies and structures to support the prioritization of 

a.uistancefor election officials. As part oft/tis process, DHS established the Election 

Infrastructure Subsector (EIS) GCC, described above. 

In addition, DHS is working with the EAC to identif.v Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) 

members. Sector Coordinating Councils are self-organized and se(f-governed councils that 

enable critical infrastructure owner.~ and operators in the private sector, their trade 

associations, and other industry representatives to interact on a wide range of strategies, 

policies, and activities. 

The full GCC and SCC formation o.f the subsector will help shape policy direction over the 

long term about how to best ltelp states secure their election systelllS. These bodies serve as 

tlte key forum to coordinate tire development of information processes and protocols, as 

well as otlrer strategic initiatives, suc/r as incident re~ponse plans. 

3. One of the impediments to providing more-detailed threat assessments to the states in 

2016 was the classified nature of the information. What is the timeline for providing state 

officials with clearances? Once clearances are granted, what process will be in place to 

ensure threat assessments are provided to the states? 

It is importaut to recognize tlrat tire Department of Homeland Security seeks to share 

information at the lowest classification level whenever possible, and when possible in an 

unclassified form. In an effort to expedite security clearances for Secretaries of State and 

clrief election officials to ensure tlrey are able to receive classified threat il~formation 

related to state lllllllocal election sy.~tems, tire Department of Homeland Security worked 

closely with tire National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National 

Association of State Election Directors (NASED) to ident(fy key state election officials with 

oversight of election infrastructure. 

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As I understand it, this past August, the DIIS O.ffice of lntel/igence and Analysis (/&A) 

contacted state chief election officials on behalf of tile NPPD-Ied Election Infrastructure 

SSA to begin the security clearance process. The Election Infrastructure Subsector SSA 

continues to work with state election officials and DHS l&A to support the processing of 

clearances for state chief election officials in each state. It is anticipated that the clearance 

nomination process will be expanded to include additional state election personnel to allow 

for additional election-related staff to receive classified information at the state am/local 

level. 

As !understand it, ensuring that appropriate election officials in the States have security 

clearances is a top priority for the Department. However, otl1er agencies also play a critical 

role in the timely processing of security clearance applications-for example those agencies 

that conduct background investigations. Also, some securi~y clearance applications can 

take longer to process due to derogatory information in the applicant's background, 

potentially leading to the denial of a clearance. 

lf confirmed, I am committed to ensuring that election officials receive appropriate threat 

information. While it is the goal of DHS, and would be my goal if confirmed, to provide 

these clearances as quickly as possible, it slwuld be noted tlwt the Department /za~· other 

tools to provide officials with classified information when necessary. For instance, 

through DIIS processes or by leveraging those ofpartner agencies, DIIS can provide oneday read ins for classified information when appropriate. 

More specifically to the slwring of threat assessment~·, in October, the Election 

b!frastructure Subs ector SSA, in conjunction with state partners, chartered an EIS 

Government Coordinating Council (GC[]. One of the main goals of the Election 

Infrastructure Subsector GCC is to develop itiformation sharing protocols and processes to 

better ~peed-up information sharing and enhance current election-related intelligence 

s/zaring. Overall, the process will leverage existing intelligence sharing resources that 

DHS has coordinated at the state level, including DHSfield intelligence officers, NPPD 

regional directors, state and toea/fusion centers, and other accessible facilities critical 

bifrastructure stakeholders use to receive classified briefings. 

4. I am working with my colleague, Senator Lankford, and a bipartisan group of senators to 

draft a bill that aims to address many of the vulnerabilities and inefficiencies surrounding 

state election cybersecurity, such as improving information sharing, modernizing election 

infrastructure, and providing guidelines about steps state oilicials can take to strengthen 

their defenses. Docs this sound like a measure DHS would support? 

Tlte Department of Homeland Security is committed to working wit/1 State tmd local 

partners to improve information sharing and enhance the security of election 

~ystems. As part of this effort, tl1e Department strong(y support efforts to address 

vulnerabilities in election infrastructure. If confirmed, /look forward to working wit/1 

Congress to improve election cybersecuriry. 

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5. Homeland Security has reportedly formed an election security task force to improve state 

and local voting infrastructure, drawing on resources and expertise from across the 

Department. Can you please provide details regarding the mission of the task force, the 

number of staff and budget of the task force, mechanisms for coordinating with state 

election officials, and plans to report its operational plans and observations to Congress" 

Yes, DHS has stood up an Election Task Force (ETF) to improve coordination with 

and support to its stakeholders. DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate 

(NPPD) is leading the task force. The task force includes personnel from the Office of 

Cybersecurity and Communications, the Office of Infrastructure Protection, and the 

Office of Intelligence & Analysis, among others who have been designated by the 

Department to prioritize their efforts in support of the ETF. As I understaml it, as the 

efforts are proceeding, DHS is cross-purposing personnel and re-assigning personnel 

over the course of the next month. Given the stand up status, as I understand it firm 

numbers on personnel and budget are changing as often as daily. 

I have been advised that the ETF focuses efforts on: 

Improving communication with election officials in order to provide understanding 

and actionable information to assist them in strengthening the security of their 

election ilifrastructure as it relates to cybersecuri(r risk. 

Ensuring coordination of these activities across the Department. 

Increasing coordination with intelligence communi(y and law enforcement partners. 

Supporting regional efforts to ensure they are coordinated and provide election 

officials with the support and expertise they need. 

If confirmed, I am committed to working with Congress and election infrastructure 

stakeholders to ensure afu/1 understanding of the Department's efforts to assist with 

tf1e security of our elections. 

Invasive Snecies 

California citrus farmers have assets worth up to $2.5 billion in fruits they produce and 

ship all over the world. However, the Asian citrus psyllid is an invasive species that is still found 

to threaten to compromise this industry. 

I. If confirmed, will you commit to get me an answer to the toll owing questions within 30 

uays: 

I cannot commit to a definite time table as the nominee because I do not yet know what 

other responses CBP and DllS may be working on or !tow long this data will take to 

compile. Should I be confirmed, I will work with DHS and CBP leadership to 

determine how best to address and prioritize the Committee's requests within current 

resources to ensure that DHS is providing to the Congress all neededfollow up actions 

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including meeting statutory reporting requirements. We would provide this 

information to you as soon as possible. 

a. What specific plans has CBP instituted at ports of entry to ensure that invasive 

species does not enter the California? 

b. Does CBP share data and coordinate a unified management plan with other federal 

agencies like the USDA. Fish and Wildlife, and the EPA to ensure early detection, 

exclusion, and eradication of invasive species? 

c. What sort of data does the CBP have on invasive species that have entered and been 

caught or have entered but have been overlooked at ports of entry? 

d. I understand that mail is another mode that invasive species have increasing entered 

into our nation. Could you tell me your coordination with the U.S. Postal Service to 

deter pests trom entering? 

e. What percentage of CBP's budget is dedicated to invasive species management? 

Docs this get shared with other federal agencies? 

r. Do you think more funding is needed to bolster CBP's invasive species program or do 

you think there are other recommendations that could help improve the programs 

Wildfires 

During our meeting last Thursday, you committed to looking further into providing a 

blanket waiver for individuals who have lost green cards, naturalization certificates and other 

immigration documents as a result of the Norther California wildfires. Yesterday, my oftice 

received an e-mail from DHS staff re-stating current policy related to individuals waivers. 

1. Does this represent closure of your consideration of this matter. and if not, within how 

many days of your confirmation will you provide a decision? 

I was not aware that DRS staff provided the current policy and I have not reviewed it. As 

discussed, should I be confirmed, I commit to reviewing currellf policies and their 

application to wildfire survivors. 

Preliminary estimates from the state suggest that $1.4 billion is needed !rom FEMA for 

disaster relief like affordable housing. 

1. Will you commit to providing California the funding needed to help victims of the 

wildfire rebuild their lives? 

DHS and FEMA are and will be committed to helping those affected by the wildfire 

rebuild their lives as allowed within the legal authorities and funding provided by 

Congress. 

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J\s of November 5, 2017, there have been 3,658 household requests for temporary shelter 

but FEMA has not been able to provide shelter for all the requests. 

1. Will you commit to providing FEMA Individual Assistance, like temporary shelter, as 

quickly as possible0 

Yes. 

FEMA has partnered with state and local government to provide them with Public 

Assistance for Categories A and B (debris removal and emergency response measures). 

l. Given the wide scale damage to publically owned facilities, will you also commit to 

ensuring that you will work to allow for Public Assistance Categories C-G, which helps 

pay for repairs to transportation, water, and other public infrastructure? 

Yes. 

Executive Orders Restricting 1/·avel {iwn six Muslim-majoriry Counrries 

1. What was your role, both at DHS and at the White House, in the policy formulation and 

roll-out of the two Executive Orders known as the First and Second Travel Ban and the 

September 25, 2017 presidential proclamation updated Executive Order 13780? 

I served as the Chief of Staff" to Secretary Kelly when the two Executive Orders were 

issued and as Principal Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House when the 

proclamation was issued. In those capacities, I was involved in the rollout of the 

E\·ecutive Orders and the proclamation and the policy formulation of the 

proclamation. !have been advised that, in part because your question relates to the 

subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the details of 

intemal deliberations and decision-making. 

2. Do you believe that these Executive Orders increase public safety? If so, please explain 

how. 

In general, I believe it is a well-established right attd obligation of any country to 

control its borders, which includes knowing who enters and whether they intend to do 

harm. The orders and the proclamation address nationals of foreign nations that are 

state sponsors of terrorism; that are otherwise compromised by terrorism; or that 

present other serious security concerns. The proclamation in particular was the result 

of careful evaluation of national-securi(y considerations by the professional men and 

women of DHS and other agencies. I have been tulvised that, in part because your 

question relates to the subject of ongoing litigation, it would not be tlppropriatefor me 

to comment further. 

Transrarencv and Congressional Oversight 

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In your policy questionnaire and during your nomination process, you stated that you that 

your leadership and management style promoted transparency, 

As the nominee, I do not current~y have access to any of the information requested below in 

parts "a. "-"k," nor do I know what would be required by the components attempting to 

compile suclr information in order to produce such a report. lam unable to determine at this 

time whether such a report is feasible and if so, on what interval it could be produced. If 

confirmed l would commit to looking into how suc/1 information could be produced within tire 

limits of existing information ~)'stems at regular intervab· am/ provided to the Committee 011a 

regular basis given statutory requirements and current resources. l commit to working with 

you to ensure that the Committee has tire information it needs to meet its oversight duties. 

l. Would you commit to sending my office a monthly update on all ICE and CBP 

apprehension and removals broken down by the following data fields: 

a. Age 

b. Gender 

c. Country of Origin 

d. Country of Citizenship 

e. Immigration Status, including if they are a current or former DACA recipient 

f. Nonimmigration-rclated criminal offense broken down by felony, misdemeanor 

punishable by more than 90 days imprisonment, and misdemeanor punishable by 

less than 90 days imprisonment including whether the offense was within the last 

tive years or not. 

g. Immigration-related civil offense, such as visa fraud or visa abuse. 

h. Whether individuals had pre-existing removal order broken down by whether the 

order was effectuated and whether the order is more or less than 5 years old at the 

time of apprehension. 

i. Whether individuals were apprehended within I ,000 feet of a courthouse, school, 

hospital, place of worship. site of a religious ceremony, or public demonstration. 

j. Whether individuals apprehended or removed served in the U.S. Armed Services. 

k. Whether individuals apprehended or removed have at least one U.S.-born child. 

Additional Questions: 

During our meeting last Thursday, you committed to looking further into providing a blanket 

waiver for individuals who have lost green cards, naturalization certificates and other 

immigration documents as a result of the Norther California wildfires. Yesterday, my office 

received an e-mail 11-om DIIS staffre-stating current policy related to individuals waivers. 

l. Does this represent closure of your consideration of this matter, and if not, within how 

many days of your confirmation will you provide a decision~ 

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I was not aware that DHS staff provided the current policy and I have not reviewed it. As 

discussed, should l he confirmed, I commit to reviewing current policies and their 

application to wildfire survivors. 

ICE has announced plans to drastically expand immigration detention facilities. It is my 

understanding that the areas being considered for these facilities lack access to legal service 

providers. 

1. Will you review this issue, and provide a report to this committee on the availability of 

legal providers within 100 miles of any planned detention facilities? 

I am not current~v familiar with this issue. Should I he confirmed, I commit to working 

with Acting Director Homan to review and assess this issue and working with DHS 

leadership to determine how best to address tfte Committee's requests for various reports 

within current resources to ensure tit at DHS provides tire Committee with needed 

oversight information. 

On November 9, 2017, the Washington Post published an article that included reports that White 

House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert 

sought to pressure Acting Secretary Elaine Duke to end TPS for Honduras. 

l. Were you aware of reported calls to Acting DHS Secretary Duke about ending TPS for 

Honduras? 

I £1111 aware that various calls were conducted between the Acting DRS Secretary and 

various WH officials with respect to TPS determinations. 

a. If so, what was your role in making or preparing White House officials to make 

those calls? 

I fwd 110 role in making or preparing WH officials to make or receive those 

calls. 

2. While you were employed at the White House, did you have any conversations with 

Acting DHS Secretary Duke or other DHS staff about the TPS program, and specifically 

about TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, or Haiti'! 

I did not have any conversations with Acting DRS Secretary Duke about tlte TPS 

program. I did !rave calls witlr otlrer DHS staff regarding tire TPS program, its 

deadlines and the need to ertsure an orderly rollout of any decisions. 

a. If so, what was the content of those conversations? 

I lrad conversations with Dl/S staff to verify TPS deadlines and discuss the need to 

ensure an orderry rollout of any decisions. 

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3. Based on the Washington Post reporting, it seems that some at the While House have 

prejudged whether to end TPS status for I Ionduras. Do you plan to end TPS for 

Honduras? 

Should I be confirmed, in reviewing any TPS related llecision, I will consult with the 

State Department, DIIS leadership, and other experts to ensure that I fully understand 

all legal TPS considerations to include the country conditions. In my current role, I 

have not made any decisions or plans with respect to the TPS of any country. 

a. If yes, what on-the-ground facts form the basis for your decision to end TPS for 

Honduras? 

NIA 

b. If not, what will is your timeline for reaching a decision on TPS for Honduras? 

Also, what facts will you use when making your decision on whether to extend 

TPS for Honduras') 

Should I be confirmed, I will endeavor to meet all legal deadlines- including 

time/ines umler the law for TPS. Should I be confirmed, l will also meet with 

the Departmmt of State to understand what data is available to meet the legal 

determinations requirements under the INA as passed by Congress. The process 

of TPS review requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to review conditions 

in each country designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and, after 

consultation with appropriate U.S. government agencies (including the 

Department of State), to determine whether the requirements for designation 

continue to be met and whether tm extension, re-designation, or termination is 

warranted. As I understand it, the factors the Secretary must consider when 

determining whether the requirements for the temporary designation continue 

to be met are based on the criteria ident[fied in the statute that accord wit/1 the 

specific basis for desigmttion. If confirmed, I will enmre t/rat all TPS decisions 

comider all factors allowable under the laws as passed by Congress. 

4. Are you aware of what procedures DHS followed in determining that TPS for Nicaragua 

should be terminated, and if so. please describe such procedures. 

Given my nomination status, I am not familiar with tire specific procedures that DHS 

followed with respect to the TPS determination for Nicaragua. 

5. If confirmed. will you commit to provide any DHS memos, letters or emails regarding the 

termination ofTPS in Nicaragua? 

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Slwuhl I be confirmed, it is my understanding that I would not be able to provide predecisional information but if appropriate and compliant with law and policies, I will 

provide any documentation describing the final determination to the Committee in its 

oversight role. 

6. Are you aware of the procedures DHS followed in its decision to request information 

concerning the criminal histories of Haitian TPS beneficiaries in May 2017, and if so, 

please describe such procedure. 

As the former Chief of Staff, I remember various requests for information relating to 

various groups receiving immigration benefits, but am not familiar with the procedures 

DHSfollowed in any request relating to Haitian TPS beneficiary background 

information. 

Since 2000, the U.S. Border Patrol budget has increased by 245%. At the same time, 

apprehensions are the lowest since the 1970s. Between 2000 and 2016. apprehensions have 

dropped from 1.6 million to 400.000, continuing a decade-lung trend toward lower border 

apprehensions. 

l. Do you agree with the Office of Immigration Statistics border security report that the 

border is much more secure than ever? lf not, why not? 

A~· described in the Policy Questionnaire, lam notfamiliar with the OIS report but l 

generally agree that investments in infrastructure, personnel all(/ technology over that 

time period have malle it more difficult ta illegally cross our southern land border. I 

also believe that the Administration's focus on enforcing our immigration laws has 

deterred would-be illegal crossings and that deterrence, combined with the efforts of 

the men and women of DHS, has reduced the threats and vulnerabilities that we face at 

our borders. Despite that, our southern border is notful(v secure as indicated by an 

uptick in recent border unauthorized border crossings and much more can and will be 

done. 

2. Is the American public getting a fair return on investment fur all the money that has been 

spent on border security? If not, why not? 

I believe DHS should always assess risk, identify risk-based security and resilience 

priorities and ensure that any measures, programs, plans, expenditures, acquisitions, 

training, hiring, etc. meet the risk based priorities. Ultimately, Congress through the 

Appropriations process It as the final say Oil whether the return on inveJtment is wit at 

they expect. I would offer that at a macro level, based Oil the slats cited in tlte questioll 

above that a 400% reduction ill illegal border crossillgs suggests .wme positive 

correlation of return on investment with the 245% increase ill budget. One of the great 

concerns with illegal entry between the ports of entry is that someone may enter 

unknown, nnvetted and with weapons of mass destruction. Such an illegal entr(ies) 

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would dramatically tip the balance of any cost benefit equation. Unfortunately, 

given the high consequence nature of the threats faced, DHS must often assess the 

worst case scenario when making resource allocations as part of risk based border 

security. 

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics recently released 

a report noting it is harder to cross the Southwest border than ever. Despite this, DI-IS continues 

to advocate for a border wall and 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents. 

1. Has DHS or CBP produced any reports to justifY these proposed funding and force-level 

increases? 

As !understand it, DHS has been developing northern and southern border strategies 

that will he delivered to Congress in the coming months. Additionally, the 

methodologies for resource determinations will he further described in more detail in 

the soon to he released Border Security Improvement Plan to the House and Senate 

Appropriations Committees. As /understand it, these combined documents will 

provide prioritization of investments based on Border Patrol and CBP assessments of 

necessary expenditures. 

2. Will there be an assessment given to Congress to justify these expenditures? 

As !understand it, DHS has been developing north em and southern border strategies 

that will he delivered to Congress in the coming months. Additionally, the 

metlwdo/ogies for resource determinations will be further described in more detail in 

tlte soon to he released Border Security Improvement Plan to the House and Senate 

Appropriations Committees. As /understand it, these combined documents will 

provide prioritization of investments based on Border Patrol and CBP assessments of 

necessary expenditures. 

Recently, the previous DHS Secretary waived dozens more laws for construction of 

prototypes and replacement fencing in southern California. 

1. Would you commit to complying with, instead of waiving, all laws for any further 

construction of border wall? 

S/wuld I he confirmed, I commit to complying with the law and exercising any waiver 

powers granted to the Secretary with appropriate discretion. 

2. Before moving forward with the construction of border wall prototypes and replacement 

fencing, will you meet with residents of border communities in order to determine the 

quality-of-life impacts that erecting new barriers or replacing old barriers will have on 

people who live near the border? 

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I am not current/yfamiliar with the specific procedures CBP has utilized to determine 

where replacement fencing and physical barriers are needed. Should I be confirmed, I 

commit to ensuring that the views ofstakelwlders, to include residents of border 

communities, are heard. 

3. What metrics will you use to evaluate the effectiveness and return on investment of 

various methods used for border security. including walls. fences, levees, personnel at 

and between ports, and manned and unmanned aircraft? Will you commit to making this 

analysis public0 

I believe DHS should always assess risk, identify risk-based security and resilience 

priorities and ensure that any measures, programs, plans, expenditures, acquisitions, 

training, !tiring, etc. meet the risk based priorities. I also believe that performance 

metrics to determine the effectiveness of programs, initiatives, acquisitions, measures, 

etc. are important to ensure we are effectively addressing risk. Should I be confirmed, I 

will review the border strategies I understand DHS is drafting and work with CBP to 

ensure that we are effectively securing the border through an integrated combination 

of personnel, tec/mology, and infrastructure. 

In past, a lack of security clearances has hindered the Department's ability to share 

election cybersecurity threat information with state election agencies. The Department has 

confirmed that it is in the process of providing those security clearances. Please provide. without 

including any personally identifiable information. 

As the nominee, I do not currently have access to any of the information requested below in 1-

6 nor do I know whether information about pending security clearances can be shared in the 

manner below in a public environment. If confirmed, l will work with DHS leadership to 

provide you with appropriate information. 

1. A list of state election agencies that have requested security clearances. 

2. When the request was made. 

3. The level of security clearance that was requested. 

4. The number of individuals within each agency who are included in the request 

5. The job descriptions for the individuals within each agency who are included in the 

request 

6. Whether the clearance process for each individual is complete, and if it is not. when DHS 

expects to complete the clearance process. 

States have. in past. not taken significant advantage of the Department's free election 

cybersecurity assistance. 

1. How does the Department inform states about the free assistance that is available? 

Please provide a copy of each brochure and similar materials. 

23 
269 

As I understand it, DHS has informed states through a variety of outreach 

mechanisms and througl1 a variety of State points of contact, As the nominee, I do not 

have access to lillY brochures or other materials. 

2. Please provide: 

As the nominee, I do not currently have access to any of the information requested 

below. 

A list of election agencies (stale, county, or municipal) that have requested 

DHS cybersecurity assistance. 

The forms of assistance that were requested. 

When the request was made. 

When the assistance was provided, and if it has not been provided, when 

DHS anticipates providing the assistance. 

The Department is participating in a Elections Government Sector Coordinating Council 

(GCC). 

1. What is the Department's role in the GCC? 

Govemment Coordinating Councils are part of the partnersllip structure described 

in the National Infrastructure Protection plan. Each of the critical infrastructure 

sectors established under Presidential Poli()l Directive 21 on Critical Infrastructure 

Security and Resilience utilize a GCC. GCCs are comprised of representatives from 

across various levels of government and are formed £L~ the government counterpart 

to the Sector Coordinating Councils and enable interagency anti crossjurisdictional coordination. DHS coordinates ant/works in partnership with the 

SCCs and GCCs to address the securi(V anti resilience of our nation's critical 

infrastructure. 

2. What activities docs the Department expect the GCC to undertake? 

lam not currently familiar with the specific activities tl1e Department is 

encouraging the GCC to undertake. But l beliew the roles of GCCs are generally 

described on the DHS website. 

On September 22,2017, the Department notified election officials in 21 states that they 

had been targeted by Russian hackers during the 2016 election cycle. According to news reports, 

more than one state has disagreed with the Department's technical assessment that prompted the 

notit1cation that it received. 

1. Which states have informed the Department that they disagree with the Department's 

technical assessment? 

As the nominee, l do not currently have access to relevant informatiou to be respousive 

to this question. 

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270 

2. For each state that has disagreed. does the Department stand by its technical assessment? 

If yes, why7 If no. has it infom1ed the state of its changed view? 

As the nominee, I do not current(y have access to relevant information to be responsive 

to this question. 

3. Future election cybcrsccurity legislation could involve a DHS grant program to state 

election agencies. Does DHS have the capability to operate such a grant program? 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with Congress on any proposed 

cybersecurity legislation and providing technical assistance as appropriate to ensure 

that any legislation correct(y reflects DHS' operational environment to include its 

capabili(Y and capaciry. 

Some members of Congress have suggested that cybersccurity responsibilities within DHS should 

be consolidated into a cybersecurity agency. Do you agree with that direction for reorganizing the 

Department') 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with the Committee and Congress to ensure 

that DHS organizational structures optimize the abi!iry of DHS to execute its cybersecurity 

roles and re.~ponsibilities. 

1. Is the Department able to attract and retain the cybersccurity talent that it requires? If not. 

what will you do to improve the DHS cyberseeurity workforce? 

Should I be confirmed, a priority focus area will be to ensure that DHS is able to attract 

and retain the cybersecuriry talent that it requires. Towards that end, as I described in 

the Policy questionnaire, it is my understanding that DIIS has partnered with a variery 

of entities to include nonprofits, all levels of educational institutions and school boards 

across the country to encourage the teaching of cybersecuriry concepts. DHS has also 

partnered with the nonprofit National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center 

(NICERC) to provide cybersecurity curricula and teacher professional development. I 

lwve also applauded DHS efforts in sponsoring tlte CyberCorps Sc!wlarsltip for Service 

which provides scholars/tips towards cybersecurity degree programs in return for 

service in Federal, State, local, or tribal governments upon graduation. Should I be 

confirmed, I would look to strengthen and expand DJIS' efforts in collaboration with 

other federal partners and the Administration's overall STEI11 ~fforts to recruit and 

retain cybersecurity personnel. I would also look to identify opportunities across tlte 

existing talented DHS workforce and pro~·ide training opportunities to enhance 

cybersecurity expertise. I believe a clearly articulated mission and adequate tools and 

resources supports strong recruiting, a111l the ability to grow in one's job and !tave 

access to continual training and education supports retention. Recognizing the 

importance of tit is issue as a cornerstone of DHS cybersecuriry efforts, should l be 

confirmed I would (lSSess current e.fforts and work wit!t Department leaders/tip to 

"~trengt/zen related campaigns and programs. Finally, if confirmed, I lookfonvard to 

25 
271 

working with Congress and OPM to ensure we are fully utilizing the unique hiring 

authorities granted to the Departmelltfor cyber security efforts. 

##tf!J 

26 
272 

RUSSIANS STILL HAVE AN OPEN PATH TO U.S. ELECTION SUBVERSION 

BY JEFF STEIN ON 1017117 AT 4:52PM 

~EWSWEEK 

!1 t l L!; ~ \\ \_\_\ .. _nc_\\_':1\::Yl~L ~~')J 0 :_~!?~' ::_ !Jllh_:l~JJ~~t 1_: lu:~~"i!l..~~J~J~ 1.XJ!Jll p-~r~t!~:::@-l1~JJll~h!Jl~l.~:~~S.~lE.i.J:. -cjq_gj~JlJ: 

flJ:;:-:i~t"'(?~(!J 

Exactly a year alter U.S. intelligence issued a stern warning about Russian interference in the 

2016 presidential election, the Trump administration has failed to fill key homeland security 

posts responsible fi:Jr preventing another Kremlin assault on the voting system. 

Not only that, the White House hasn't even nominated someone to replace now-White House 

chief of statLJohn Kelly as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or 

someone to run its units responsible for protecting the nation's strategic infrastructure, which 

includes federal. state and local voting systems. Both arc in the hands of"acting'' officials. 

"The administration is having a hard time finding individuals that want to do the job. could do a 

good job. and could pass Senate confirmation ... a congressional expert tells Newsweek, speaking 

candidly only on the basis he not be quoted by name. 

"The second thing is. the administration doesn't seem to want to have anybody head up to the 

Hill and testify on issues that would be hot-button issues. namely anything to do with election 

security. cyber security, or the Russian acts from last year.·· 

Unless the administration puts its own political appointees in place at DHS, analysts say, the 

department will struggle to get protective systems up and running in time for the 2017 primaries 

and state and local races, let alone the 2018 elections. Acting department heads just don't have 

the same powers of persuasion as people appointed by the president. 

DHS·s National Protection and Programs Directorate, or NPPD, responsible for thwarting 

foreign cybcrattacks on the nation's inf'rastmcture. is currently being run by Acting 

Undersecretary Christopher C. Krebs. a former Microsoft lobbyist and cybersecurity policy 

chief. 

'·It being vacant hurls," Erik Rasmussen, a Com1er U.S. Secret Service prosecutor and special 

agent, tells Newsweek. "The head of that unit has deep cyber operational control and has a 

critical role to play in any critical inirastructure decision." 

Nor were several congressional officials responsible for homeland security oversight able to 

identify anyone in charge of the Election Infrastructure Cybersccurity Working Group, which, 

according to an NPPD announcement in July. was embarking on an ambitious program to 

integrate DHS with ·'not only state and local election of1icials, but also other federal agencies." 

DI-IS is also launching a Government Coordinating Council to liaise with the bipartisan U.S. 

Election Assistance Commission and 25 state and local officials. but "the membership and 

structure is still being finalized," a department ofticial tells Newsweek. 
273 

Three months later, the elections unit, "has not gone out and talked with state election of1lcials to 

determine what exactly [they] need to increase their own cybersccurity defenses, and what kind 

of authorities the federal government might need to be able to help provide tbat assistance," the 

congressional expert said. They are '"just starting to look at it right now.'' 

At a press conference last week, Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, chairman of the Senate 

Intelligence Committee, said that members of the panel shared a ''general consensus" of 

agreement on the conclusions oflast January's intelligence community assessment that the 

Kremlin's effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign was directed by Russian President 

Vladimir Putin. "The overall theme of their involvement in the U.S. election was to create chaos 

at every leveL" Burr said, declining to share another conclusion of the intelligence agencies that 

Putin's aim was to tilt voters away from Hillary Clinton and toward Donald Trump. 

Burr also said he was, ''pleased with the progress'' the homeland security department was making 

to prevent further election interference. But Democrats on Capitol Hill unanimously disagreed 

with that statement. 

In a statement to Newsweek, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, ranking Democrat on the 

House Homeland Security Committee, called Trump "irresponsible and reckless" for ''leaving 

leadership positions at our cybersccurity agencies untilled ... almost ten months into this 

administration." 

Likewise, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs Committee, told Newsweek, "what we urgently need is a genuine effort 

ti·om congressional Republicans and the Trump administration to work with us ... especially given 

the fast-approaching 2017 election ... " On Thursday, the committee approved a bill introduced 

jointly by Hassan and Republican Sen. Rob Pmiman of Ohio that would enlist '"white-hat'---that 

is, ethical----hackers to help identify unique and undiscovered vulnerabilities in the DHS 

networks and information technology.'' 

Three weeks ago, DHS surprised election officials in 21 states with the news that Russian 

hackers had tried to access their voter information. On September 28, according to The 

Buffington Post, election ofticials in Wisconsin and California said D! IS had "provided them 

with additional information showing that Russian hackers actually scanned networks at other 

state agencies unconnected to voter data.'' 

At a September 27 hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs 

Committee, the panel's top Democrat, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, said she was "worried 

about how long it's taken us to notify the states about the potential efforts to scan voter 

registration files in their states .... , And she asked Trump administration ol1icials, including 

acting DHS secretary Elaine Duke, "what is our strategy going forward? How are we going to do 

what needs to be done to notify the American public if this is going on, and prevent it from 

actually happening in all of these various ways that Russia played around in our democracy?" 

Duke responded that DHS had learned to "notify the right senior [state] official" about Russian 

election intrusions. 
274 

Christopher Wray, who Trump appointed to replace James Comey as FBT Director, told 

McCaskill that, "We are surging more resources specifically focused on the upcoming 

elections ... " 

When they issued their joint statement on Russian election meddling last October 7, D!IS 

Secretary Jeh Johnson and Director of"lationallntclligencc James Clapper claimed that DI-IS 

was "providing several services to slate and local election oflicials to assist in their 

cybersecurity," including, '"hygiene' scans oflnternct-facing systems, risk and vulnerability 

assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter 

registration databases and addressing potential cybcr threats." 

Rasmussen, now a top cybcr official with the global investigations firm Kroll, called the hygiene 

scan '·a really good program." but said, "I'm not sure how many entities actually use it." In any 

event, he said, ''there arc still too many voting platforms-vote by mail, paper vote, online vote. 

machine vote at a polling station-that are really vulnerable to outside sabotage or 

manipulation.'' 

DHS did not respond to several questions about its cybersecurity measures related to the 

elections. 

"OveralL" says the congressional homeland security expert, "our assessment is that DHS is just 

really getting serious about this right now.'' 

How serious remains to be seen. As Laura Rosenberger, a senior former Obama administration 

national security official, puts it: "The person at the very top continues to deny that this is even 

an issue." Last week, Trump tweeted that the Senate Intelligence Committee should be 

investigating "fake news.'' not Russia's election meddling and alleged collusion with him and his 

associates. 

"I don't know where you go fi·om there." Rosenberger added. "We need a whole government 

strategy on this, and that requires White House leadership.'' 

It's not likely to come, former Obama White House Counsel Bob Bauer wrote this week. 

·'A whole government approach would require an executive fully prepared to work with the 

Congress to meet this challenge." Bauer said. '·President Donald Trump has given no such 

indication: quite the opposite." 
275 

MEMORANDUM FOR: 

FROM: 

SUBJECT: 

February 20, 2017 

Kevin McA!eenan 

Acting Commissioner 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Thomas D. Homan 

Acting Director 

SetrdUf'J' 

U.S. Oe(,artment of llumehmd Security 

\V~IS!Hil_I,!J(>n, DC 20)~:-\ 

Homeland 

Security 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

Lori Scialabba 

Acting Director 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

Joseph 11. Maher 

Acting General Counsel 

Dimple Shah 

Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs 

Chip Fulghum 

Acting Undersecretary for Management 

John Kelly 

Secretary 

Interest 

of the Immigration I ,aws to Serve the National 

This memorandum implements the Executive Order entitled "'Enhancing Public Safety in 

the Interior of the United States," issued by the President on January 25, 2017. It constitutes 

guidance for all Department personnel regarding the enforcement of the immigration laws of the 

United States, and is applicable to the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and hnmigration 

Services ( USCIS). As such, it should infonn enforcement and removal activities, detention 

decisions, administrative litigation, budget requests and execution, and strategic planning. 
276 

With the exception of the June 15, 2012, memorandum entitled "Exercising Prosecutorial 

Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children," and the 

November 20, 2014 memorandum entitled "Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to 

Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals 

Who Arc the Parents of C.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents," 1 all existing conflicting 

directives. memoranda, or field guidance regarding the enforcement of our immigration laws and 

priorities for removal are hereby immediately rescinded to the extent of the contlict~including, 

but not limited to, the November 20. 2014. memoranda entitled ·'Policies f(Jr the Apprehension. 

Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants," and ··secure Communities.'' 

A. The Department's Enforcement Priorities 

Congress has detlned the Department's role and responsibilities regarding the enforcement 

of the immigration laws of the United States. Eflective immediately, and consistent with Article 

II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution and Section 3331 of Title 5. United States Code, 

Department personnel shall faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States against 

all removable aliens. 

Except as specifically noted above. the Department no longer will exempt classes or 

categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. Jn faithfully executing the 

immigration laws, Department personnel should take enf(JTcement actions in accordance with 

applicable law. In order to achieve this goal, as noted below. [ have directed ICE to hire I 0,000 

onicers and agents expeditiously, subject to available resources, and to take enforcement actions 

consistent with available resources. However, in order to maximize the benefit to public safety. to 

stem unlawful migration and to prevent fraud and misrepresentation. Department personnel 

should prioritize for removal those aliens described by Congress in Sections 212(a)(2), (a)(3 ), and 

(a)(6)(C), 235(b) and (c), and 237(a)(2) and (4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

Additionally, regardless of the basis of removability, Department personnel should 

prioritize removable aliens who: (I) have been convicted of any criminal offense; (2) have been 

charged with any criminal o!Tensc that has not been resolved: (3) have committed acts which 

constitute a chargeable criminal offense: (4) have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in 

connection with any ofllcial matter before a governmental agency; (5) have abused any program 

related to receipt of public bene tits; (6) arc subject to a final order of removal but have not 

complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or (7) in the judgment of an 

immigration oflicer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security. The Director of 

ICE. the Commissioner ofCBP. and the Director of USC IS may, as they determine is appropriate, 

issue further guidance to allocate appropriate resources to prioritize enforcement activities within 

these categories~for example, by prioritizing enforcement activities against removable aliens 

who are convicted !Cions or who arc involved in gang activity or drug traflicking. 

1 The November 20, 2014. memorandum will be addressed in future !!uidance. 

2 
277 

B. Strengthening Programs to ~·acilitate the Efficient and Faithful Execution of the 

Immigration Laws of the United States 

Facilitating the efficient and faithful execution of the immigration laws of the United 

States-and prioritizing the Department's resources-requires the use of all available systems and 

enforcement tools by Department personnel. 

Through passage of the immigration laws, Congress established a comprehensive statutory 

regime to remove aliens expeditiously from the United States in accordance with all applicable 

due process of law. T determine that the faithful execution of our immigration laws is best 

achieved by using all these statutory authorities to the greatest extent practicable. Accordingly, 

Department personnel shall make full use of these authorities. 

Criminal aliens have demonstrated their disregard for the rule of law and pose a threat to 

persons residing in the United States. As such, criminal aliens are a priority for removal. The 

Priority Enforcement Program failed to achieve its stated objectives, added an unnecessary layer 

of uncertainty for the Department's personnel, and hampered the Department" s en forcemcnt of the 

immigrmion laws in the interior of the lJnited States. Effective immediately. the Priority 

Enforcement Program is terminated and the Secure Communities Program shall be restored. To 

protect our communities and better facilitate the identification, detention. and removal of criminal 

aliens within constitutional and statutory parameters, the Department shall eliminate the existing 

Forms I-247D. l-247N, and 1-247X, and replace them with a new form to more effectively 

communicate with recipient law enforcement agencies. However, until such forms are updated 

they may be used as an interim measure to ensure that detainers may still be issued. as 

appropriate. 

ICE's Criminal Alien Program is an effective tool to facilitate the removal of criminal 

aliens from the United States, while also protecting our communities and conserving the 

Depanment's detention resources. Accordingly, ICE should devote available resources to 

expanding the usc of the Criminal Alien Program in any willing jurisdiction in the United States. 

To the maximum extent possible, in coordination with the Executive Office for Immigration 

Review (EOIR), removal proceedings shall be initiated against aliens incarcerated in federaL 

state, and local correctional facilities under the Institutional Hearing and Removal Program 

pursuant to section 238(a) of the INA, and administrative removal processes, such as those under 

section 23R(b) of the INA. shall be used in all eligible cases. 

The INA§ 287(g) Program has been a highly successful force multiplier that allows a 

qualified state or local law enforcement officer to be designated as an "immigration officer'' tor 

purposes of enforcing federal immigration law. Such officers have the authority to perform all law 

enforcement functions specified in section 287(a) of the INA, including the authority to 

investigate, identify. apprehend. arrest, detain, and conduct searches authorized under the INA, 

under the direction and supervision of the Department. 

There arc currently 32 law enforcement agencies in 16 states participating in the 287(g) 

3 
278 

Program. In previous years, there were significantly more law enforcement agencies participating 

in the 287(g) Program. To the greatest extent practicable. the Director of ICE and Commissioner 

of CBP shall expand the 287(g) Program to include all qualified law enforcement agencies that 

request to participate and meet all program requirements. In furtherance of this direction and the 

guidance memorandum, ·'Implementing the President's Border Security and Immigration 

Enforcement Improvements Policies'' (Feb. 20, 20 17). the Commissioner of CBP is authorized, in 

addition to the Director of ICE, to accept State services and take other actions as appropriate to 

carry out immigration enforcement pursuant to section 287(g) of the INA. 

C. Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion 

Cnless otherwise directed, Department personnel may initiate enforcement actions against 

removable aliens encountered during the perfortnancc of their official duties and should act 

consistently with the President's enforcement priorities identified in his Executive Order and any 

further guidance issued pursuant to this memorandum. Department personnel have full authority 

to arrest or apprehend an alien whom an immigration oflicer has probable cause to believe is in 

violation of the immigration laws. They also have full authority to initiate removal proceedings 

against any alien who is subject to removal under any provision of the ll':A. and to refer 

appropriate cases for criminal prosecution. The Department shall prioritize aliens described in the 

Department's Enforcement Priorities (Section A) for arrest and removal. This is not intended to 

remove the individual. case-by-case decisions of immigration officers. 

The exercise of prosccutorial discretion with regard to any alien who is subject to arrest, 

criminal prosc<.:ution, or removal in accordance with law shall be made on a case-by-case basis in 

consultation with the head of the tield oftice component, where appropriate, ofCBP, ICE. or 

LSClS that initiated or will initiate the enforcement action, regardless of which entity actually 

files any applicable charging documents: CBP Chief Patrol Agent, CBP Director of field 

Operations, ICE Field Of1ice Director, ICE Special Agent-in-Charge, or the USC!S Field Office 

Director, Asylum Ofiice Director or Service Center Director. 

Except as specifically provided in this memorandum, prosecutorial discretion shall not be 

exercised in a manner that exempts or excludes a speci lied class or category of aliens from 

enforcement of the immigration laws. The General Counsel shall issue guidance consistent with 

these principles to all attorneys involved in immigration proceedings. 

D. Establishing the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office 

Criminal aliens routinely victimize Americans and other legal residents. Often. these 

victims arc not provided adequate in!(Jrmation about the offender, the offender's immigration 

status. or any enforcement action taken by ICE against the offender. Efforts by ICE to engage 

these victims have been hampered by prior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy 

extending certain Privacy Act protections to persons other than U.S. citizens and lawful 

permanent residents, leaving victims feeling marginalized and without a voice. Accordingly, I am 

establishing the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office within the Ofticc of 

4 
279 

the Director of ICE, which will create a programmatic liaison between ICE and the known victims 

of crimes committed by removable aliens. The liaison will facilitate engagement with the victims 

and their families to ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that they arc provided infommtion 

about the ofllmdcr, including the offender's immigration status and custody status. and that their 

questions and concerns regarding immigration enforcement efforts arc addressed. 

To that end, I direct the Director of ICE to immediately reallocate any and all resources 

that are currently used to advocate on behalf of illegal aliens (except as necessary to comply with 

a judicial order) to the new VOICE Office, and to immediately terminate the provision of such 

outreach or advocacy services to illegal aliens. 

Nothing herein may be construed to authorize disclosures that are prohibited by law or 

may relate to information that is Classified, Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU}, Law Enforcement 

Sensitive (U:S), For Official Usc Only (FOUO), or similarly designated information that may 

relate to national security, law enforcement, or intelligence programs or operations. or disclosures 

that arc reasonably likely to cause hann to any person. 

E. Hiring Additional ICE Officers and Agents 

To enforce the immigration laws e!Tectively in the interior of the United States in 

accordance with the President's directives, additional ICE agents and officers arc necessary. The 

Director of ICE shall-while ensuring consistency in training and standards-take all appropriate 

action to expeditiously hire I 0.000 agents and officers, as well as additional operational and 

mission support and legal staff necessary to hire and support their activities. Human Capital 

leadership in CBP and ICE, in coordination with the !;ndcr Secretary for Management and the 

Chief Human Capital Officer, shall develop hiring plans that balance growth and interagency 

attrition by integrating workforce shaping and career paths for incumbents and new hires. 

F. Establishment of Programs to Collect Authorized Civil l<'ines and Penalties 

As soon as practicable. the Director of ICE. the Commissioner ofCBP, and the Director of 

t:SCIS shall issue guidance and promulgate regulations. where required by law, to ensure the 

assessment and collection of all fines and penalties which the Department is authorized under the 

law to assess and collect from aliens and from those who facilitate their unlawful presence in the 

United States. 

G. Aligning the Department's Privacy Policies With the Law 

The Department will no longer afford Privacy Act rights and protections to persons who 

arc neither U.S. citizens nor lawful pcnnanent residents. The DHS Privacy Oftice will rescind the 

DHS Privacy Policy Guidance memorandum, dated January 7, 2009, which implemented the 

DHS "mixed systems" policy of administratively treating all personal inf(mnation contained in 

DHS record systems as being subject to the Privacy Act regardless of the subject's immigration 

status. The OilS Privacy Office, with the assistance of the Office of the General Counsel. will 

5 
280 

develop new guidance specifying the appropriate treatment of personal information DHS 

maintains in its record systems. 

H. Collecting and Reporting Data on Alien Apprehensions and Releases 

The collection of data regarding aliens apprehended by ICE and the disposition of their 

cases will assist in the development of agency performance metrics and provide transparency in 

the immigration enf(Hcement mission. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by law, the Director of 

ICE shall develop a standardized method of reporting statistical data regarding aliens apprehended 

by ICE and. at the earliest practicable time. provide monthly reports of such data to the public 

without charge. 

The reporting method shall include uniform terminology and shall utilize a format that is 

easily understandable by the public and a medium that can be readily accessed. At a minimum, in 

addition to statistical information currently being publicly reported regarding apprehended aliens, 

the following categories of information must be included: country of citizenship. convicted 

criminals and the nature of their offenses, gang members, prior immigration violators, custody 

status of aliens and. if released, the reason for release and location of their release, aliens ordered 

removed. and aliens physically removed or returned. 

The ICE Director shall also develop and provide a weekly report to the public, utilizing a 

medium that can be readily accessed without charge, of non-Federal jurisdictions that release 

aliens from their custody. notwithstanding that such aliens are subject to a detainer or similar 

request for custody issued by ICE to that jurisdiction. In addition to other relevant information, to 

the extent that such information is readily available, the report shall reflect the name of the 

jurisdiction, the citizenship and immigration status of the alien, the arrest, charge, or conviction 

for which each alien was in the custody of that jurisdiction. the date on which the ICE detainer or 

similar request f(Jr custody was served on the jurisdiction by ICE, the date of the alien's release 

from the custody of that jurisdiction and the reason fi.Jr the release. an explanation concerning why 

the detainer or similar request for custody was not honored, and all arrests, charges. or convictions 

occurring after the alien· s release from the custody of that jurisdiction. 

I. No Private Right of Action 

This document provides only internal DHS policy guidance, which may be modified. 

rescinded, or superseded at any time without notice. This guidance is not intended to. does not. 

and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit. substantive or proceduraL enforceable at 

law by any party in any administrative, civiL or criminal matter. Likewise. no limitations are 

placed by this guidance on the otherwise lawful enforcement or litigation prerogatives of DHS. 

In implementing these policies, l direct DI!S Components to consult with legal counsel to 

ensure compliance with all applicable laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act. 

6 
281 

9/28/2017 Frequently Asked Questions I USC IS 

U.S. Citizenship and 

Imntigration Sendces 

This page contains information that is no longer current but remains on our site for reference 

purposes. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

We are no longer accepting initial requests for DACA, but we will adjudicate initial requests 

for DACA accepted by Sept. s, 2011. 

• We will no longer approve advance parole requests associated with DACA. 

• We are only adjudicating DACA renewal requests received by Oct. s, 2017, from current 

beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between Sept. s, 2017 and March 5, 2018. 

• R.~0!i tl:lg __ :uuL!li\<;:i:\.~JJJIQJHl_C.~!IH'Jit 

!!a t!>J;rQJ.!mLChe£1>.~ 

• Mt<irJJSc!S_Ni!.lse~_'lc !le,i!;i..'!n 

<;fi[flin@U;;QJ::t~ktign_ji 

M. ~~~gilsJ1g_Qm 

I. General Information for All Requestors 

A. What is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals? 

As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to focus its enforcement resources on the 

removal of individuals who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety, DHS will exercise 

prosecutorial discretion as appropriate to ensure that enforcement resources are not expended on low 

priority cases, such as individuals who came to the United States as children and meet other key 

guidelines. Individuals who demonstrate that they meet the guidelines below may request consideration 

of deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) for a period of two years, subject to renewal for a period 

of two years, and may be eligible for employment authorization. 

You may request consideration of DACA if you: 

https /ivvww.usc1s gov/archlve/frequently-asked-quest!Ons 1120 
282 

9/28/2017 Frequently Asked Questions J USClS 

1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 

2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; 

3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time; 

4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your 

request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS; 

5. Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012, meaning that: 

You never had a lawful immigration status on or before June 15,2012, or 

Any lawful immigration status or parole that you obtained prior to June 15, 2012, had expired 

as of June 15, 2012; 

6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, 

have obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged 

veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and 

7. Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, 

and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. 

!ndividuals can call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at 1-800-375-5283 with 

questions or to request more information on DACA. Those with pending requests can also use a 

number of .ooliD5Clclf:Jl~IJ1LQill~ which include the ability to check case status and processing times, 

change your address, and send an inquiry about a case pending longer than posted processing times or 

non-delivery of a card or document. 

Ql: What is deferred action? 

Al: Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of 

prosecutorial discretion. For purposes of future inadmissibility based upon unlawful presence, an 

individual whose case has been deferred is not considered to be unlawfully present during the period in 

which deferred action is in effect. An individual who has received deferred action is authorized by DHS to 

be present in the United States, and is therefore considered by DHS to be lawfully present during the 

period deferred action is in effect. However, deferred action does not confer lawful status upon an 

individual, nor does it excuse any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence. 

Under existing regulations, an individual whose case has been deferred is eligible to receive employment 

authorization for the period of deferred action, provided he or she can demonstrate "an economic 

necessity for employment." DHS can terminate or renew deferred action at any time, at the agency's 

discretion. 

Q2: What is DACA? 

A2: On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to 

the United States as children and meet several key guidelines may request consideration of deferred 

action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization. 

Individuals who can demonstrate through verifiable documentation that they meet these guidelines will 

be considered for deferred action. Determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis under the DACA 

guidelines. 

Q3: Is there any difference between "deferred action" and DACA under this process? 

A3: DACA is one form of deferred action. The relief an individual receives under DACA is identical for 

immigration purposes to the relief obtained by any person who receives deferred action as an act of 

prosecutorial discretion. 

Q4: If my removal is deferred under the consideration of DACA, am I eligible for employment 

authorization? 

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A4: Yes. Under existing regulations, if your case is deferred, you may obtain employment authorization 

from USC IS provided you can demonstrate an economic necessity for employment. 

QS: If my case is deferred, am I in lawful status for the period of deferral? 

AS: No. Although action on your case has been deferred and you do not accrue unlawful presence (for 

admissibility purposes) during the period of deferred action, deferred action does not confer any lawful 

status. 

The fact that you are not accruing unlawful presence does not change whether you are in lawful status 

while you remain in the United States. However, although deferred action does not confer a lawful 

immigration status, your period of stay is authorized by the Department of Homeland Security while your 

deferred action is in effect and, for admissibility purposes, you are considered to be lawfully present in 

the United States during that time. Individuals granted deferred action are not precluded by federal 

taw from establishing domicile in the U.S. 

Apart from the immigration laws, "lawful presence," 'llawful status" and similar terms are used in various 

other federal and state laws. For information on how those laws affect individuals who receive a favorable 

exercise of prosecutorial discretion under DACA, please contact the appropriate federal, state or local 

authorities. 

Q6: Can I renew my period of deferred action and employment authorization under DACA? 

A6: Yes. You may request consideration for a renewal of your DACA. Your request for a renewal will be 

considered on a case-by-case basis. If USC IS renews its exercise of discretion under DACA for your case, 

you will receive deferred action for another two years, and if you demonstrate an economic necessity for 

employment, you may receive employment authorization throughout that period. 

B. OACA Process 

Q7: How do I request consideration of DACA? 

A7: To request consideration of DACA (either as an initial request or to request a renewal), you must 

submit f'lml.l::ll2LQ._C_Qlli_Ldora.tillnJJl.Def~rr:.~dl\.\:liQll.1QLChiLd!Jood Arrivals to USC IS. Please visit 

IL,c_i;;~'o\f'i-S2td before you begin the process to make sure you are using the most current version of the 

form available. This form must be completed, properly signed and accompanied by a Form 1-JQS., 

[illQu<;;Hion_fgcfmJ2LQymccnlA~tltQrlzation, and a Forrlll:l£i5WS~_\'i.!l!:ksb.rJrt.(PDF 2_~_15J:\l, establishing 

your economic need for employment. If you fail to submit a completed Form 1-765 (along with the 

accompanying filing fees for that form, please see the Form 1-8210 page for more information), USCIS will 

not consider your request for deferred action. Please read the form instructions to ensure that you answer 

the appropriate questions (determined by whether you are submitting an initial or renewal request) and 

that you submit all the required documentation to support your initial request. 

You must file your request for consideration of DACA at the USCIS Lock box. You can find the mailing 

address and instructions atyy~'~_,JJ.2~2JQ. As of June 5, 2014, requestors must use the new 

version of the form. After your Form 1-8210, Form 1-765, and Form 1-765 Worksheet have been received, 

USC IS will review them for completeness, including submission of the required fee, initial evidence and 

supporting documents (for initial filings). 

If it is determined that the request is complete, USC IS will send you a receipt notice. USC IS will then send 

you an appointment notice to visit an Application Support Center (ASC) for biometric services, if an 

appointment is required. Please make sure you read and follow the directions in the notice. Failure to 

attend your biometrics appointment may delay processing of your request for consideration of deferred 

action, or may result in a denial of your request. You may also choose to receive an email and/or text 

message notifying you that your form has been accepted by completing a EQ!JJLG-l J..15"_LNotjJj<;_il\iQll_Qf 

Ap pJj G~l tj o _nLP.t;1Ltip rtl\c_q;;pJQD c;_~ • 

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Each request for consideration of DACA will be reviewed on an individual, case-by-case basis. USC IS may 

request more information or evidence from you, or request that you appear at a USCIS office. USC IS will 

notify you of its determination in writing. 

Note: All individuals who believe they meet the guidelines, including those in removal proceedings, with 

a final removal order, or with a voluntary departure order (and not in immigration detention), may 

affirmatively request consideration of DACA from USCIS through this process. Individuals who are 

currently in immigration detention and believe they meet the guidelines may not request consideration of 

deferred action from USC IS but may identify themselves to their deportation officer or Jail Liaison. You 

may also contact the ICE Field Office Director. For more information visit ICE's website 

at WYljtj_.Lc;.Q,_g_muitsg:_q. 

QS: Can I obtain a fee waiver or fee exemption for this process? 

AS: There are no fee waivers available for employment authorization applications connected to DACA. 

There are very limited fee exemptions available. Requests for fee exemptions must be filed and favorably 

adjudicated before an individual files his/her request for consideration of DACA without a fee. In order to 

be considered for a fee exemption, you must submit a letter and supporting documentation to USCIS 

demonstrating that you meet one of the following conditions: 

• You are under 18 years of age, have an income that is less than 150 percent of the U.S. poverty level, 

and are in foster care or otherwise lacking any parental or other familial support; or 

You are under 18 years of age and homeless; or 

• You cannot care for yourself because you suffer from a serious, chronic disability and your income is 

less than 150 percent of the U.S. poverty level; or, 

• You have, at the time of the request, accumulated $10,000 or more in debt in the past 12 months as a 

result ofunreimbursed medical expenses for yourself or an immediate family member, and your 

income is less than 150 percent of the U.S. poverty level. 

You can find additional information on our Fee Ex=Rlion Guill.flnce Web page. Your request must be 

submitted and decided before you submit a request for consideration of DACA without a fee. In order to 

be considered for a fee exemption, you must provide documentary evidence to demonstrate that you 

meet any of the above conditions at the time that you make the request. For evidence, USCIS will: 

• Accept affidavits from community-based or religious organizations to establish a requestor's 

homelessness or lack of parental or other familial financial support. 

• Accept copies of tax returns, bank statement, pay stubs, or other reliable evidence of income level. 

Evidence can also include an affidavit from the applicant or a responsible third party attesting that 

the applicant does not file tax returns, has no bank accounts, and/or has no income to prove income 

level. 

Accept copies of medical records, insurance records, bank statements, or other reliable evidence of 

unreimbursed medical expenses of at least $10,000. 

• Address factual questions through Requests for Evidence (RFEs). 

Q9: If individuals meet the guidelines for consideration of DACA and are encountered by U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will they 

be placed into removal proceedings? 

A9: DACA is intended, in part, to allow CBP and ICE to focus on priority cases. Under the direction of the 

Secretary of Homeland Security, if an individual meets the guidelines for DACA, CBP or ICE should exercise 

their discretion on a case-by-case basis to prevent qualifying individuals from being apprehended, placed 

into removal proceedings, or removed. If individuals believe that, in light ofthis policy, they should not 

have been apprehended or placed into removal proceedings, contact the Law Enforcement Support 

Center's hotline at 1-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). 

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QlO: Does this process apply to me if I am currently in removal proceedings, have a final removal 

order, or have a voluntary departure order? 

AlO: This process is open to any individual who can demonstrate he or she meets the guidelines for 

consideration, including those who have never been in removal proceedings as well as those in removal 

proceedings, with a final order, or with a voluntary departure order (as long as they are not in immigration 

detention). 

Qll: If I am not in removal proceedings but believe I meet the guidelines for consideration of DACA, 

should I seek to place myself into removal proceedings through encounters with CBP or ICE? 

All: No. If you are not in removal proceedings but believe that you meet the guidelines, you should 

submit your DACA request to USCIS under the process outlined below. 

Ql2: Can I request consideration of DACA from USC IS if I am in immigration detention under the 

custody of ICE? 

A12: No. If you are currently in immigration detention, you may not request consideration of DACA from 

USCIS. If you think you may meet the guidelines of this process, you should identify yourself to your 

deportation officer or Jail Liaison. You may also contact the ICE Field Office Director. For more 

information, visit ICE's website at ~-'l.'£.W_j£fdW~L.Q_g_@. 

Q13: If I am about to be removed by ICE and believe that I meet the guidelines for consideration of 

DACA, what steps should I take to seek review of my case before removal? 

A13: If you believe you can demonstrate that you meet the guidelines and are about to be removed, you 

should immediately contact the Law Enforcement Support Center's hotline at 1-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 

hours a day, 7 days a week). 

Ql4: What should I do if I meet the guidelines of this process and have been issued an ICE detainer 

following an arrest by a state or local law enforcement officer? 

A14: If you meet the guidelines and have been served a detainer, you should immediately contact the Law 

Enforcement Support Center's hotline at 1-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). 

QlS: If I accepted an offer of administrative closure under the case-by-case review process or my 

case was terminated as part of the case-by-case review process, can I be considered for deferred 

action under this process? 

A15: Yes. If you can demonstrate that you meet the guidelines, you will be able to request consideration of 

DACA even if you have accepted an offer of administrative closure or termination underthe case-by-case 

review process. 

QlG: If I declined an offer of administrative closure under the case-by-case review process, can I be 

considered for deferred action under this process? 

A16: Yes. If you can demonstrate that you meet the guidelines, you will be able to request consideration of 

DACA even if you declined an offer of administrative closure under the case-by-case review process. 

Ql7: If my case was reviewed as part of the case-by-case review process but I was not offered 

administrative closure, can I be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A17: Yes. If you can demonstrate that you meet the guidelines, you will be able to request consideration of 

DACA even if you were not offered administrative closure following review of your case as part of the caseby-case review process. 

QlS: Can I request consideration of DACA under this process if I am currently in a nonimmigrant 

status (e.g. F-1, E-2, H-4) or have Temporary Protected Status (TPS)? 

AlB: No. You can only request consideration of DACA under this process if you currently have no 

immigration status and were not in any lawful status on June 15,2012. 

Ql9: Will the information I share in my request for consideration of DACA be used for immigration 

enforcement purposes? 

A19: Information provided in this request is protected from disclosure to ICE and CBP for the purpose of 

immigration enforcement proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice 

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To Appear or a referral to ICE under the criteria set forth in USCIS' Notice to Appear guidance 

(y,'!Lv,,,ll'i£i'hgo!iLN.IA).Individuals whose cases are deferred pursuant to DACA will not be referred to ICE. 

The information may be shared with national security and law enforcement agencies, including ICE and 

CBP, for purposes other than removal, including for assistance in the consideration of DACA, to identify or 

prevent fraudulent claims, for national security purposes, or for the investigation or prosecution of a 

criminal offense. The above information sharing policy covers family members and guardians, in addition 

to the requestor. This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without 

notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive 

or procedural, enforceable by law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter. 

Q20: If my case is referred to ICE for immigration enforcement purposes or if I receive an NTA, will 

information related to my family members and guardians also be referred to ICE for immigration 

enforcement purposes? 

A20: If your case is referred to ICE for purposes of immigration enforcement or you receive an NTA, 

information related to your family members or guardians that is contained in your request will not be 

referred to ICE for purposes of immigration enforcement against family members or guardians. However, 

that information may be shared with national security and law enforcement agencies, including ICE and 

CBP, for purposes other than removal, including for assistance in the consideration of DACA, to identify or 

prevent fraudulent claims, for national security purposes, or for the investigation or prosecution of a 

criminal offense. 

This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended 

to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 

enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter. 

Q21: Will USCIS verify documents or statements that I provide in support of a request for DACA? 

A21: USCIS has the authority to verify documents, facts, and statements that are provided in support of 

requests for DACA. USC IS may contact education institutions, other government agencies, employers, or 

other entities in order to verify information. 

C. Background Checks 

Q22: Will USCIS conduct a background check when reviewing my request for consideration of DACA? 

A22: Yes. You must undergo biographic and biometric background checks before US CIS will consider your 

[}ACA request. 

Q23: What do background checks involve? 

A23: Background checks involve checking biographic and biometric information provided by the 

individuals against a variety of databases maintained by DHS and other federal government agencies. 

Q24: What steps will USCIS and ICE take if I engage in fraud through the new process? 

A24: If you knowingly make a misrepresentation, or knowingly fail to disclose facts, in an effort to obtain 

DACA or work authorization through this process, you will be treated as an immigration enforcement 

priority to the fullest extent permitted by law, and be subject to criminal prosecution and/or removal from 

the United States. 

D. After USCIS Makes a Decision 

Q25: Can I appeal USCIS' determination? 

A25: No. You cannot file a motion to reopen or reconsider, and cannot appeal the decision if USCIS denies 

your request for consideration of DACA. 

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You may request a review of your I-821D denial by contacting USCIS' National Customer Service Center at 

1-800-375-5283 to have a service request created if you believe that you actually did meet all of the DACA 

guidelines and you believe that your request was denied because USCIS: 

• Denied the request based on abandonment, when you actually responded to a Request for Evidence 

(RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) within the prescribed time; 

Mailed the RFE or NOID to the wrong address although you had changed your address online at 

.\IY\:YW,.~li(L~QY or with a customer service representative on the phone and submitted a Form AR-11, 

Change of Address, before USC IS issued the RFE or NOID. 

o To ensure the address is updated on a pending case as quickly as possible, we recommend that 

customers submit a change of address request at www.uscis.goviaddresschange. Please note 

that only an online change of address or a Form AR-ll submission will satisfy the legal 

requirements for notifying the agency of an address change. Therefore, if you called a customer 

service representative to change your address, please be sure you have also submitted your 

address change online or with a Form AR-ll. 

• Denied the request on the grounds that you did not come to the United States prior to your 16th 

birthday, but the evidence submitted at the time of filing shows that you did arrive before reaching 

that age. 

Denied the request on the grounds that you were under age 15 at the time of filing but not in removal 

proceedings, while the evidence submitted at the time of filing show that you indeed were in removal 

proceedings when the request was filed; 

• Denied the request on the grounds that you were 31 or older as of June 15,2012, but the evidence 

submitted at the time of filing shows that you were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 

• Denied the request on the grounds that you had lawful status on June 15, 2012, but the evidence 

submitted at the time of filing shows that you indeed were in an unlawful immigration status on that 

date; 

• Denied the request on the grounds that you were not physically present in the United States on June 

15, 2012, and up through the date of filing, but the evidence submitted at the time of filing shows that 

you were, in fact, present; 

Denied the request due to your failure to appear at a USC IS Application Support Center (ASC) to have 

your biometrics collected, when you in fact either did appear at a USCIS ASC to have this done or 

requested prior to the scheduled date of your biometrics appointment to have the appointment 

rescheduled; or 

• Denied the request because you did not pay the filing fees for Form 1-765, Application for 

Employment Authorization, when you actually did pay these fees 

If you believe your request was denied due to any of these administrative errors, you may contact our 

National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TDD for the hearing 

impaired). Customer service officers are available Monday- Friday from 8 a.m. 6 p.m. in each U.S. time 

zone. 

Q26: If USCIS does not exercise deferred action in my case, will I be placed in removal proceedings? 

A26: If you have submitted a request for consideration of DACA and USCIS decides not to defer action in 

your case, USCIS will apply its policy guidance governing the referral of cases to ICE and the issuance of 

Notices to Appear (NTA). If your case does not involve a criminal offense, fraud, or a threat to national 

security or public safety, your case will not be referred to ICE for purposes of removal proceedings except 

where DHS determines there are exceptional circumstances. For more detailed information on the 

applicable NTA policy, visitw'v''LU.si.~_ggy[_N_T_A.If after a review of the totality of circumstances USCIS 

determines to defer action in your case, USC IS will likewise exercise its discretion and will not issue you 

an NTA. 

Q27: Can my deferred action under the DACA process be terminated before it expires? 

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A27: Yes. 

DACA is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion and deferred action may be terminated at any time, with 

or without a Notice of Intent to Terminate, at DHS's discretion. 

Return to top. 

II. Initial Requests for DACA 

Q28: What guidelines must I meet to be considered for deferred action for childhood arrivals 

(DACA)? 

A28: Under the Secretary of Homeland Security's June 15,2012 memorandum, in order to be considered 

for DACA, you must submit evidence, including supporting documents, showing that you: 

1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 

2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; 

3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15,2007, up to the present time; 

4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15,2012, and at the time of making your 

request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS; 

5. Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012; 

6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, 

have obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged 

veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and 

7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, 

and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. 

These guidelines must be met for consideration of DACA. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS) retains the ultimate discretion to determine whether deferred action is appropriate in any given 

case even if the guidelines are met. 

Q29: How old must I be in order to be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A29: 

• If you have never been in removal proceedings, or your proceedings have been terminated before 

your request for consideration of DACA, you must be at least 15 years of age or older at the time of 

filing and meet the other guidelines. 

• If you are in removal proceedings, have a final removal order, or have a voluntary departure order, 

and are not in immigration detention, you can request consideration of DACA even if you are under 

the age of 15 at the time of filing and meet the other guidelines. 

• In all instances, you must have been under the age of 31 as of June 15,2012, to be considered for 

DACA. 

Q30: I first came to the United States before I turned 16 years old and have been continuously 

residing in the United States since at least June 1S, 2007. Before I turned 16 years old, however, I 

left the United States for some period of time before returning and beginning my current period of 

continuous residence. May I be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A30: Yes, but only if you established residence in the United States during the period before you turned 

16 years old, as evidenced, for example, by records showing you attended school or worked in the United 

States during that time, or that you lived in the United States for multiple years during that time. in 

addition to establishing that you initially resided in the United States before you turned 16 years old, you 

must also have maintained continuous residence in the United States from June 15,2007, until the 

present time to be considered for deferred action under this process. 

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Q31: To prove my continuous residence in the United States since June lS, 2007, must I provide 

evidence documenting my presence for every day, or every month, of that period? 

A31: To meet the continuous residence guideline, you must submit documentation that shows you have 

been living in the United States from June 15, 2007, up until the time of your request. You should provide 

documentation to account for as much of the period as reasonably possible, but there is no requirement 

that every day or month of that period be specifically accounted for through direct evidence. 

It is helpful to USC IS if you can submit evidence of your residence during at least each year of the period. 

USC IS will review the documentation in its totality to determine whether it is more likely than not that 

you were continuously residing in the United States for the period since June 15,2007. Gaps in the 

documentation as to certain periods may raise doubts as to your continued residence if, for example, the 

gaps are lengthy or the record otherwise indicates that you may have been outside the United States for a 

period of time that was not brief, casual or innocent. 

If gaps in your documentation raise questions, USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence to allow you to 

submit additional documentation that supports your claimed continuous residence. 

Affidavits may be submitted to explain a gap in the documentation demonstrating that you meet the fiveyear continuous residence requirement. If you submit affidavits related to the continuous residence 

requirement, you must submit two or more affidavits, sworn to or affirmed by people other than yourself 

who have direct personal knowledge of the events and circumstances during the period as to which there 

is a gap in the documentation. Affidavits may only be used to explain gaps in your continuous residence; 

they cannot be used as evidence that you meet the entire five-year continuous residence requirement. 

Q32: Does "currently in school" refer to the date on which the request for consideration of deferred 

action is filed? 

A32: To be considered "currently in school" under the guidelines, you must be enrolled in school on the 

date you submit a request for consideration of deferred action under this process. 

Q33: Who is considered to be "currently in school" under the guidelines? 

A33: To be considered "currently in school" under the guidelines, you must be enrolled in: 

a public, private, or charter elementary school, junior high or middle school, high school, secondary 

school, alternative program, or homeschool program that meets state requirements; 

• an education, literacy, or career training program (including vocational training) that has a purpose 

of improving literacy, mathematics, or English or is designed to lead to placement in postsecondary 

education, job training, or employment and where you are working toward such placement; or 

an education program assisting students either in obtaining a regular high school diploma or its 

recognized equivalent under state law (including a certificate of completion, certificate of 

attendance, or alternate award), or in passing aGED exam or other state-authorized exam (e.g., HiSet 

or TASC) in the United States. 

Such education, literacy, career training programs (including vocational training), or education programs 

assisting students in obtaining a regular high school diploma or its recognized equivalent under state law, 

nrin passing aGED exam or other state-authorized exam in the United States, include, but are not limited 

to, programs funded, in whole or in part, by federal, state, county or municipal grants or administered by 

non-profit organizations. Programs funded by other sources may qualify ifthey are programs of 

demonstrated effectiveness. 

In assessing whether such programs not funded in whole or in part by federal, state, county or municipal 

grants or administered by non-profit organizations are of demonstrated effectiveness, USC IS will consider 

the duration of the program's existence; the program's track record in assisting students in obtaining a 

regular high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, in passing aGED or other state-authorized exam 

(e.g., Hi Set or TASC), or in placing students in postsecondary education, job training, or employment; and 

other indicators of the program's overall quality. For individuals seeking to demonstrate that they are 

"currently in school" through enrollment in such a program, the burden is on the requestor to show the 

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program's demonstrated effectiveness. 

Q34: How do I establish that I am currently in school? 

A34: Documentation sufficient for you to demonstrate that you are currently in school may include, but is 

not limited to: 

• evidence that you are enrolled in a public, private, or charter elementary school, junior high or 

middle school, high school or secondary school; alternative program, or homeschool program that 

meets state requirements; or 

evidence that you are enrolled in an education, literacy, or career training program (including 

vocational training) that: 

o has a purpose of improving literacy, mathematics, or English, or is designed to lead to placement 

in postsecondary education, job training, or employment and where you are working toward 

such placement; and 

o is funded, in whole or in part, by federal, state, county or municipal grants or is administered by 

non-profit organizations, or if funded by other sources, is a program of demonstrated 

effectiveness; or 

• evidence that you are enrolled in an education program assisting students in obtaining a high school 

equivalency diploma or certificate recognized under state law (such as by passing aGED exam or 

other such state-authorized exam [for example, Hi Set or TASC]), and that the program is funded in 

whole or in part by federal, state, county or municipal grants or is administered by non-profit 

organizations or if funded by other sources, is of demonstrated effectiveness. 

Such evidence of enrollment may include: acceptance letters, school registration cards, letters from a 

school or program, transcripts, report cards, or progress reports which may show the name of the school 

or program, date of enrollment, and current educational or grade level, if relevant. 

Q35: What documentation may be sufficient to demonstrate that I have graduated from high 

school? 

A35: Documentation sufficient for you to demonstrate that you have graduated from high school may 

include, but is not limited to, a high school diploma from a public or private high school or secondary 

school, a certificate of completion, a certificate of attendance, or an alternate award from a public or 

private high school or secondary school, or a recognized equivalent of a high school diploma under state 

law, or aGED certificate or certificate from passing another such state authorized exam {e.g., HiSet or 

TASC) in the United States. 

Q36: What documentation may be sufficient to demonstrate that I have obtained aGED certificate 

or certificate from passing another such state authorized exam (e.g., HiSet or TASC)? 

A36: Documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence that you have passed aGED exam, or 

other state-authorized exam (e.g., HiSel or TASC), and, as a result, have received the recognized 

equivalent of a regular high school diploma under state law. 

Q37: If I am enrolled in a literacy or career training program, can I meet the guidelines? 

A37: Yes, in certain circumstances. You may meet the guidelines if you are enrolled in an education, 

literacy, or career training program that has a purpose of improving literacy, mathematics, or English or is 

designed to lead to placement in postsecondary education, job training, or employment and where you 

are working toward such placement. Such programs include, but are not limited to, programs funded, in 

whole or in part, by federal, state, county or municipal grants or administered by non-profit 

organizations, or if funded by other sources, are programs of demonstrated effectiveness. 

Q38: If I am enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program, can I meet the guidelines? 

A38: Yes, in certain circumstances. Enrollment in an ESL program may be used to meet the guidelines if 

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the ESL program is funded in whole or in part by federal, state, county or municipal grants, or 

administered by non-profit organizations, or if funded by other sources is a program of demonstrated 

effectiveness. You must submit direct documentary evidence that the program is funded in whole or part 

by federal, state, county or municipal grants, administered by a non-profit organization, or of 

demonstrated effectiveness. 

Q39: Will USC IS consider evidence other than that listed in Chart #1 to show that I have met the 

education guidelines? 

A39: No. Evidence not listed in Chart #1 will not be accepted to establish that you are currently in school, 

have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, or have obtained aGED or 

passed another state-authorized exam (e.g., Hi Set or TASC). You must submit any of the documentary 

evidence listed in Chart #1 to show that you meet the education guidelines. 

Q40: Will USCIS consider evidence other than that listed in Chart #1 to show that I have met certain 

initial guidelines? 

A40: Evidence otherthan those documents listed in Chart #1 may be used to establish the following 

guidelines and factual showings if available documentary evidence is insufficient or lacking and shows 

that: 

You were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012; 

• You came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; 

• You satisfy the continuous residence requirement, as long as you present direct evidence of your 

continued residence in the United States for a portion of the required period and the circumstantial 

evidence is used only to fill in gaps in the length of continuous residence demonstrated by the direct 

evidence; and 

• Any travel outside the United States during the period of required continuous presence was brief, 

casual, and innocent. 

However, USC IS will not accept evidence other than the documents listed in Chart #1 as proof of any of 

the following guidelines to demonstrate that you: 

• Were under the age of31 on June 15, 2012; and 

• Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, 

have obtained aGED certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed 

Forces of the United States. 

For example, even if you do not have documentary proof of your presence in the United States on June 

15,2012, you may still be able to satisfy the guideline. You may do so by submitting credible documentary 

evidence that you were present in the United States shortly before and shortly after June 15,2012, which, 

under the facts presented, may give rise to an inference of your presence on June 15,2012 as well. 

However, evidence other than that listed in Chart #1 will not be accepted to establish that you have 

graduated high school. You must submit the designated documentary evidence to satisfy that you meet 

this guideline. 

Chart #1 provides examples of documentation you may submit to demonstrate you meet the initial 

for consideration of deferred action under this process. Please see the instructions of Forml: 

~"-"-"'-'c""~''""'"L"-'-w.LL..\~.>..ec==""--'='-"'-''--""'-'"""·~='-">cu."-"·hl'for additional details of acceptable 

documentation. 

Chart #1 Examples of Documents to Submit to Demonstrate You Meet the Guidelines 

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Chart #1 Examples of Documents to Submit to Demonstrate You Meet the Guidelines 

Proof of identity 

Proof you came to U.S. 

before your 16th birthday 

Proof of immigration status 

Proof of presence in U.S. on 

June 15,2012 

• Passport or national identity document from your country of origin 

Birth certificate with photo identification 

School or military ID with photo 

• Any U.S. government immigration or other document bearing your 

name and photo 

• Passport with admission stamp 

• Form I-94/I-95/1-94W 

School records from the U.S. schools you have attended 

• Any Immigration and Naturalization Service or DHS document 

stating your date of entry (Form 1-862, Notice to Appear) 

Travel records 

Hospital or medical records 

Rent receipts or utility bills 

Employment records (pay stubs, W-2 Forms, etc.) 

• Official records from a religious entity confirming participation in a 

religious ceremony 

• Copies of money order receipts for money sent in or out of the 

country 

• Birth certificates of children born in the U.S. 

• Dated bank transactions 

• Automobile license receipts or registration 

Deeds, mortgages, rental agreement contracts 

Tax receipts, insurance policies 

• Form I-94/I-95/I-94W with authorized stay expiration date 

Final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal issued as of June 

15, 2012 

A charging document placing you into removal proceedings 

Rent receipts or utility bills 

• Employment records (pay stubs, W-2 Forms, etc.) 

• School records (letters, report cards, etc.) 

• Military records (Form DD-214 or NGB Form 22) 

Official records from a religious entity confirming participation in a 

religious ceremony 

Copies of money order receipts for money sent in or out of the 

country 

Passport entries 

• Birth certificates of children born in the U.S. 

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Chart #1 Examples of Documents to Submit to Demonstrate You Meet the Guidelines 

Proof you continuously 

resided in U.S. since June 

15, 2007 

Proof of your education 

status at the time of 

requesting consideration of 

DACA 

Proof you are an honorably 

discharged veteran of the 

U.S. Armed Forces or the 

U.S. Coast Guard 

Dated bank transactions 

• Automobile license receipts or registration 

• Deeds, mortgages, rental agreement contracts 

• Tax receipts, insurance policies 

• School records (transcripts, report cards, etc.) from the school that 

you are currently attending in the United States showing the 

name(s) of the school(s) and periods of school attendance and the 

current educational or grade level 

• U.S. high school diploma, certificate of completion, or other 

alternate award 

• High school equivalency diploma or certificate recognized under 

state law 

• Evidence that you passed a state-authorized exam, including the 

GED or other state-authorized exam (for example, HiSet or TASC) in 

the United States 

Form DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty 

• NGB Form 22, National Guard Report of Separation and Record of 

Service 

• Military personnel records 

• Military health records 

Q41: May I file affidavits as proof that I meet the initial guidelines for consideration of DACA? 

A41: Affidavits generally will not be sufficient on their own to demonstrate that you meet the guidelines 

for USCIS to consider you for DACA. However, affidavits may be used to support meeting the following 

guidelines only if the documentary evidence available to you is insufficient or lacking: 

Demonstrating that you meet the five year continuous residence requirement; and 

• Establishing that departures during the required period of continuous residence were brief, casual 

and innocent. 

If you submit affidavits related to the above criteria, you must submit two or more affidavits, sworn to or 

affirmed by people other than yourself, who have direct personal knowledge of the events and 

circumstances. Should USC IS determine that the affidavits are insufficient to overcome the unavailability 

or the lack of documentary evidence with respect to either of these guidelines, it will issue a Request for 

Evidence, indicating that further evidence must be submitted to demonstrate that you meet these 

guidelines. 

USC IS will not accept affidavits as proof of satisfying the following guidelines: 

• You are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion or other alternate 

award from high school, have obtained a high school equivalency diploma or certificate (such as by 

passing the GED exam or other state-authorized exam [for example, Hi Set or TASC]), or are an 

honorably discharged veteran from the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; 

• You were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012; 

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You came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; 

• You were under the age of31 on June 15, 2012; and 

Your criminal history, if applicable. 

If the only evidence you submit to demonstrate you meet any of the above guidelines is an affidavit, 

USCIS will issue a Request for Evidence, indicating that you have not demonstrated that you meet these 

guidelines and that you must do so in order to demonstrate that you meet that guideline. 

Q42: Willi be considered to be in unlawful status if I had an application for asylum or cancellation of 

removal pending before either USCIS or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) on June 

15, 2012? 

A42: Yes. If you had an application for asylum or cancellation of removal, or similar relief, pending before 

either USCJS or EOIR as of June 15,2012, but had no lawful status, you may request consideration of 

DACA. 

Q43: I was admitted for "duration of status" or for a period oftime that extended past June 14, 

2012, but violated my immigration status (e.g., by engaging in unauthorized employment, failing to 

report to my employer, or failing to pursue a full course of study) before June 15, 2012. May I be 

considered for deferred action under this process? 

A43: No, unless the Executive Office for Immigration Review terminated your status by issuing a final order 

of removal against you before June 15, 2012. 

Q44: I was admitted for "duration of status" or for a period of time that extended past June 14, 

2012 but "aged out" of my dependent nonimmigrant status as of June 15, 2012. May I be 

considered for deferred action under this process? 

A44: Yes. For purposes of satisfying the "had no lawful status on June 15, 2012," guideline alone, if you 

were admitted for "duration of status" or for a period of time that extended past June 14, 2012 but "aged 

out" of your dependent nonimmigrant status, on or before June 15, 2012, (meaning you turned 21 years 

old on or before June 15, 2012), you may be considered for deferred action under this process. 

Q45: I was admitted for "duration of status" but my status in SEVIS is listed as terminated on or 

before June 15, 2012. May I be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A45: Yes. For the purposes of satisfying the ""had no lawful status on June 15, 2012," guideline alone, if 

your status as of June 15,2012, is listed as "terminated" in SEVIS, you may be considered for deferred 

action under this process. 

Q46: I am a Canadian citizen who was inspected by CBP but was not issued an 1-94 at the time of 

admission. May I be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A46: In general, a Canadian citizen who was admitted as a visitor for business or pleasure and not issued 

an 1-94, Arrival/Departure Record, (also known as a "non-controlled" Canadian nonimmigrant) is lawfully 

admitted for a period of six months. For that reason, unless there is evidence, including verifiable 

evidence provided by the individual, that he or she was specifically advised that his or her admission 

would be for a different length of time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will consider for 

DACA purposes only, that the alien was lawfully admitted for a period of six months. Therefore, if DHS is 

able to verify from its records that your last non-controlled entry occurred on or before Dec.l4, 2011, DHS 

will consider your nonimmigrant visitor status to have expired as of June 15,2012 and you may be 

considered for deferred action under this process. 

Q47: I used my Border Crossing Card (BCC) to obtain admission to the United States and was not 

issued an 1-94 at the time of admission. May I be considered for deferred action under this process? 

A47: Because the limitations on entry for a BCC holder vary based on location of admission and travel, 

DHS will assume that the BCC holder who was not provided an 1-94 was admitted for the longest period 

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legally possible-30 days-unless the individual can demonstrate, through verifiable evidence, that he or 

she was specifically advised that his or her admission would be for a different length oftime. Accordingly, 

if DHS is able to verify from its records that your last admission was using a BCC, you were not issued an 1-

94 at the time of admission, and it occurred on or before May 14, 2012, DHS will consider your 

nonimmigrant visitor status to have expired as of June 15, 2012, and you may be considered for deferred 

action under this process. 

Q48: Do I accrue unlawful presence if I have a pending initial request for consideration of DACA? 

A48: You will continue to accrue unlawful presence while the request for consideration of DACA is pending 

unless you are under 18 years of age at the time ofthe request. If you are under 18 years of age at the time 

you submit your request, you will not accrue unlawful presence while the request is pending, even if you 

turn 18 while your request is pending with USCIS. If action on your case is deferred, you will not accrue 

unlawful presence during the period of deferred action. However, having action deferred on your case will 

not excuse previously accrued unlawful presence. 

Ill. Renewal of DACA 

Q49: When should I file my renewal request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)? 

A49: USCIS strongly encourages you to submit your Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal 

request between 150 days and 120 days before the expiration date located on your current Form 1-797 

DACA approval notice and Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Filing during this window will 

minimize the possibility that your current period of DACA will expire before you receive a decision on your 

renewal request. 

USC IS' current goal is to process DACA renewal requests within 120 days. You may submit an inquiry 

about the status of your renewal request after it has been pending more than 105 days. To submit an 

inquiry online} please visit f;_gQ.'£._V.~£i.~ .• g_o_I{[~Jg_quest. 

• Please Note: Factors that may affect the timely processing of your DACA renewal request include, but 

are not limited to: 

o Failure to appear at an Application Support Center (ASC) for a scheduled biometrics 

appointment to obtain fingerprints and photographs. No-shows or rescheduling appointments 

will require additional processing time. 

o Issues of national security, criminality or public safety discovered during the background check 

process that require further vetting. 

o Issues of travel abroad that need additional evidence/clarification. 

o Name/date of birth discrepancies that may require additional evidence/clarification. 

o The renewal submission was incomplete or contained evidence that suggests a requestor may 

not satisfy the DACA renewal guidelines and USCIS must send a request for additional evidence 

or explanation 

QSO: Can I file a renewal request outside the recommended filing period of 150 days to 120 days 

before my current DACA expires? 

A50: USCIS strongly encourages you to file your renewal request within the recommended 150-120 day 

filing period to minimize the possibility that your current period of DACAwill expire before you receive a 

decision on your renewal request. Requests received earlier than 150 days in advance will be accepted; 

however, this could result in an overlap between your current DACA and your renewal. This means your 

renewal period may extend for less than a full two years from the date that your current DACA period 

expires .. 

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If you file after the recommended filing period (meaning less than 120 days before your current period of 

DACA expires), there is an increased possibility that your current period of DACA and employment 

authorization will expire before you receive a decision on your renewal request. If you file after your most 

recent DACA period expired, but within one year of its expiration, you may submit a request to renew your 

DACA. If you are filing beyond one year after your most recent period of DACA expired, you may still 

request DACA by submitting a new initial request. 

QSl: How will USCIS evaluate my request for renewal of DACA: 

A51: You may be considered for renewal of DACA if you met the guidelines for consideration of Initial DACA 

(see above) AND you: 

Did not depart the United States on or after Aug.15, 2012, without advance parole; 

• Have continuously resided in the United States since you submitted your most recent request for 

DACA that was approved up to the present time; and 

Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors, and 

do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. 

These guidelines must be met for consideration of DACA renewal. USC IS retains the ultimate discretion to 

determine whether deferred action is appropriate in any given case even if the guidelines are met. 

Q52 Do I accrue unlawful presence if I am seeking renewal and my previous period of DACA expires 

before I receive a renewal of deferred action under DACA? Similarly, what would happen to my work 

authorization? 

A52: Yes, if your previous period of DACA expires before you receive a renewal of deferred action under 

DACA, you will accrue unlawful presence for any time between the periods of deferred action unless you 

are under 18 years of age at the time you submit your renewal request. 

Similarly, if your previous period of DACA expires before you receive a renewal of deferred action under 

DACA, you will not be authorized to work in the United States regardless of your age attime of filing until 

and unless you receive a new employment authorization document from US CIS. 

QSJ. Do I need to provide additional documents when I request renewal of deferred action under 

DACA? 

A53. No, unless you have new documents pertaining to removal proceedings or criminal history that you 

have not already submitted to US CIS in a previously approved DACA request. USC IS, however, reserves 

the authority to request at its discretion additional documents, information or statements relating to a 

DACA renewal request determination. 

CAUTION: If you knowingly and willfully provide materially false information on Form 1-8210, you will be 

committing a federal felony punishable by a fine, or imprisonment up to five years, or both, under 18 

U.S.C. Section 1001. In addition, individuals may be placed into removal proceedings, face severe 

penalties provided by law, and be subject to criminal prosecution. 

Q54. If I am no longer in school, can I still request to renew my DACA? 

AS4. Yes. Neither Form I-821D nor the instructions ask renewal requestors for information about 

continued school enrollment or graduation. The instructions for renewal requests specify that you may be 

considered for DACA renewal if you met the guidelines for consideration of initial DACA, including the 

educational guidelines and: 

1. Did not depart the United States on or after August 15, 2012, without advance parole; 

2. Have continuously resided in the United States, up to the present time, since you submitted your 

most recent request for DACA that was approved; and 

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3. Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor or three or more misdemeanors, and 

are not a threat to national security or public safety. 

QSS. If I initially received DACA and was under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012, but have since 

become 31 or older, can I still request a DACA renewal? 

ASS. Yes. You may request consideration for a renewal of DACA as long as you were under the age of 31 as 

of June 1S, 2012. 

IV. Travel 

Q56: May I travel outside of the United States before I submit an initial Deferred Action for 

Childhood Arrivals (DACA) request or while my initial DACA request remains pending with the 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)? 

AS6: Any unauthorized travel outside of the United States on or after Aug. 1S, 2012, will interrupt your 

continuous residence and you wilt not be considered for deferred action under this process. Any travel 

outside of the United States that occurred on or after June 1S, 2007, but before Aug.1S, 2012, will be 

assessed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) to determine whether the travel qualifies 

as brief, casual and innocent. (See Chart#2.) 

CAUTION: You should be aware that if you have been ordered deported or removed, and you then leave 

the United States, your departure will likely result in your being considered deported or removed, with 

potentially serious future immigration consequences. 

Q57: If my case is deferred under DACA, will I be able to travel outside of the United States? 

AS7: Not automatically. If USC IS has decided to defer action in your case and you want to travel outside 

the United States, you must apply for advance parole by filing a fl>LITIJ:·l31 Applli:i!lion for Tra\LQ] 

Il.o.c.!imgntand paying the applicable fee ($S7S). USCIS will determine whether your purpose for 

international travel is justifiable based on the circumstances you describe in your request. Generally, 

USC IS will only grant advance parole if your travel abroad will be in furtherance of: 

• humanitarian purposes, including travel to obtain medical treatment, attending funeral services for a 

family member, or visiting an ailing relative; 

• educational purposes, such as semester-abroad programs and academic research, or; 

employment purposes such as overseas assignments, interviews, conferences or, training, or 

meetings with clients overseas. 

Travel for vacation is not a valid basis for advance parole. 

You may not apply for advance parole unless and until USC IS defers action in your case under the 

consideration of DACA. You cannot apply for advance parole at the same time as you submit your request 

for consideration of DACA. All advance parole requests will be considered on a case·by·case basis. 

If USCIS has deferred action in your case under the DACA process after you have been ordered deported or 

removed, you may still request advance parole if you meet the guidelines for advance parole described 

above. 

CAUTION: However, for those individuals who have been ordered deported or removed, before you 

actually leave the United States, you should seek to reopen your case before the Executive Office for 

Immigration Review (EOIR) and obtain administrative closure or termination of your removal proceeding. 

Even after you have asked EOIR to reopen your case, you should not leave the United States until after 

EOIR has granted your request. If you depart after being ordered deported or removed, and your removal 

proceeding has not been reopened and administratively closed or terminated, your departure may result 

in your being considered deported or removed, with potentially serious future immigration 

consequences. If you have any questions about this process, you may contact U.S. Immigration and 

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Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the local ICE Office of the Chief Counsel with jurisdiction over your 

case. 

CAUTION: If you travel outside the United States on or after Aug.15, 2012, without first receiving advance 

parole, your departure automatically terminates your deferred action under DACA. 

QSB: Do brief departures from the United States interrupt the continuous residence requirement? 

ASS: A brief, casual and innocent absence from the United States will not interrupt your continuous 

residence. If you were absent from the United States, your absence will be considered brief, casual and 

innocent if it was on or after June 15,2007, and before Aug.15, 2012, and: 

1. The absence was short and reasonably calculated to accomplish the purpose for the absence; 

2. The absence was not because of an order of exclusion, deportation or removal; 

3. The absence was not because of an order of voluntary departure, or an administrative grant of 

voluntary departure before you were placed in exclusion, deportation or removal proceedings; and 

4. The purpose of the absence and/or your actions white outside the United States were not contrary to 

law. 

Once USC IS has approved your request for DACA, you may file Form 1·131, Application for Travel 

Document, to request advance parole to travel outside of the United States. 

CAUTION: If you travel outside the United States on or after Aug. 15, 2012, without first receiving advance 

parole, your departure automatically terminates your deferred action under DACA. 

Travel Guidelines (Chart #2) 

Travel Dates 

On or after 

June 15, 2007, 

but before 

Aug. 15, 2012 

Type of Travel 

Brief, casual 

and innocent 

No 

For an Yes 

extended time 

Because of an 

order of 

exclusion, 

deportation, 

voluntary 

departure, or 

removal 

To participate 

in criminal 

activity 

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Does It Affect Continuous Residence 

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Travel Dates 

On or after 

Aug. 15, 2012, 

and before 

you have 

requested 

deferred 

action 

Frequently Asked Ouest1ons 1 USC IS 

Type of Travel Does lt Affect Continuous Residence 

Any Yes. You cannot apply for advance parole unless and until DHS has 

determined whether to defer action in your case and you cannot 

travel until you receive advance parole. 

On or after Any 

In addition, if you have previously been ordered deported and 

removed and you depart the United States without taking additional 

steps to address your removal proceedings, your departure will 

likely result in your being considered deported or removed, with 

potentially serious future immigration consequences. Aug. 15, 2012, 

and after you 

have 

requested 

deferred 

action 

On or after Any 

Aug. 15, 2012 

and after 

receiving 

DACA 

It depends. If you travel after receiving advance parole, the travel 

will not interrupt your continuous residence. However, if you travel 

without receiving advance parole, the travel will interrupt your 

continuous residence. 

Q59: May I file a request for advance parole concurrently with my DACA package? 

A59: Concurrent filing of advance parole is not an option at this time. DHS is, however, reviewing its 

policy on concurrent filing of advance parole with a DACA request. In addition, DHS is also reviewing 

eligibility criteria for advance parole. If any changes to this policy are made, USCIS will update this FAQ 

and inform the public accordingly. 

V. Criminal Convictions 

Q60: If I have a conviction for a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, or multiple 

misdemeanors, can I receive an exercise of prosecutorial discretion under this new process? 

A60: No. If you have been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, or three or 

more other misdemeanor offenses not occurring on the same date and not arising out of the same act, 

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omission, or scheme of misconduct, you will not be considered for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 

(DACA) except where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determines there are exceptional 

circumstances. 

Q61: What offenses qualify as a felony? 

A6l: A felony is a federal, state, or local criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 

one year. 

Q62: What offenses constitute a significant misdemeanor? 

A62: For the purposes of this process, a significant misdemeanor is a misdemeanor as defined by federal 

law (specifically, one for which the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is one year or less but 

greater than five days) and that meets the following criteria: 

L Regardless of the sentence imposed, is an offense of domestic violence; sexual abuse or exploitation; 

burglary; unlawful possession or use of a firearm; drug distribution or trafficking; or, driving under 

the influence; or, 

2. If not an offense listed above, is one for which the individual was sentenced to time in custody of 

more than 90 days. The sentence must involve time to be served in custody, and therefore does not 

include a suspended sentence. 

The time in custody does not include any time served beyond the sentence for the criminal offense based 

on a state or local law enforcement agency honoring a detainer issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE). Notwithstanding the above, the decision whether to defer action in a particular case is 

an individualized, discretionary one that is made taking into account the totality of the circumstances. 

Therefore, the absence of the criminal history outlined above, or its presence, is not necessarily 

determinative, but is a factor to be considered in the unreviewable exercise of discretion. DHS retains the 

discretion to determine that an individual does not warrant deferred action on the basis of a single 

criminal offense for which the individual was sentenced to time in custody of 90 days or less. 

Q63: What offenses constitute a non-significant misdemeanor? 

A63: For purposes of this process, a non-significant misdemeanor is any misdemeanor as defined by 

federal law (specifically, one for which the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is one year or less 

but greater than five days) and that meets the following criteria: 

l. Is not an offense of domestic violence; sexual abuse or exploitation; burglary; unlawful possession or 

use of a firearm; drug distribution or trafficking; or, driving under the influence; and 

2. Is one for which the individual was sentenced to time in custody of 90 days or less. The time in 

custody does not include any time served beyond the sentence for the criminal offense based on a 

state or local law enforcement agency honoring a detainer issued by ICE. 

Notwithstanding the above, the decision whether to defer action in a particular case is an individualized, 

discretionary one that is made taking into account the totality of the circumstances. Therefore, the 

absence of the criminal history outlined above, or its presence, is not necessarily determinative, but is a 

factor to be considered in the unreviewable exercise of discretion. 

Q64: If I have a minor traffic offense, such as driving without a license, will it be considered a nonsignificant misdemeanor that counts towards the "three or more non-significant misdemeanors" 

making me unable to receive consideration for an exercise of prosecutorial discretion under this 

new process? 

A64: A minor traffic offense will not be considered a misdemeanor for purposes of this process. However, 

your entire offense history can be considered along with other facts to determine whether, under the 

totality of the circumstances, you warrant an exercise of prosecutorial discretion. 

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AHLAll 

AM~i!ICAN HOTEl & CQDGI"/G ASSOCIATION 

For Immediate Release 

Media Contact: Michelle Morenza, 305-609-1867 

mmorenza@ahla.com 

AHLA SUPPORTS DHS NOMINEE KIRSTJEN NIELSEN 

Washington, D.C., September 29, 2017- The American Hotel & Lodging Association today announced 

its support for the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security, and 

released the following statement: 

"We believe Kirstjen Nielsen's wealth of experience will allow her to effectively lead the Department of 

Homeland Security, an agency that is critical to both the safety of our nation and the success of the 

hotel industry. Ms. Nielsen has the ability to implement policies and a communications strategy that 

tells the international community that we are resolute in our fight against terrorism but still a 

welcoming destination for tourists and business travelers from around the world. 

Ms. Nielsen has received endorsements from a large bipartisan group of former DHS officials, which we 

believe is strong evidence that she possesses the skills, knowledge and temperament to successfully 

champion the diverse priorities and initiatives housed within DHS. Further, we stand ready to help Ms. 

Nielsen as she seeks to effectively implement a balanced approach to travel and security policies." 

### 

About the American Hotel & Lodging Association 

Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association 

(AHLA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 8 million jobs the U.S. lodging 

industry supports, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, 

independent properties, bed and breakfasts, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AHLA focuses on strategic advocacy, communications support, and 

educational resources for an industry that advances long-term career opportunities for employees, 

invests in local communities across the country and hosts more than one billion guests' stays in 

American hotels every year. AHLA proudly represents a dynamic hotel industry of more than 54,000 

properties that supports $1.1 trillion in U.S. sales and generates nearly $170 billion in taxes to local, 

state and federal governments. Learn more at www.AHLA.com. 
302 

November 12,2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Association of State Criminal 

Investigative Agencies 

!lome land Security and Govcmmental Affairs Committee 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 2051 0 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill, 

On behalf of the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASC!A), I am writing in support 

of the nomination of Kirstjcn Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

ASCIA is a professional association representing the lead statewide criminal investigative agencies in 47 

states. 

ASCI A members interact on a regular basis with DHS and its component agencies. We consider our 

relationship with those entities to be important to our ability to do our jobs on behalf of our states' 

citizens. We also understand that DHS components cannot accomplish many oftheir missions without 

strong relationships and partnerships with our agencies. In addition, the preparedness grants under the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (fEMA) provide critical support for multi-jurisdictional and 

intergovernmental efforts to detect, prevent, and investigate many threats to the homeland including 

terrorism. 

ASCIA's member agencies own and manage 39 designated state fusion centers and participate on the 

boards of directors of another 8 fusion centers. Our fusion centers arc critical to our ability to analyze and 

share suspicious activity reports and other threat-related information with DHS and our other federal 

partners including the fBI. The direct and indirect support provided by Dl-:!S Intelligence & Analysis, 

FEMA, the Homeland Security Information Network (I-ISIN), and other components arc essential to 

maintaining and growing our nationwide ability to detect, prevent, respond to, and investigate criminal, 

terrorist, and natural disaster events through the National Network of Fusion Centers. 

Our executive board has had discussions with Ms. Nielsen and we believe she understands the importance 

of our partnerships. If she is confirmed by the Senate we arc committed to working with her and her team 

at DHS to strengthen our working relationships. Please reach out to me directly or to ASCIA's Executive 

Director, Bob j\,1cConncll, at .l:.~(\:UtL~~_d.iLt;Llc)_L'iJL-:.~j,;.Ll~_r_g lfyou have questions. Thank you for your 

consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Mmz 41 

President, ASCIA 

Director 

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 

SHARING IDEAS FOR BETTER LAW ENFORCEMENT 

\VWw.ascia.org 
303 

2102 WtSHNCANTOBLVO. P.O. BOX 6638 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85005-6638 (602) 223-2000 

OOUGU'L:'i A, DUCI.:Y ffLANK l, MH .. ~TEAD 

October 31, 2017 

Senator Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

"'Courteous Vigilance" 

Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC, 20510 

Senator Johnson: 

As the Chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, I realize that you are 

keenly aware of the numerous threats facing our country and the importance of ensuring the safety of our 

citizens and the protection of our homeland. As the Director of the Arizona Department of Pub I ic Safety 

and leader of a state police agency in a state sharing our southern border with Mexico, [understand the 

threats to our nation are vast and constantly changing. These threats require a dynamic leader 

knowledgeable of the problems we face, making Kristjen Nielsen an exceptional fit to serve as the 

Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (01-IS). 

As Chief of Staff for the Department of Homeland Security serving under Secretary John Kelly, Ms. 

Nielsen has firsthand experience ofDHS operations, working on complex issues from controlling our 

borders, to preparing for disasters, to protecting aviation security. Ms. Nielsen's prior experience has 

prepared her to lead DHS, including her role in developing transportation security policy for the 

Transportation Security Administration after the September II <h attacks. Additionally, as Special 

Assistant to President Bush for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Prevention, Preparedness and 

Response, Ms. Nielsen gained knowledge of protecting critical infrastructure and key resources, 

information sharing, counterterrorism, and cyber security. 

The number one priority is the safety and security of our citizens and [am confident that Ms. Nielsen's 

background will prove to be an asset leading these efforts as Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Sincerely, 

Frank Milstead 

Arizona Department of Public Safety, Colonel 

Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats Arizona, Chairman 
304 

November 6, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson, Chairman 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

I write to wholeheartedly support the nomination ofKirstjen Nielsen for the position of 

Secretary of Homeland Security. While I have known Kirstjen for over 15 years, I write 

from the standpoint of her cyber-related work, conducted while she served as a Senior 

Fellow with my Center for Cyber & Homeland Security at George Washington University. 

Kirstjen possesses true subject matter expertise on all things cyber. Indeed, she was a 

practitioner and proponent of resilience especially cyber resilience -long before the 

concepts were front and center as they arc today. 

In addition to being extremely well versed on the substance ofthe issues, Kirstjen also 

possesses the rare- but critically important- ability to translate theory into practice. On 

the one band, she can go toe to toe with intelligence analysts or understand the forensics of 

a CERT incident response. On the other hand, and at the same time, she can also take a step 

back and explain- articulately and forcefully- why it matters. 

Kirstjen is both thoughtful and strong and has complete grasp of the cyber priorities across 

government and the significance of public-private partnerships to improve our national 

posture. She also has a wealth of international experience, garnered through her work with 

the World Economic Forum. Her skills and expertise will translate well and let her hit the 

ground running. 

For all these reasons, [urge you to confirm Kirstjcn Nielsen for the position of Secretary of 

Homeland Security. Thank you very much for your consideration. 

Respectfully, 

Director, 

Center for Cyber and Homeland Security 

DC 20052 
305 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

November 8, 2017 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Re: Nomination ofKirstjen Nielsen to be Secretary of Homeland Security 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

We write today in support of the nomination ofKirstjen Nielsen to serve as Secretary of 

Homeland Security. We are all former senior government officials with cybersecurity 

experience in administrations of different parties or on Capitol Hill. We believe that Kirstjen is a 

strong choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security at a time of growing threats to our 

nation, particularly in cyberspace. 

The Department has been assigned a critically important role in protecting our nation 

tfom cybersecurity threats through its coordination responsibility for preparedness and response 

on cyber incidents, its support for the protection of federal civilian systems, and its role in 

working with private industry, particularly critical infrastructure owners and operators. This is a 

weighty responsibility, to be sure, and with the growing threat to our nation presented by 

increasingly aggressive nation-states targeting both our economic and political systems, as well 

as our national security infrastructure, and the increasing pace of attacks from criminal groups 

and hacktivists, we believe it is wise to put someone like Kirstjen, with cybersecurity experience 

in both the public and private sectors, in the leadership of the Department. 

Kirstjen's experience in the Bush Administration, having led some of the initial efforts on 

cybersecurity matters on the White House's Homeland Security Council, when combined with 

her work advising private sector companies and advising DHS under President Obama, as well 

as Kirstjen's more recent service as the Chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda 

Council on Risk and Resilience and as a Senior Fellow at George Washington University's 

Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, demonstrates her understanding of this important 

space and the linkages between cybersccurity matters and other key risk areas for our nation. 

These positions also demonstrate bipartisan recognition of Kirstjen' s cyber expertise. 

And Kirstjen's most recent experience al the Department of Homeland Security as Chief 

ofStafTto then-Secretary John Kelly, as well as her prior experience at the Transportation 

Security Administration, will serve her well in her effort to lead a massive federal agency with 
306 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

November 8, 2017 

Page 2 

wide ranging responsibilities. All this is to say that we think Kirstjen is well qualified to serve in 

this important national security position, and that if she is confirmed by the full Senate, she 

would lead the Department of Homeland Security with honor and distinction. 

Thank you for the opportunity to write to you today and we look forward to answering 

any questions you may have. 

Sincerely, 

Gen. (ret.) Keith B. Alexander 

Former Director. National Security Agency and Founding Commander, U.S. Cyber Command 

J. Michael Allen 

Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counter-Proliferation Strategy, 

National Security Council, The White House 

Stewart Raker 

Fonner Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security 

Andrew Borene 

Former Associate Deputy General Counsel, Dcpmiment of Defense 

Megan Brown 

Former Counsel to the Attorney General, Department of Justice 

Jason Chipman 

Former Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Department of Justice 

Frank Cilluffo 

Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, The White House 

Gus Coldcbella 

Former Acting General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security 

Jacob W. Crisp 

Former Deputy Staff Director for National Security, House Homeland Security Committee 

J. Michael Daniel 

Former Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, National Security 

Council, The White House 
307 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

November 8, 2017 

Page 3 

Dr. Thomas J. Donahue 

Fom1er Senior Director for Cyber Operations, National Security Council, The White House 

Karen S. Evans 

Former Administrator, E-Government and Information Technology, Oftiec of Management and 

Budget, The White House 

Michael Gctlroy 

Former General Counsel, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 

Ryan Gillis 

Former Director ofCybersecurity Policy and Legislative Affairs, National Security Council, The 

White House 

Gen. (ret.) Michael V. Hayden 

Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency 

Jason Healey 

Fom1er Director of Cybcr Inf!·astructure Protection, Homeland Security Council, The White 

House 

Matthew Heiman 

Former Attorney-Advisor, National Security Division, Department of Justice 

Jamil N. Jaffer 

Former Associate Counsel to the President, Office of the Counsel to the President, The White 

House 

Frank R. Jimenez 

Former General Counsel ofthe Navy, Department of Defense 

Clete D. Johnson 

Former Senior Cybcrsecurity Adviser to the Secretary, Department of Commerce 

Ely Kahn 

Former Director for Cybersecurity, National Security Council, The White House 

Andy Keiser 

Former Senior Advisor, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

Mitchell S. Kominsky 

Cybcrsecurity & Technology Policy Counsel, Senate Republican Policy Committee 
308 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

November 8, 2017 

Page 4 

Andrew Levy 

Former Deputy General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security 

John Lipsey 

Former Deputy Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 

John Maguire 

Former Professional Staff Member, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 

Matthew McCabe 

Former Senior Counsel, House Committee on Homeland Sccmity 

Ellen McCarthy 

Former Chief Operating Officer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

Mike McConnell 

Former Director ofNational Intelligence 

Coleman Mehta 

Former Director of Legislative Affairs, National Security Council, The White House 

Jenny Menna 

Former Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Cyber Infrastructure Resilience Division, 

Department of Homeland Security 

Michael Mukasey 

Former Attorney General of the United States 

Rick "Ozzie" Nelson 

Former Director, Office of Combatting Terrorism, National Security Council, The White House 

Matthew G. Olsen 

Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center 

Chris Painter 

Former Coordinator for Cybcr Issues, State Department 

Ben Powell 

Former General Counsel, Office of the Director ofNational Intelligence 

Philip Reitinger 

Former Deputy Under Secretary, National Protection and Programs Directorate, and Fonner 

Director, National Cyber Security Center, Department of Homeland Security 
309 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

November 8, 2017 

Page 5 

Diane Rinaldo 

Former Cybersecurity Advisor, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

\V. Price Roe 

Former Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Marcus H. Sachs 

F01mer Director for Communication Infrastructure Protection, Office of Cyberspace Security, 

National Security Council, The White House 

Ari Schwartz 

Former Special Assistant to the President for Cybersecurity, National Security Council, The 

White House 

Marie 0 'Neill Sciarrone 

Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for 

Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Policy, Homeland Security Council, The White House 

Kristen Silverberg 

Former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union 

Megan Stifel 

Fonner Director for International Cyber Policy, National Security Council, The White House 

Hugo Teufel III 

Former Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security 

David Trulio 

Former Special Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary, Homeland Security Council, 

The White House 

Kenneth L. Wainstein 

Former Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, The White 

House 

Michael G. Waltz 

Former Special Advisor to the Vice President for South Asia and Counterterrorism, Office of the 

Vice President, The White House 

Julie Myers Wood 

Fotmer Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security 
310 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

November 8, 2017 

Page 6 

/\mit Yoran 

Former Founding Director United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), 

Department of Homeland Security 

Juan Zarate 

Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating 

Terrorism, National Security Council, The White House 
311 

November 7, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill, 

As a bipartisan group of 43 former senior officials who served at or worked closely with the 

Department of Homeland Security, we write enthusiastically in support of the nomination of 

Kirstjen Nielsen to be the 61

h Secretary of Homeland Security. We urge the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the full Senate to act on her nomination 

quickly to provide DHS, and the nation, with the full extent of Ms. Nielsen's expertise and 

judgment. 

Ms. Nielsen will bring a wealth of substantive expertise to the department, particularly in the 

vital areas of cybersecurity, disaster response, and transportation security. As we have seen in 

recent weeks and months, DHS must be prepared to respond to a wide variety of crises, both 

man-made and natural. Ms. Nielsen has a proven record ofleadership, good judgment, and work 

ethic to guide the department's efforts to secure the nation's borders, respond to ongoing and 

future natural calamities, and facilitate trade and travel vital to our nation's economy. 

DHS is a large organization of over 200,000 employees, numerous component agencies, and a 

myriad of responsibilities from life-saving maritime operations to bolstering infrastructure 

security to detecting threats to agriculture. We have admired Ms. Nielsen's management skills at 

DHS, the White House, and in private business, and believe she is well-respected by the career 

workforce at DHS and its components. 

We also note that confirming Ms. Nielsen will provide DHS with continuity after the short but 

promising tenure of(}eneral John Kelly as Secretary, which has been followed by the capable 

stewardship of Acting Secretary Elaine Duke. As Chief of Staff, Ms. Nielsen was intimately 

involved in departmental planning and in interactions with foreign governments, other federal 

agencies, and private sector stakeholders. While well-intentioned, previous new DHS 

Secretaries often have brought in fresh leadership teams, reorganized the department, and 

implemented new priorities. We believe that during this early stage of the new administration, a 

smooth transition between Secretaries is critical to the department's success. 

1 
312 

DHS's missions are a complicated and often divisive set of responsibilities, and we recognize 

that reasonable people may disagree about issues around immigration enforcement, law 

enforcement programs, the intersection of security and privacy, and other aspects ofDHS's 

work. However, we are united in agreement that Kirstjen Nielsen will be an excellent Secretary, 

and we urge the Senate to confirm her as soon as possible. 

Sincerely, 

hyson Ahem, Former Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

W. Ross Ashley, Ill, Former Assistant Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Tom Atkin, Former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global 

Security, Department of Defense 

Douglas Baker, Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior 

Director for Border and Transportation Security, Homeland Security Council 

Stewart Baker, Former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security 

Ralph Basham, Former Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Randy Beardsworth, Former Assistant Secretary for Strategic Planning, Department of 

Homeland Security 

Alan Bersin, Former Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Robert Bonner, Former Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Michael Bopp, Former Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget 

Frank Cilluffo, Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security 

Alan Cohn, Former Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Planning, Analysis & Risk, Department of 

Homeland Security 

Gus P. Coldebella, Former Acting General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security 

Elaine Dezenski, Former Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, Department of Homeland 

Security 

William Flynn, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, 

Department of Homeland Security 

Christopher J. Furlow, Former Executive Director, Homeland Security Advisory Council, 

Department of Homeland Security 

2 
313 

Marc Frey, Fonner Chief of Staff, Office of Policy Development, Department of Homeland 

Security 

Brian Goebel, Fonner Counselor and Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection 

Leslie Gross-Davis, Fonner Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of 

Homeland Security 

David Heyman, Fonner Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security 

Adam Isles, Fonner Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Homeland Security 

Michael Jackson, Fonner Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Donald H. Kent, Jr., Fonner Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of 

Homeland Security 

Andrew J.P. Levy, Former Deputy General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security 

Admiral James Loy, Fonner Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Jane Hall Lute, Fonner Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Fonner Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Michael Mullen, Fonner Assistant Commissioner for International Affairs and Trade Relations, 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Michael Neifach, Former Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

John Pistole, Fonner Administrator, Transportation Security Administration 

Leon Rodriguez, Former Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

W. Price Roe, Former Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Homeland Security 

Paul Rosenzweig, Fonner Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland 

Security 

Seth Stodder, Fonner Assistant Secretary for Border, Immigration & Trade Policy, Department 

ofHomeland Security 

Chad Sweet, Fonner Chief of Staff, Department of Homeland Seeuri ty 

Robert Silvers, Fonner Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy, Department of Homeland Security 

3 
314 

Michael Stroud, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of 

Homeland Security 

Pam Turner, Former Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland 

Security 

C. Stewart Verdery, Jr., Former Assistant Secretary for Border and Transportation Security 

Policy and Planning, Department of Homeland Security 

Joe D. Whitley, Former General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security 

Thomas Winkowski, Former Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Julie Myers Wood, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

Michael Yeager, Former Assistant Commissioner for Congressional Affairs, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection 

4 
315 

November 7, 2017 

Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate 0 ffice Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senators Johnson and McCaskill: 

The undersigned have a long history of bipartisan involvement in national security matters and 

the Department of Homeland Security. We write in our personal capacities as former ofticials 

and engaged citizens- and not on behalf of our current employers -- to support enthusiastically 

the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be Secretary of Homeland Security. We hope that the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental AtTairs and the full Senate act quickly and 

in a bipartisan fashion to confirm her in that position. 

Ms. Nielsen is a homeland security expert with a deep understanding in cybersecurity, and her 

nomination represents a new stage in the maturing of the Department of Homeland Security. If 

confirmed, she will be the first Secretary of Homeland Security to have served in the Department 

earlier in her career and the first to have made cybersecurity a major part of her government and 

private career. She also has deep experience in disaster response, especially important at a time 

when the country is dealing with the serious effects and threats of natural disasters. She will 

bring unique expertise to the position at a time when the Department has been asked to do more 

and more for the nation's security and resilience. 

Given her extensive homeland security and interagency experience, Ms. Nielsen will be ready 

for the job on day one. She is a thoughtful leader with good judgment and a willingness to work 

as hard as necessary to get the job done. She has the ability to handle the broad spectrum of 

threats to our nation that the Department must address including natural disasters, cyberattacks, 

and terrorism. At DHS, the White House, and in private business, she has demonstrated the 

ability to manage a large and diverse agency with many legitimate and sometimes competing 

missions, from life-saving Coast Guard operations to bolstering computer defenses to detecting 

threats to agriculture. As Chief of Staff at the Department, Ms. Nielsen was exposed to all of the 
316 

issues that came to then-Secretary John Kelly and worked closely with now Acting Secretary 

Elaine Duke. 

DHS's missions are diverse, and not everyone agrees about issues such as immigration 

enforcement or the balance between security and privacy. Regardless of policy positions, we all 

agree that Kirstjen Nielsen will be an excellent Secretary, and one that will serve the nation well 

and retlects well on the administration in which she will serve. We urge the Senate to confirm 

her as soon as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Gen. (Ret) Keith Alexander 

Former Director, National Security Agency 

President & CEO, lronNet Cybersecurity, 

Inc. 

Charles E. Allen 

Former Under Secretary for Intelligence 

and Analysis 

Department of Homeland Security 

Stewart Baker 

Former Assistant Secretary for Policy 

Department of Homeland Security 

Richard Ben-Veniste 

Former member 9/ll Commission 

Former Ass't Watergate Prosecutor 

Former Ass't US Attorney, SONY 

William J. Bratton 

Vice Chainnan, Homeland Security 

Advisory Council 

P.J. Crowley 

Former Assistant Secretary of State 

Clark K. Ervin 

Former Inspector General of the 

Departments of Homeland Security and 

State 

General Michael V Hayden, USAF (retired) 

Former Director, NSA and CIA 

James M. Loy 

ADM, U.S. Coast Guard, (Ret) 

Commandant, USCG ( 1998-2002) 

TSA Administrator, (2002-2003) 

Deputy Secretary, DHS, (2003-2005) 

John McLaughlin 

Former Deputy Director and Acting Director 

CIA, currently Johns Hopkins University 

Matthew G. Olsen 

Former Director, National Countertenorism 

Center 

Admiral Eric TOlson 

U.S. Navy (Retired) 

Former Commander, United States Special 

Operations Command 

John Pistole 

Former Administrator, TSA (2010-2014) 

Former Deputy Director, FBI (2004-2010) 

President, Anderson University 

Daniel B. Prieto 

Former Director for Cybersecurity Policy, 

National Security Council 

Former Chief Technology Officer 

Office of the C!O, DOD 

Suzanne E. Spaulding 

Former Undersecretary, National 

Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS 
317 

Guy C. Swan III 

Lieutenant General, USA, Ret. 

Former Commanding General, U.S. Army 

North (Fifth Army) 

Dr. Starnes Walker 

Founding Director-UD Cybersecurity 

Initiative 

Former Director ofRcsearch-DHS/ 

Executive Director-Office of Naval 

Research/CTO-U.S. Fleet Cyber Command 

William H. Webster 

Former Director, Federal Bureau of 

Investigation Former Director, Central 

Intelligence Agency 

Evan D. Wolff 

Juan C. Zarate 

Former Deputy Assistant to the President 

and Deputy National Security Advisor for 

Combating Terrorism 

Fonner Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 

for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes 
318 

October 26, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee 

Washington, DC 20510 

Senator Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

I am writing on behalf of the Global Business Travel Association in support of Ms. Kirstjen Nielsen to 

be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (Dl-IS). Ms. Neilsen would be the first 

confirmed Secretary to have previously served at DHS. Her experience and record make her an ideal 

choice to be the next Secretary and I urge the Senate to expeditiously confirm her appointment. 

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings 

trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. 

GBTA's 9,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings 

expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, 

research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 

125,000 active contacts. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plays a vital role in travel facilitation for the business 

travel community. Having previously served in the Offices of Legislative Policy and Government Affairs 

at TSA, Ms. Neilsen's experience and leadership is critical to expanding initiatives such as PreCheck 

expansion of importance to the business travel community. Not only does Ms. Nielsen have the right 

resume, but her experience at DHS, having most recently served as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary, 

ensures that any transition would be seamless. 

I urge the Senate to confirm Ms. Nielsen as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

and look forward to working with her and the Department on business travel friendly initiatives and 

policies. 

Sincerely, 

Michael W. McCormick, Executive Director & COO 

Global Business Travel Association 
319 

Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman 

Stanford, California 

Friday, November 3, 2017 

Senator Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Senator McCaskill, 

I write in support of Kirstjen Nielsen, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Homeland 

Security. I worked with her in the Bush White House and think she is the best candidate for the 

job. 

Ms. Nielsen worked on the Homeland Security Council staff when I worked on the National 

Economic Council staff. She was a skilled, effective professional who delivered results and could 

make cumbersome bureaucracies move. Some Cabinet secretaries play mostly public-facing 

roles, acting as the face and voice of the department while others do the inside management 

and policy work. While I think she can be an effective communicator, I support Kirstjen 

primarily because I know she will be a hands-on leader, driving policy (and the bureaucracies) 

forward to produce results. She has expertise in cyber policy and natural disasters, two 

important priorities for the department. She has the trust and confidence of the President's 

Chief of Staff, and her stint as John Kelly's White House deputy means she knows the President 

and the senior White House staff, increasing her effectiveness when she moves over to lead the 

department. General Kelly has General McMaster at NSC, General Mattis at Defense, Secretary 

Tillerson at State, Directors Pompeo and Coats on intel, and he will have Ms. Nielsen at 

Homeland. That's a solid and stable team that gives me confidence. In this dangerous world and 

with an unpredictable and sometimes volatile Commander-in-Chief, I want to have confidence 

in his national security team. 

Ms. Nielsen's confirmation will further increase that confidence, and I urge the Senate to 

quickly confirm her as Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Sincerely, 

Keith Hennessey 

Att: Laura Kilbride, Clerk 
320 

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS 

Prrwidmg iMdenh1p for the fire and emer~~t'IH)' sert'lccs since 1873 

4025 FAIR RmGE DRIVE • FAIRFAX, VA 12033-2R68 • TEL: 703/273-09II • ~AX: 703/27l-9363 •W\\w.iafc.org 

November 6, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Senator McCaskill: 

On behalf of the approximately 12,000 leaders of the fire and emergency service, the 

International Association of Fire Chiefs endorses Ms. Kirstjen Nielsen's nomination for 

Secretary of Homeland Security. Ms. Nielsen is a well-known expert in homeland security policy 

with experience in preparedness and response issues. The IAFC believes that Ms. Nielsen is 

well-qualified to serve as the nation's Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Ms. Nielsen brings a depth of experience to the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. She 

helped to stand up the Transportation Security Administration, and later served as the Special 

Assistant to the President for Prevention, Preparedness and Response on the Homeland Security 

Council (HSC) during the George W. Bush Administration. In her position at the HSC, Ms. 

Nielsen coordinated and oversaw federal homeland security efforts, and developed Presidential 

homeland security policies on issues, including public alert and warning; development of the 

information sharing environment; and responding to improvised explosive devices. After the 

Bush Administration, Ms. Nielsen served as a senior fellow with the The George Washington 

University's Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, which is one of the nation's leading 

homeland security think tanks. In the new Administration, she served as chief of staff at the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security and the principal deputy chief of staff for President Trump. 

Based on her experience at the HSC, Ms. Nielsen understands the important relationship between 

federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SL TT) governments. She has discussed the importance 

of information sharing between federal and local partners to help communities prepare for 

possible terror threats. She also understands the important role that federal grants play in helping 

local jurisdictions maintain the technology, training and staffing required to have an effective 

response to an act of terror. In addition, Ms. Nielsen would widely disseminate both positive and 

negative lessons learned from past incidents and exercises with homeland security stakeholders 

to improve preparedness and response. 
321 

The IAFC thanks the committee for scheduling Ms. Nielsen's confirmation hearing on 

November 8. The Secretary of Homeland Security is a key national security position and we 

believe that Ms. Nielsen is an excellent nominee to serve in that position. We look forward to 

working with you to ensure her confirmation by the full Senate in a timely manner. 

Thank you again for your support for America's fire and emergency service! 

Sinc~:wly, /'\ ;1 

!J~ { yJf-· 

Fire Chief Thomas C. Jenkins V 

President and Chairman of the Board 

: kl 

2 
322 

OOtOO 

I nternationa I 

Biometrics+ Identity 

Association 

1090 Vermont Avent!e, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 

0 : 202.789.4452 x1309 I F: 202.289.7097 ! W: IB1A.ORG 

Board of Directors 

Cha1rrnan and Prestdent 

Robert Harbour 

HID Btometncs 

Vtce Cha1rman 

WalterHam1l!on 

!denllficahon Technology Partners 

Secretary 

John Mears 

Leidos 

Treasurer 

M1ke DePasquale 

BIO·key 1'1temattonal, lnc 

Raffie Beroukhim 

NEG CorporatiOn of America 

Ramsey Billups 

Gemalto 

Bob Eckel 

IDEM!A 

John Hinman 

Cross match Technologies. Inc 

Charles Koo 

lrisiOSystems,lnc 

Jonn Scnnelder 

Qualcomm 

Management Group 

Carrol! & LaDter, PLLC 

Tovah LaDter 

IBIA Managing Dtrector 

tov.;th@cl-law.us 

1090 Vermont Avenue 

6th Floor 

Wash1ngton. DC 20005 USA 

1bia@1bmorg 

Telephone 

202 789 4452 

Facsimile 

202 289.7097 

November 6, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

On behalf of the International Biometrics+ Identity Association, it is our 

great pleasure to write in support of the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen 

to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. As a group committed to 

homeland security issues, we believe Ms. Nielsen is well-qualified to lead 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Ms. Nielsen is an internationally recognized homeland security expert, 

with extensive work in cybersecurity, emergency management, and 

combatting terrorism. In the face of increasingly sophisticated and 

constantly evolving threats, a cyber expert at the helm of DHS is an 

invaluable asset to our national security. She has experience in both the 

public and private sectors and is well equipped to continue building 

public-private partnerships to advance the missions of DHS. 

Ms. Nielsen is also deeply familiar with the other missions of DHS. As 

then-Secretary Kelly's chief of staff, Ms. Nielsen played a major role in 

departmental planning. She built close relationships with senior DHS 

officials and rank and file employees alike, and has a wealth of 

operational knowledge. If confirmed, she will be the first Department 

employee to rise to the rank of Secretary- a true testament to her 

distinguished record. 
323 

Ms. Nielsen is uniquely qualified to lead DHS at such a critical time. We respectfully urge 

the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the full Senate 

move swiftly to confirm Ms. Nielsen as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security. 

About IBIA • IBIA advances the adoption and responsible use of technology-based 

identification solutions to enhance identity security and privacy and to facilitate 

convenience and productivity for government, business and consumers. For more 

information, please visit our website: ibia.org. 

Sincerely, 

~ L.D-~ 

Tovah LaDier 

Managing Director 

1090 Vermont J..\V0nue, NW, 6th Floor. Washington, DC 20005 0: 202.789.4452 xl309 l F: 202.289.7097 i W: IBIA.ORG 
324 

Honorable Ronald Johnson 

Chairman, Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

Committee 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 

November 8, 2017 

Dear Chairman Johnson, 

It is with the utmost regret that I am unable to appear 

before the Committee in person to express my 

unconditional support for Kirstjen M. Nielsen as the next 

Secretary of Homeland Security. For more than two 

decades, Kirstjen' s devotion to duty and service to our 

country, coupled with her unparalleled resume, have 

prepared her to be the leader of a department that keeps 

the American people safe. 

In the wake of the tragic events of 9111, Kirstjen served 

at the newly formed Transportation Security 

Administration, where she helped develop operational 

strategies and policies that remain in effect today. 

Subsequently, Kirstjen served as a Special Assistant to 

President George W. Bush on the staff of the Homeland 

Security Council. Her expertise was instrumental in 

securing our nation through the formation of the 

Department of Homeland Security and in developing the 

foundational policies and strategies that govern the 

homeland security enterprise today. 
325 

After I was asked to serve as the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, Kirstjen volunteered her time and efforts to 

help me through my own confirmation process. As I 

realized how talented and intimately familiar she was 

with the Department, I knew her expertise would be 

essential to its success. I asked her to once again serve 

the country as my Chief of Staff, and she selflessly 

divested herself of the successful consulting security 

firm she founded. 

While overseeing one of the largest departments in the 

federal government as its Chief of Staff, Kirstjen tackled 

the most ambitious agenda since its inception. She was 

instrumental in achieving historically low illegal border 

crossings and a renewed dedication to updating and 

preserving the frameworks that keep our country safe 

from those who wish us harm. If confirmed, Kirstjen will 

be the first Secretary in the history of DHS to have 

previously served within the Department. 

When President Trump asked me to leave DHS and 

serve as his Chief of Staff, I asked Kirstjen to serve as 

the Principal Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House. 

She has been invaluable in furthering the President's 

agenda, and she once again proved her ability to lead in 

one of the most demanding roles in government. 

You have read of her accomplishments and her polished 

resume. You have heard the accolades of her success 

and devotion to duty. What truly sets Kirstjen apart is 

her integrity, sense of service to our nation, and 
326 

dedication to the men and women who risk their lives 

serving our great country every day. She is undoubtedly 

qualified to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland 

Security, and I implore the Committee to ensure a swift 

confirmation for the sake of our nation. 

Sincerely, 

John F. Kelly 
327 

November 1, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

328 Hart Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 2051 0-4905 

nee I'.ROIFSSIONAI. 1- J SERVlCfS 

COUNCH 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental AfTairs 

United States Senate 

503 Hart Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510-2505 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

On behalf of the more than 1,600 member companies and nearly 80,000 individual members that 

comprise the National Defense Industrial Association (NDlA), and the 400 corporate members 

that comprise the Professional Services Council (PSC), we would like to express our support for 

the nomination of Kirsljen Nielsen to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security 

(DI-IS). We are pleased the President has nominated such a highly qualitled candidate with such 

a wealth of policy and leadership experience in the Department and subject matter experiise in 

cybcrsccurity. 

Ms. Nielsen's experience across the executive and legislative branches of government, in the 

private sector, and at the White House have provided her with the requisite understanding of 

challenges facing DHS from a variety of stakeholder perspectives. Her capabilities and 

experience will foster strong government-industry collaboration and enable her to address the 

significant challenges that Dl IS faces. 

The members of our associations play crucial roles in homeland security, both as a component of 

our nation's critical infrastructure and as providers of goods and services supporting DHS's 

missions. Critically, given the emergence and evolution of cybersecurity threats and challenges 

over the last decade, we acknowledge l'v!s. Nielsen's well-known expertise in cybersecurity and 

consider her nomination a strong commitment from the Administration to continuing to improve 

the resiliency of private and federal cybcr infrastructure. 

For these reasons, we encourage your Committee to move expeditiously to consider and approve 

Ms. Nielsen's nomination and for the Senate to confirm her without delay. 

Sincerely, 

Herbert J. "llawk" Carlisle 

General, USAF (Ret.) 

President & CEO 

National Defense Industrial Association 

David J. Berteau 

President & CEO 

Professional Services Council 
328 

November 2, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill, 

I am writing on behalf of the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) in support of the 

President's nomination of Ms. Kirstjen Nielsen to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS). 

Ms. Nielsen has spent the majority of her career dealing with homeland security-related 

operational and policy challenges. She has demonstrated an understanding that State and local 

public safety agencies and personnel are a critical part of overall homeland security efforts. 

DHS effectiveness in protecting the homeland depends in part on active and deliberate 

partnerships with state and local public safety agencies to leverage unique data sets, expertise, 

relationships, and personnel. 

The NFCA's direct discussions with Ms. Nielsen and her prior experience at DHS give us reason 

to be optimistic that she understands the needs of State, Local, Tribal and Territorial 

Governments and as secretary will actively seek to prioritize and strengthen those partnerships. 

The National Network of Fusion Centers coordinates daily alongside federal partners including 

DHS components to collect, review, analyze, and disseminate terror and other criminal threats. 

Fusion centers provide local context to national and homeland security collection needs, ensure 

suspicious activity reports from our communities and public safety partners are quickly analyzed 

and appropriately shared, and share information across the continuum of public safety and 

homeland security stakeholders. 

We look forward to working with Ms. Nielsen and the DHS team to help protect our Homeland. 

Sincerely, 

, ., 

Mike Sena 

President, NFCA 
329 

November 1, 2017 

Dear Chairman 0.1cCain, 

Civen your membership on the Senate I Iomcland Security and GoYcrnmcntal Affairs Committee~ I 

wanted you to kno\V of my strong and enthusiastic support for Kirstjcn Nielsen for Sccrcwry of the 

Dcpartmcm of! Iomdand ~ccurtty. 1 han: flrst-hand knowledge uvcr the years ofhcr expertise, 

lcadcrshrp, and incredible drive and acutnc:n. 

As the fonncr Deputy Executive Director oft he L1nftcd Stares Commiss.ion on :'\Jation::ll 

Sccurity/2iq Ccnturr, fmmcr Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services (~ommittee, former 

(:hairman of the N:Hional Defen~t' Industrial ,\ssociation, and as an a·vid follower of homeland 

security and defense issues, I can say \vith full conftdcncc that Kirstjcn is the right choice [or Jhis 

Jcm;tnding and thankless role, lam espcc1ally encouraged by her strong background in cybcr issues, 

\vhich is an area vital ro our n:-ttion~d security and one you have continued to champion and point 

out our shortfalL;. 

She has rhc support current and former DI fS secretaries and officials, rncrnbcrs of 

Congress, police groups, and fT experts, border patrol and immigration groups, and tndustry 

and defense groups, atnong others. J worked vl'ry closely with former DHS Secretary jeh Johnson 

and his Chief nf Staff ( :hristian i\hrronc. arc strong supporters anc.l I have full confidence they 

kno\'i.' what it takes to lead and rnanage Dl IS. support from (jcncndjuhn Kelly pnts her in a 

special category. 

:\sa long·tcrm cross over mcmbc:r of the old Government Affatrs Con1ntiucc, you ;1rc well aware of 

all the chatlcngc~ in this area. She is fully prepared to deal with all of them. 

~laJ. Gen. :\mold Funaro, t.:~I\JC (Ret.) 

f·ornwr Sr,trf Dtrector, Sr\SC 

ct/t??/ 

j}c'CRtt 
330 

November 7, 2017 

TO: Chairman Ron Johnson or Attention Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC, 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking member McCaskill, 

I would like to express my personal support for the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be the 

Secretary of Homeland Security. 

I have been focused on cybersecurity and infrastructure protection issues for over twenty 

years. I have held senior cybersecurity positions in the Department of Justice (Deputy Chief of 

the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section), the Department of Defense (Executive 

Director of the DoD Cyber Crime Center), and the Department of Homeland Security (Deputy 

Under Secretary of NPPD). In the first two positions, I was a career government employee and 

in the last, a political appointee in the Obama Administration. I currently work for a non-profit 

focused on implementing cyber security solutions. 

I have an extensive international background. I served as the chair of the G8 Subgroup on HighTech Crime. I have worked for US and non-US companies. I participated in and supervised 

international negotiations and discussions concerning cybersecurity matters. 

I unreservedly support the nomination of Ms. Nielsen. She is an effective leader, who will be 

closely involved in the work of DHS. She understands cybersecurity issues, and is focused on 

the critical ones- particularly systemic cyber risk- as opposed to the merely urgent. Having a 

DHS Secretary who has worked extensively on cybersecurity and infrastructure protection prior 

to appointment would be a boon for the Department. And her relationships are excellent. 

I urge the Senate to confirm Ms. Nielsen. 

Sincerely, 

Philip R. Reitinger 
331 

November 2, 2017 

The Honorable Mitch McConnell 

Majority Leader 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Charles Schumer 

Democratic Leader 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Chainnan ,Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

We are pleased to write to you in support of the nomination of the Honorable Kirstjen Nielsen to be the 

sixth Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security. Aq former leaders of DHS, we understand 

that the Department's responsibilities span many critical domains and agree that Ms. Nielsen brings the 

professional and leadership skills necessary to combat the range of contemporary threats to our 

homeland. 

A former official at the Transportation Security Administration and Special Assistant for Homeland 

Security to President George W. Bush, Ms. Nielsen has been engaged in counter-terrorism, all-hazard 

risk mitigation, critical infrastructure protection, and response policy from the earliest days of what we 

now know as homeland security. Ms. Nielsen brings operational experience as well, having managed 

day-to-day operations of the Department as chief of staff to then-Secretary John Kelly. She is the first 

candidate for Secretary to have actually worked in the Department of Homeland Security prior to 

nomination for the agency's leadership. This means that there will be no learning curve for Ms. Nielsen 

and she can hit the ground running at the DHS on Day One. 

Ms. Nielsen is a homeland security leader for our times. More than any previous Secretary, she 

understands the 21" Century challenges of the borderless eybcr domain and has worked in both the 

public and private sectors to address this deeply interconnected and consequential risk to America's 

national security and economic stability. As a Senior Fellow at the George Washington University Center 

for (.'yber and Homeland Security and as Chair for Risk and Resilience for the World Economic Forum, 

she has earned the respect of her peers and encouraged global collaboration on cybersecurity. 

Kirstjcn Nielsen offers our nation the credentials required of the Secrelaty of Homeland Security in 

today's environment: expertise in homeland security policy and operations; national and international 

perspective, and; public and private sector experience. We respectfully urge the Senate to expeditiously 

consider Ms. Nielsen's nomination for Secretary and recommend that she be confirmed for this 

important post. 

1 of2 
332 

Sincerely, 

Tom Ridge 

Secretary 

~ 

of Homeland Security (2003-2005) 

Michael Chcrtoff 

Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009) 
333 

November 8, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

On behalf of the Security Industry Association (SIA) and our members, we are writing to express 

support for the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

SIA is a trade association representing nearly 800 companies that develop, manufacture and 

integrate security solutions and employ thousands of technology leaders. We care deeply 

about protecting our nation and keeping Americans safe. Technology provided by our industry 

plays a key role in helping U.S. Department of Homeland Security fulfill its missions and in 

protecting our nation's critical infrastructure. 

We believe Ms. Nielsen is well qualified to lead the Department, particularly given her 

extensive experience in DHS departmental planning, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure 

protection, which are vitally important as our nation faces increasing and evolving threats. 

We respectfully urge the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

full Senate move swiftly to confirm Ms. Nielsen as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Sincerely, 

Don Erickson 

CEO 

Security Industry Association 
334 

MICHAEL T. McCAUL, TI:X/\S 

CHNH!H.<IN 

October 12,2017 

®nc l'luu~rc~ lliiftccntl! Q!ougreun 

1!1.&. lflnua.e uf iR.epr.enrntutiucn 

<!Imnmittcc ott l~um.clunb §occurity 

111Jlunl)ingtun, i!QL C!ll515 

Chainnan Ron Johnson 

Committee on Homeland Security 

& Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson: 

IIENNIE G THOMPSON, MtSSISStPPt 

RANI(ING MEMBFR 

I write to express my very serious concern about President Donald J. Trump's nomination of 

Kirstjen Nielsen for Secretary of Homeland Security and to urge you to scrutinize her 

professional background and experience thoroughly during the confirmation process. 

While I am pleased the President has finally named a nominee for this critical national security 

position, I am greatly troubled by Ms. Nielsen's record as Senior Director for Preparedness and 

Response at the White House Homeland Security Council during the Bush Administration's 

botched response to Hurricane Katrina. Given the ongoing tragedy in Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands, along with other homeland security challenges facing our Nation, the Department 

of Homeland Security must have a proven, capable leader as Secretary. Unfortunately, Ms. 

Nielsen's record raises questions about her suitability for such a position. 

Again, I urge you to ensure that the new Secretary is someone well-suited to ensming the 

Department of Homeland Security carries out its vital mission on behalf of the American people. 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

Sio~•·dy, ' )f b,oN' 

Ranking Member 

cc: Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 
335 

November 7, 2017 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Oflicc Building 

Washington. DC 20510 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

Ranking Member 

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill: 

We the undersigned write in support of the nomination ofKirstjen Nielsen to be the Secretary or 

Homeland Security. As a bipartisan group of women in technology and cybersecurity, we believe 

l'v1s. Nielsen's expertise in cybersecurity makes her a next-generation Cabinet nominee with the 

qualifications needed to lead DHS into the future. 

Ms. Nielsen is an internationally recognized homeland security expert, with extensive work in 

the eybersecurity field. In the face of increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving threats, 

a cyber expert at the helm of DHS is an invaluable asset to our national security. The future of 

homeland security is cyber security, and Ms. Nielsen will bring a wealth of experience to the 

Department. She has experience in both the public and private sectors and is well equipped to 

continue building public-private partnerships to advance the missions of DHS. 

We admire Ms. Nielsen's work to secure critical infrastructure, an increasingly common target 

among our adversaries. The importance of building and maintaining resilient networks cannot be 

underscored enough- the nation's critical infrastructure provides essential services that arc 

crucial to our daily lives. From the power we use to the transportation systems we rely on, a 

small disruption can cause huge harm. Her expertise in this area is needed now more than ever. 

In addition to her cybersccurity expertise, Ms. Nielsen is deeply familiar with the other missions 

or DHS. As then-Secretary Kelly's chief of staff. Ms. Nielsen played a major role in 

departmental planning. She built close relationships with senior DHS officials and rank and file 

employees alike, and has a wealth of operational knowledge. If confirmed. she will be the first 

Department employee to rise to the rank of Secretary- a true testament to her distinguished 

record. 

Ms. Nielsen is uniquely qualified to lead DHS at such a critical time. We respectfully urge the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Aflairs and the full Senate move swiftly to 

confirm Ms. Nielsen as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Sincerely, 
336 

Æ 

Is/Bobbie Kilberg 

President and CEO Northern Virginia Technology Council 

/s/Kirsten Bay 

President and DEO 

Cyber adAPT 

Is/Janet Hale 

Former UnderSecretary for Management 

Dcpmtment of Homeland Security 

Is/Karen S. Evans 

Former Administrator for E-Government and Infmmation Technology 

Office of Management and Budget, White House 

Is/Marie O'Neill Sciarronc 

Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security 

Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Information Sharing, White House 

Is/Diana L. Burley, Ph.D. 

Executive Director and Chair 

Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection 

The George Washington University 

Is/ Atti Riazi 

Former Chieflnformation Officer 

New York Housing Authority 

Is/Christine Rider 

Former Chief Information 0±1icer 

Small Business Administration 

Is/Deirdre Murray 

Principal 

Deirdre Murray and Associates. LLC 

Is! An·ia Hines 

President and CEO 

Allegheny Science & Technology