Department of Homeland Security

Our preferred replacement for acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan is acting Director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli has three things that McAleenan lacked – a commitment to the Trump border security agenda, a willingness to fight Democrats and the Republican establishment to make the President’s agenda a reality, and the effective TV presence necessary to sell it to the American people.

The conservative leaders participating in the Conservative Action Project have just released a memo in support of Ken Cuccinelli for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security saying 'Cuccinelli is a champion of conservative policies, and a man of unimpeachable character. We have no doubt that he will execute the president’s agenda with the integrity, commitment, and excellence that we have known him to bring to every other position. He has our strongest support.'

The much-needed rule, supported by key Trump administration immigration hawks, takes effect in mid-October and would reject applicants for temporary or permanent visas for failing to meet income standards or for receiving public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, public housing or Medicaid.

Tucker Carlson was right, “Ilhan Omar is living proof that the way we practice immigration has become dangerous to this country.” And if Tucker is right, it is fair to ask who is responsible for this civilization-level disaster? We hold former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama responsible for introducing this poison into our society.

By Richard A Viguerie, CHQ Chairman
Rumor has it that Ken Cuccinelli will “coordinate the administration’s immigration policies.” Whether that will be from the White House or from the Department of Homeland Security has yet to be revealed. But wherever Ken Cuccinelli’s office is located physically, Ken will be a vital addition to the Trump team.

Immigration is the top concern of Republicans. While this highlights the difficulty of finding a bipartisan solution to the issue, it also suggests immigration will be an important election issue for Republicans, and one the president and GOP should use to drive turnout and support for Trump in 2020.

We strongly support Stephen Moore for the Fed Board and urge CHQ readers and friends to call their Senators today (the toll-free Capitol Switchboard is 1-866-220-0044) to urge them to vote to confirm Steve Moore when his nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors comes before the Senate.

By Richard A Viguerie, CHQ Chairman
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already expressed opposition to Cuccinelli, who as president of the Senate Conservatives Fund led primary challenges to K Street-controlled, establishment Republicans. McConnell, therefore, may have a grudge, but one not based in Cuccinelli’s fitness for the job.

Mitch McConnell opposes Ken Cuccinelli for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security precisely because Cuccinelli agrees with Trump, and the last person an establishment Chamber of Commerce-type Republican like Mitch McConnell wants running DHS is someone who actually believes in and will fight for the Trump border security agenda.

Running the Department of Homeland Security for President Trump, and getting the Trump agenda accomplished will take spine, smarts, media savvy and the ability to think creatively to get the job done. Of all the good names that have surfaced Ken Cuccinelli is the only candidate who checks all those boxes.

Now that Kirstjen Nielsen is out we hope the President will finally grasp that personnel is policy and begin appointing senior officials who actually believe in and want to accomplish his agenda, starting with the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

More than 100,000 illegal aliens are poised to cross the US border into Texas — a crisis threatening to overwhelm facilities  for housing asylum seekers. There is no question that President Trump has the legal authority to close the border; that has been done by previous presidents with no one questioning that authority.

Clearly the appropriations clause is not a suicide pact. If 1/3 of a million Red Chinese were poised to cross our southern border the President would have the power to act if Congress dithered because he has the constitutional duty and authority to act as Commander-in-Chief to protect the sovereignty of the United States and the lives and property of its citizens.

Putting aside the debate over bogus asylum admissions at our front door, with the recent Supreme Court rulings supporting President Trump’s policies, shouldn’t there be a comprehensive effort to empower and direct ICE to begin deporting as many of these people as possible?

Keeping the focus of his veto message on the facts of the situation on the border was probably the wisest course for the President, but let’s be brutally honest; the reason President Trump was put in this situation was because of the abject failure, or perhaps outright treachery of former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

The twelve Republicans who joined the Democrats and voted to disapprove President Trump's declaration of an emergency on our southern border represent a cross section of the fractured and out-of-touch Capitol Hill Republican Party’s coalition of virtue signaling windbags, constitutional nincompoops and globalist establishment tools.

You know things are bad when the New York Times runs an article with the headline, “Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Unauthorized Migrants Cross in a Month.” We could quibble and point out they are illegal aliens, not “unauthorized migrants,” but why argue details when your enemies are finally helping you by telling the truth for a change?

We think Senator Paul came to the conclusion to oppose President Trump's declaration of an emergency on our southern border without reading the entire Constitution. Otherwise he would recognize that Article II and Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution provide that the President has a constitutional duty to defend the borders and sovereignty of the United States that congressional dereliction cannot frustrate.

We urge CHQ readers and friends to call Senator Thom Tillis and other Republican Senators and Representatives TODAY. The toll-free Capitol Switchboard is (1-866-220-0044) tell them there IS a national emergency on our southern border, and that under Article II and Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution the President has the authority and duty to declare an emergency on our southern border.

Democrats will vote today on a resolution disapproving Trump’s Declaration of a National Emergency at the southern border, but so far House Republican “leaders” have mounted no serious or even visible counterattack to the sustained battering Trump has received at the hands of Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the #NeverTrump foreign policy establishment.