Some Democratic senators regret voting to confirm Kristi Noem as DHS secretary

Washington – Five days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, seven Senate Democrats voted to confirm Kristi Noem to direct the National Security Department.

Almost five months later, most of them criticize her, and some go so far as to say that they regret their votes.

“I am very disappointed. I am very disappointed with her,” said Senator Tim Kaine, D-V., A NBC News this week. “If he voted about her today, he would definitely not vote for her.”

The first year senator Andy Kim, Dn.J., also said that he would vote differently and would oppose his nomination if he could do it again.

“She is putting together the National Security Department. He is taking so many actions at this time that they are making us less safe, and going against many of the things she said she was going to focus,” Kim said Wednesday. “So I have no confidence in his leadership at this time.”

Apart from Kaine and Kim, the other five Democrats who voted to confirm Noem were Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters, both from Michigan; Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, both by New Hampshire; and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. The January 25 vote was 59-34, and the Republicans voted unanimously by Noem. Seven senators, six of whom Caucus with the Democrats, lost the vote.

At that time, several Democrats were struggling to find their way to continue on the issue of immigration application, which is largely administered by DHS, after Trump’s electoral victory.

Now, mood has changed following the aggressive deportation agenda of the administration and moves to attack the headlines of green cards and international students. In addition to that, the Democrats expressed their indignation after Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat of California, was eliminated by the force of a DHS press conference last week when he tried to ask Noem a question.

Slotkin said he voted for Noem because Michigan has “great actions with the Department of National Security” as a border state that is “about to open a huge new bridge” to Canada.

But while Slotkin did not stop to say that she would change her vote, she criticized Noem’s performance.

“Frankly, it has not had much politics control. I see it more as a spectator, often, to politics, especially what is happening at this time,” Slotkin said. “And you know, we have been urging our committee to take more responsibility for it.”

Peters, the main Democrat of the National Security Committee of the Senate, who supervises DHS, said he is “not surprised” by Noem’s actions and does not agree with many of them.

When asked if he remains in his vote to confirm Noem, Peters said: “I am the classification member in the committee and I have to have a working relationship with the secretary, regardless of the positions they take.”

“And so far we have been able to have that,” he said.

Fetterman, who has broken with his party on some issues, including immigration, did not comment when asked if he defends his vote for Noem, or how he qualifies his performance.

The two New Hampshire senators criticized Noem in the statements provided by their offices, without saying whether they support their votes.

“Senator Hassan has serious concerns about some of the recent actions of the Department of National Security and continues to press to obtain more answers and supervision, even in the treatment of Senator Padilla last week,” said Hassan spokesman Sahil Mehrotra.

And Shaheen’s spokesman Brendan Duff, said: “Senator Shaheen has disappointed by the tenure of the secretary headed by the National Security Department and remains concerned about his agency leadership so far, including his serious lack of transparency. He intends to continue demanding answers and hold the department.”

A DHS spokesman did not immediately return a request for comments.

Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Involved Noem when he was asked to evaluate his performance as DHS secretary.

“It is really difficult to imagine that someone does a worse job as secretary of National Security,” Schiff said in an interview. “Inflammatory, inconsistent, draconian immigration policies; illegality; the representation of people outside the country to maximum security prisons; the arrest of US citizens; the constant and strange show of their disguise outside a maximum security prison; or in their cosplay.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *