DHS/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate voted on Tuesday [12-5-17] to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen as the secretary of homeland security, elevating a top White House aide and former agency official to oversee the department central to President Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration and beef up border security.
The vote was 62 to 37.
Ms. Nielsen will replace John F. Kelly, who left in July to become the White House chief of staff. Ms. Nielsen served as Mr. Kelly’s chief of staff at the Homeland Security Department, and he brought her along to the White House to be his deputy.
Elaine C. Duke, a deputy Homeland Security secretary, has served as the acting secretary in the interim. Ms. Duke has said she would remain at the department in the No. 2 position, tamping down speculation that she might resign after Ms. Nielsen was installed.”
-Ron Nixon, “Kirstjen Nielsen, White House Aide, Is Confirmed as Homeland Security Secretary,” The New York Times online, Dec. 5, 2017