DHS/JOHN KELLY/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Texas Rep. Mike McCaul has emerged as a leading candidate in the White House’s search for a homeland security secretary, according to three people familiar with the conversations.
The White House hasn’t rushed to fill the post — which was vacated in July when President Donald Trump tapped John Kelly, who was then serving as DHS secretary, as his chief of staff — but the hurricane that slammed Texas last month as well as the one expected to hit Florida in the coming days have given it increased urgency.
McCaul worked with the White House on its response to Hurricane Harvey, which affected parts of his district, and greeted the president on the tarmac when he touched down in Texas last weekend.
McCaul, who was considered for the same post during the transition, is eager to serve in the administration, according to people familiar with his thinking.
Neither McCaul’s office nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
At the time, he drew criticism from some immigration hawks, who pointed to his support for a path to legal status as evidence that he was too dovish to serve for a president who made it a signature issue.”
-Eliana Johnson and Anna Palmer, “McCaul emerges as a leading candidate for DHS secretary,” Politico, Sept. 7, 2017 05:52pm