Chad Wolf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chad Wolf
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017
|
|
| Acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
|
De facto, unlawful
|
|
| In office November 13, 2019 – January 11, 2021 |
|
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Ken Cuccinelli (acting) |
| Preceded by | Kevin McAleenan (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Pete Gaynor (acting) |
| Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans | |
| In office November 13, 2019 – January 20, 2021 Acting: February 8, 2019 – November 13, 2019 |
|
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | James D. Nealon (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Robert P. Silvers |
| Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Plans, Analysis, and Risk | |
| In office February 8, 2019 – November 13, 2019 |
|
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Brodi Kotila |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
| In office July 31, 2017 – February 8, 2019 |
|
| Secretary | Kirstjen Nielsen |
| Preceded by | Kirstjen Nielsen |
| Succeeded by | Miles Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Chad Fredrick Wolf
June 21, 1976 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Hope Wolf |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Collin College Southern Methodist University (BA) Villanova University (GrCert) |
Chad Fredrick Wolf (born June 21, 1976) is an American former government official. He also worked as a lobbyist. In November 2019, he was named the acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security. This means he temporarily led the department.
However, in November 2020, courts ruled that his appointment was not done in the correct legal way. Wolf also served as the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans from 2019 to 2021.
As a member of the Republican Party, Wolf held several roles in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These included chief of staff for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). He was also chief of staff to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. From 2005 to 2016, he worked as a lobbyist. He helped companies get contracts from the TSA.
Wolf was involved in a policy in 2018 that separated some families at the border. He was also part of the decision to send federal officers to protests in Portland and other cities starting in July 2020. In September 2020, a former staff member claimed Wolf told staff to stop reporting on threats from Russia. Wolf resigned from his acting secretary role on January 11, 2021. This happened after several court rulings said his appointment was not lawful.
Early Life and Education
Chad Wolf was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He grew up in Plano, Texas. He went to Plano East Senior High School. After high school, he attended Collin College on a tennis scholarship.
He then moved to Southern Methodist University. There, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. In 2013, he received a certificate in government contract management. This certificate was from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
Chad Wolf's Career
Working for Congress
Wolf started his career working for Republican Senators. He worked for Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison. He also spent two and a half years with Senator Chuck Hagel. From 2002 to 2005, he worked at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). He became Assistant Administrator for Transportation Security Policy in 2005. During this time, he first worked with Kirstjen Nielsen.
As a Lobbyist
From October 2005 to 2016, Wolf worked for a lobbying firm. He was a vice president and senior director at Wexler & Walker. In this role, he helped companies get contracts from the TSA. The TSA was his previous employer.
In the Trump Administration
In March 2017, Wolf became chief of staff at the Transportation Security Administration. He held this job for four months. Then, he became Deputy Chief of Staff for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He was also the top aide to Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke.
In July 2017, Wolf became chief of staff to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. While working for Nielsen, he helped develop a policy. This policy involved separating some families at the border. Later, Wolf told Congress his role was to give information to Nielsen. He said he did not decide if the policy was right or wrong. A government group disagreed with this statement. Wolf has said he supported the President's decision to stop that practice.
Wolf then became Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Plans, Analysis and Risk. This is a high-level government job. He also served as the acting Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans. In February 2019, he was nominated to be the permanent Under Secretary. His confirmation hearing was in June. Senator Jacky Rosen delayed his nomination. She was concerned about conditions for children at DHS facilities.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security
Wolf started serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security in November 2019. In November 2020, a federal court ruled his appointment was not lawful. The court also canceled some of his orders. It said these orders lacked "legal authority." On January 6, 2021, the President formally withdrew Wolf's nomination. Wolf resigned on January 11, 2021.
How He Was Appointed
.jpg)
Wolf became Acting Secretary after Kevin McAleenan left the role. This happened on November 1, 2019. At first, Wolf was not the top choice for the job. Reports said he was happy with his policy job. Other people favored by the President were not eligible for the acting role.
Some groups criticized his appointment. This was because he had lobbied for a company that supported the H-1B visa program. This program allows foreign workers to come to the U.S. But the administration defended Wolf's record. They asked Republican senators not to oppose his appointment.
The administration waited for Wolf to be confirmed as Under Secretary. Then they appointed him Acting Secretary. This was to avoid legal issues. Many experts believe an acting official cannot be appointed from a non-Senate-confirmed position. The DHS also had to change the order of who would take over. This was because a time limit for acting officials had passed.
Wolf was confirmed as Under Secretary on November 13, 2019. The vote was 54 to 41. He was sworn in as Acting Secretary on the same day.
Disputes About His Appointment
On November 15, 2019, some lawmakers questioned Wolf's appointment. They asked for a review of its legality. They argued that the previous Acting Secretary, Kevin McAleenan, did not have the power to change the line of succession. They also said the change happened after a time limit.
In July 2020, a law professor stated that an acting secretary can only serve for 210 days. This period starts after a Senate-confirmed official leaves. The last confirmed DHS Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, left on April 10, 2019. This was 469 days earlier.
Under the proper rules, the acting secretary should have been Chris Krebs. He was the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Several federal courts later ruled that Wolf's appointment was not valid. On September 11, 2020, a federal judge ruled Wolf was likely serving unlawfully. The court then stopped rules Wolf had created. On November 14, 2020, another judge ruled Wolf was not lawfully serving. This ruling canceled his suspension of a program called DACA. On January 8, 2021, a fifth judge also ruled that Wolf was not lawfully acting as Secretary.
Nomination for Permanent Role
On August 24, 2020, the President announced he would nominate Wolf for the permanent Secretary role. Wolf was expected to continue as Acting Secretary during this process. This was allowed because his acting appointment was made under a specific law. On September 10, 2020, the nomination was sent to the Senate.
Wolf appeared before a Senate committee on September 23, 2020. The committee approved his nomination on September 30. However, the full Senate did not vote on it before the end of that Congress.
On January 3, 2021, Wolf's nomination was sent again to the new Congress. But on January 6, it was officially withdrawn. This happened about an hour after Wolf asked the President to speak out against the events at the U.S. Capitol.
Time as Acting Secretary
.jpg)
The President reportedly liked Wolf more than previous secretaries. This was because Wolf did not push back against the President's ideas about federal power. Wolf also had a good relationship with White House advisor Stephen Miller. Wolf kept a low public profile at first. Later, he became more involved in sending federal officers to protests.
In 2017, the DHS gave contracts worth over $6 million to a company. Wolf's wife, Hope Wolf, is an executive at this company. This raised questions about a possible conflict of interest. The company did not receive DHS contracts until Wolf started working there.
In February 2020, Wolf announced a change for New York residents. They could no longer join programs like Global Entry. These programs allow faster travel through airports. This was in response to New York's policies about sharing information with federal immigration officials. New York then sued the administration.
In July 2020, the administration admitted they had made false statements. These statements were used to justify excluding New York residents. New York later changed its law to allow sharing of information for these programs. Then, the DHS removed the travel restrictions.
During his time as DHS head, Wolf focused resources on "antifa." This is a loose group of left-wing activists. However, other law enforcement agencies said the main threats came from far-right groups.
A former staff member made a complaint in September 2020. They claimed Wolf ordered DHS intelligence to stop reports on Russian interference in the 2020 election. They said Wolf did not want these reports shared. This was because they "made the president look bad." Wolf allegedly told the former head of DHS intelligence to focus on Iran and China. He also supposedly said not to reveal Russian origins of a campaign against a political candidate. This was because it "made the president look bad."
In September 2020, Wolf did not appear for questioning before a House committee. In October 2020, Wolf sent a letter to the CEO of Twitter. He asked the company to "never again censoring content."
On January 11, 2021, Wolf resigned. This was after the events at the U.S. Capitol. His resignation was effective that evening. Pete Gaynor, the FEMA Administrator, took his place. Wolf remained in his Under Secretary position. In his resignation letter, he mentioned "meritless court rulings" about his authority. Two days after resigning, Wolf said the President was partly responsible for the Capitol events.
Sending Federal Officers in 2020
In July 2020, Wolf sent about 100 federal officers to Portland, Oregon. These officers wore camouflage and tactical gear. They were sent to help guard the federal courthouse. Protesters threw fireworks, frozen water bottles, and paint balloons. They also broke courthouse windows and set parts of the building on fire. The officers used tear gas on the protesters.
Officers also used unmarked vehicles to stop and remove protesters. Videos showed that the officers did not always identify themselves as law enforcement. However, DHS said the officers did identify themselves. Some legal observers called these actions "abduction."
Oregon Governor Kate Brown called the actions an "abuse of power." She said Wolf was "provoking confrontation for political purposes." Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called it "an attack on our democracy." Wolf claimed the protesters were a "violent mob" and "violent anarchists." A newspaper reported that an internal memo said the federal officers were not trained for riot control. Wolf was also criticized for taking unauthorized photos inside the courthouse.
Tom Ridge, the first head of DHS, strongly criticized the deployment. He said DHS was made to protect against terrorism. He added it was "not established to be the president's personal militia." Ridge said he would never have allowed such a deployment as a governor.
In a press conference on July 21, Wolf defended the officers. He said they had identifying numbers on their shoulders. But a former DHS spokesman disagreed. He said the officers were hard to identify. He added it looked like the military was being used against citizens. Wolf also claimed it was necessary for the federal government to "proactively arrest individuals."
After Government Service
In February 2021, after leaving the Trump administration, Wolf joined The Heritage Foundation. This is a research organization. He worked there as a visiting fellow. He published several papers that year before leaving the foundation.
Personal Life
Chad Wolf is married to Hope Wolf. They have two sons.
