Chad Wolf

Chad Fredrick Wolf is an American government official unlawfully named as the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. Wolf was an architect of the Trump administration family separation policy in 2018, and was prominently involved in the deployment of federal law enforcement forces in Portland and elsewhere. In September 2020, he was accused of having ordered staff to stop reporting on threats from Russia. In November 2020, a federal court ruled his appointment unlawful and overturned a set of his orders as lacking legal authority.

About Chad Wolf in brief

Summary Chad WolfChad Fredrick Wolf is an American government official unlawfully named as the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. Wolf was an architect of the Trump administration family separation policy in 2018, and was prominently involved in the deployment of federal law enforcement forces in Portland and elsewhere beginning in July 2020. In September 2020, he was accused of having ordered staff to stop reporting on threats from Russia. In November 2020, a federal court ruled his appointment unlawful and overturned a set of his orders as lacking legal authority. Wolf previously served in several positions in the Department of Homeland Security, including as chief of staff of the Transportation Security Administration. He was nominated in February 2019 to serve permanently in the Under Secretary role, and his confirmation hearing was held that June. Senator Jacky Rosen delayed the nomination to protest poor conditions for children at DHS facilities. The administration waited for Wolf’s confirmation as Under Secretary before appointing him Acting Secretary to avoid appointing him as a principal officer from a non-Senate position, which many scholars and former government officials have argued is unconstitutional. Wolf then became Assistant Secretary of Homeland security for Strategy, Plans, Analysis & Risk, a Senior Executive Service position not subject to Senate confirmation. In 2013 he received a Master Certificate in government contract management from Villanova University.

He served in that position for four months, then became DHS Deputy Chief of Staff and the top aide to Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke. In 2018 Wolf became DHS’s chief of Staff under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. He later testified to Congress that his function was to provide information to Nielsen and \”not to determine whether it was the right or wrong policy\”, though he agreed with the decision to end the policy. The fact that he had previously lobbied for the National Association of Software and Services Companies, which was in favor of the H-1B visa program, led to criticism from groups favoring more restrictive immigration policies. The Trump administration defended his record and privately asked Republican senators not to oppose his appointment. At the time of his appointment he was not considered the first choice for the job, and it has been reported that he was satisfied with his policy job at the time, but others favored by Trump such as Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Morgan were ineligible for the Acting Secretary position. He has also served as an Under Secretary for strategy, Policy, and Plans since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party and a graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he earned a B. A. in history. He also worked as a staffer for Republican Senators Phil Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and then Chuck Hagel, for whom he worked for two and a half years.