2019–2021 Department of Homeland Security appointment disputes

[1] The disputed appointments were those of Kevin McAleenan and Chad Wolf as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, and Ken Cuccinelli as Senior Official Performing the Duties of both the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (vacant) Kirstjen Nielsen served as the Senate-confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security from December 5, 2017, until April 10, 2019.

On April 9, 2019, Nielsen had issued a new revision of Delegation 00106 that updated Annex A, but left Executive Order 13753 in place in the case of death, resignation, or inability.

[4][8] Ken Cuccinelli was appointed to serve in the newly created position of Principal Deputy Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in June 2019.

[4] In a June 18, 2019 letter to the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, House committee chairs Jerry Nadler, Elijah Cummings, and Bennie Thompson alleged that Cuccinelli's brief appointment as Principal Deputy Director had been retroactively applied, possibly in violation of the FVRA.

Because the case was not filed as a class action, Moss was "unconvinced" that his relief should be extended to other asylum seekers not part of the original suit.

[4]Dodaro referred the matter to Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari to review the questions of who should be serving in these positions, the legality of other actions taken by McAleenan, Wolf, and Cuccinelli.

[4][21] Under the line of succession found valid by GAO, the Acting Secretary as of August 2020 would be Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor.

To support this they stated the fact that she had personally sworn him in, and announced in a public email that he was the incoming Acting Secretary, as evidence of her intention.

[27][28] On August 25, President Trump announced that he would nominate Wolf to be confirmed by the Senate as the permanent Secretary of Homeland Security.

[31] However, on November 13, DHS admitted in a court ruling that Gaynor's memo had apparently been issued about an hour before the Senate nomination had been made, which may affect its legality.

[32] On September 11, 2020, federal judge Paula Xinis ruled that Wolf was likely unlawfully serving as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

[37][38][39] Meanwhile, Wolf's nomination to be the permanent Secretary of Homeland Security expired on January 3, 2021 at the end of the 116th United States Congress and was returned to the President under Senate Rule XXXI.

[42] Wolf resigned his post on January 11, saying his action was "warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as acting secretary.

Ken Cuccinelli was appointed acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in June 2019, and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security in November 2019. The first appointment was ruled invalid by a federal judge in March 2020; the second was found invalid by GAO in August 2020.
Kevin McAleenan being sworn in as DHS Acting Secretary by Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019. DHS used this photograph to argue that Nielsen had intended to and had legally placed McAleenan next in line to become Acting Secretary, validating the later appointments of Wolf and Cuccinelli. [ 17 ]