Chad Fredrick Wolf (born June 21, 1976) is a former lobbyist and former American government official who was named the acting

United States secretary of homeland security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of th ...

in November 2019. His appointment was ruled unlawful in November 2020. Wolf was also the

under secretary of homeland security for strategy, policy, and plans The Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It was created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 ( ...

from 2019 to 2021. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, Wolf previously served in several positions in the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

(DHS), including as chief of staff of the

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

(TSA) and chief of staff to DHS secretary

Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump, and was ...

. From 2005 to 2016, he was a

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, helping clients secure contracts from TSA. Wolf was an architect of the

Trump administration family separation policy The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases, families followi ...

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, a whistleblower accused him of having ordered staff to stop reporting on threats from Russia. In November 2020, District Judge

Nicholas Garaufis Nicholas George Garaufis (born September 28, 1948) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Early life and education Garaufis was born in Paterson, New Jersey, to Demetr ...

ruled Wolf's appointment unlawful, and overturned a set of Wolf's orders as "not an exercise of legal authority". Wolf resigned his post on January 11, 2021, after a number of similar court rulings.

Early life, education and career

Chad Fredrick Wolf was born to James B. (Jim) Wolf and Cinda Thompson Wolf in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

. He grew up in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

. He graduated from

Plano East Senior High School Plano East Senior High School (commonly known as East, Plano East, or PESH) is a public secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA) serving high school juniors and seniors, as well as freshmen and sophomores as a part of the IB World School (beginni ...

and then attended Collin College on a tennis scholarship. He then transferred to

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history. Wolf worked as a staffer for Republican Senators

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was a ...

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republic ...

, and then

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946) From 2002 to 2005, he worked in the

(TSA), becoming Assistant Administrator for Transportation Security Policy in 2005. It was during this time he first worked with

Lobbyist

From October 2005 to 2016, Wolf was vice president and senior director at Wexler & Walker, a now defunct lobbying firm. He helped clients obtain contracts from the TSA, his previous employer. In 2013 he received a Master Certificate in government contract management from

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

. To avoid confusion with a Master's degree, Villanova University now simply refers to this as a Certificate in Contract Management.

Donald Trump administration

In March 2017 Wolf became the

's chief of staff. 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 July 2017, Wolf became DHS's chief of staff under Secretary

. While working for Nielsen, he was an early architect of the family separation policy. Under questioning from Senator

Jacky Rosen Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen (née Spektor; born August 2, 1957) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the U.S. representative for Nevada's 3rd congress ...

, Wolf later testified to Congress that he was not involved in the policy's development and that his function was to provide information to Nielsen and "not to determine whether it was the right or wrong policy". A government watchdog group disputed this statement based on internal documents. Wolf has said he "supported the President's decision when he issued an executive order to stop that practice". Wolf then became Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Plans, Analysis & Risk, a

Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service ...

position not subject to Senate confirmation. He concurrently served as Acting

Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans The Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It was created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 ( ...

. He was nominated in February 2019 to serve permanently as Under Secretary, and his confirmation hearing was held that June. Senator

delayed the nomination to protest poor conditions for children at DHS facilities.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security

Wolf began serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security in November 2019. In November 2020, a federal court ruled his appointment unlawful and overturned a set of his orders as lacking "legal authority". Wolf resigned on January 11, 2021.

Appointment

President Trump Attends a Ceremonial Swearing-in (49085038182)

Wolf's appointment as Acting

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

came after

Kevin McAleenan Kevin Kealoha McAleenan (born September 5, 1971) is an American attorney and government official who unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019. McAleenan previously served as the ...

's departure was announced on November 1, 2019. At the time, 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 Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, h ...

and Mark Morgan were ineligible for the Acting Secretary position. 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 The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H) that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation requires the application of ...

program, led to criticism from groups favoring more restrictive immigration policies. But the Trump administration defended his record and privately asked Republican senators not to oppose his appointment. 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-confirmed position, which many scholars and former government officials have argued is unconstitutional. DHS then had to move the Under Secretary position earlier in the line of succession, because the 210-day period in which an acting official was eligible to be named without a pending permanent nomination had expired. This, in turn, mandated that the Secretary's duties had to be performed by the department's senior-most confirmed official. Wolf was confirmed as Under Secretary on November 13, 2019, on a 54–41 vote. He was sworn in as Acting Secretary the same day.

Dispute

On November 15, 2019, House Democrats

Bennie Thompson Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson has been the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2019 and fr ...

and

Carolyn Maloney Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City ...

requested that the

Comptroller General of the United States The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative-branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and man ...

review the legality of Wolf's appointment on the basis that former Acting Secretary

did not have authority to change the department's line of succession, asserting that former Secretary Nielsen had not properly placed McAleenan first in the line of succession before resigning and that McAleenan's change came after the 210-day limit to his authority had expired. In July 2020,

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

law professor Nina Mendelson, an expert on federal vacancies, stated that an acting secretary can serve for only 210 days following a vacancy left by a Senate-confirmed officeholder. The last Senate-confirmed DHS Secretary,

, stepped down on April 10, 2019, 469 days earlier. On August 14, 2020, the

Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal gover ...

(GAO) released a finding that Wolf had become Acting Secretary improperly, noting that:

Upon Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation on April 10, 2019, the official who assumed the title of Acting Secretary had not been designated in the order of succession to serve upon the Secretary's resignation. Because the incorrect official assumed the title of Acting Secretary at that time, subsequent amendments to the order of succession made by that official were invalid and officials who assumed their positions under such amendments, including Chad Wolf and Kenneth Cuccinelli, were named by reference to an invalid order of succession.

Under the valid line of succession, the acting secretary would be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Chris Krebs Christopher Cox Krebs (born 1977) is an American attorney who served as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the United States Department of Homeland Security from November 2018 until November 17, 2020 when Presiden ...

. A number of federal courts later ruled that Wolf's appointment was invalid for reasons similar to those given by the GAO. On September 11, 2020, federal judge

Paula Xinis Paula Xinis (born Panagiota Xinis, 1968) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Biography Xinis is of Greek ancestry. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in 19 ...

ruled that Wolf was likely unlawfully serving as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. On that basis, the court issued an order barring the enforcement of rules Wolf had created. Likewise, on November 14, 2020, federal judge

ruled that Wolf was not lawfully serving as acting secretary of Department of Homeland Security. On that basis, the court invalidated his suspension of DACA. On January 8, 2021, Judge James Donato of the

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

became the fifth judge to rule that Wolf was not lawfully acting as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security.

Nomination to permanent appointment

On August 24, 2020, Trump announced that he would nominate Wolf as the permanent Secretary of Homeland Security. Wolf was expected to continue to serve as Acting Secretary during the confirmation process, as his acting appointment was made under the

Homeland Security Act of 2002 The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, () was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of ...

and not the

Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (commonly called the Vacancies Act) ( ''et seq.'') is a United States federal statute establishing the procedure for filling vacancies in an appointed office of an executive agency of the government be ...

, which prevents most nominees from simultaneously acting in the same position. On September 10, 2020, the nomination was formally submitted to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. On September 23, 2020, Wolf appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The committee reported his nomination favorably on September 30, but the full Senate took no further action before the end of the

116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Janua ...

. On January 3, 2021, Wolf's nomination was resubmitted to the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

, but on January 6, it was formally withdrawn, reportedly around one hour after Wolf called upon Trump to denounce the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...

Tenure

White House Press Briefing (49680308871)

Trump told aides that he liked Wolf more than his predecessors because his predecessors pushed back on Trump's expansive view of federal power. Wolf was also reported to have a good relationship with White House advisor Stephen Miller. Wolf maintained a low public profile during the early part of his term, prior to his prominent involvement in the deployment of federal law enforcement forces in Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere beginning in July 2020. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded $6,050,000 in contracts to

Berkeley Research Group Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) is a global consulting firm that helps organizations with assistance in disputes and investigations, corporate finance, as well as strategy and operations. BRG is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with o ...

, where Wolf’s wife, Hope Wolf, is an executive, according to a report by NBC News, raising new questions about a potential conflict of interest at the same time Wolf sought Senate confirmation to officially lead the agency. Berkeley Research Group did not receive any DHS contracts until Wolf started at the agency as chief of staff for the Transportation Security Administration. In February 2020, Wolf announced that the Trump administration was revoking New York residents' ability to participate in

Global Entry Global Entry is a program of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports and via the S ...

and other Trusted Traveler programs, in response to the state's "sanctuary" immigration policies, which DHS said jeopardized the government's ability to effectively vet travelers. The move prompted the state of New York to sue the administration. In July 2020, lawyers for the Trump administration informed the court that DHS officials had made false statements to justify excluding New York residents from the Trusted Traveler programs, admitting the inaccuracies "undermine a central argument" in their case. New York subsequently changed its law that had prevented sharing of information with federal law enforcement officers to expressly allow for information-sharing of New York Department of Motor Vehicles records "as necessary for an individual seeking acceptance into a trusted traveler program, or to facilitate vehicle imports and/or exports", and the DHS then removed the Global Entry restrictions. During his tenure as head of the DHS, Wolf redirected resources in the DHS toward antifa, a loose movement of left-wing agitators. At the time, career DHS officials and other law enforcement agencies emphasized that the major domestic terrorism threats stemmed from far-right groups, not antifa. According to a whistleblower complaint released in September 2020, Wolf ordered DHS's intelligence branch to stop producing intelligence reports on Russian interference in the 2020 election and not to disseminate those reports because they "made the president look bad". In September 2020, he was publicly accused of having ordered staff to stop reporting on threats from Russia. In spring 2020, communicating through White House national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien, Wolf allegedly ordered former head of DHS intelligence

Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer * Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coach ...

to focus his reports on Iran and China. He also allegedly told Murphy not to expose the Russian origins of an anti-Biden disinformation campaign because the exposure "made the president look bad". Murphy was demoted in August to DHS management division and filed a whistleblower complaint on September 8, which was released publicly the next day. In September 2020, Wolf defied a subpoena to testify before the

House Committee on Homeland Security The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include U.S. security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Role of the comm ...

. In October 2020, Wolf sent Twitter CEO

Jack Dorsey Jack Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) is an American Internet entrepreneur and programmer who is a co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Inc., as well as a co-founder and the CEO and chairperson of Block, Inc., the developer of the Squa ...

a letter calling on him to "commit to never again censoring content" on Twitter. On January 11, 2021, Wolf resigned after the storming of the United States Capitol, effective that evening, with FEMA Administrator

Pete Gaynor Peter Thomas Gaynor (born 1958) is an American Certified Emergency Manager who served briefly as acting Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump. Gaynor previously served as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( ...

as his replacement. He remained in his Under Secretary position. In his resignation letter, he cited "recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary." Two days after he resigned, Wolf said that Trump was partly responsible for the storming of the Capitol.

2020 deployment of federal forces

In July 2020, Wolf sent about 100 federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, to help guard the federal courthouse, where they used tear gas on protesters who threw fireworks, frozen water bottles and balloons filled with paint and feces, breaking courthouse windows and setting parts of the courthouse on fire multiple times. Agents also used unmarked vehicles to detain and remove protesters, and the protesters later produced several videos showing that the agents did not identify themselves as law enforcement, although DHS said the agents identified themselves. Legal observers called this "abduction" and "kidnapping". Oregon Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

called the actions an "abuse of power" and accused Wolf of "provoking confrontation for political purposes". Portland Mayor

Ted Wheeler Edward Tevis Wheeler (born August 31, 1962) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016. Wheeler was elected in the 2016 Portland mayoral election and re ...

called it "an attack on our democracy". Wolf alleged the protesters were a "violent mob" and "violent anarchists". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that an internal DHS memo presented to Wolf before the deployment said the federal agents in question had not been specifically trained in riot control or mass demonstrations. Wolf was criticized for taking unauthorized photographs inside the courthouse, contrary to local and national court policy.

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...

, the first head of DHS, sharply criticized the deployment, saying, "The department was established to protect America from the ever-present threat of global terrorism. It was not established to be the president's personal militia." Ridge, the former

governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, added that it would be a "cold day in hell" before he would have consented as a governor to such a deployment. In a July 21 press conference, Wolf defended the deployment of officers in unmarked military-style uniforms, saying they had identifying numbers on their shoulders. But former Trump administration DHS spokesman David Lapan disputed that the officers are easy to identify, saying, "People like me, who served a long time, have to look very long and hard to figure out who these people are. For the average citizen, it looks like the military is being used to suppress American citizens. Even if that's not the case, and this is law enforcement, it creates the impression that the military is being used." In a

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

interview on the same day, Wolf claimed it was necessary for the federal government to "proactively arrest individuals".

Personal life

Wolf is married to Hope Wolf and has two sons.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Chad 1976 births Living people American lobbyists People from Plano, Texas Plano East Senior High School alumni Southern Methodist University alumni Transportation Security Administration officials Trump administration cabinet members United States Department of Homeland Security officials