Trump fires U.S. Secret Service chief in another high-level ouster

By Roberta Rampton

 

U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph Alles participates in a news conference in Washington, U.S. March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is removing the director of the U.S. SecretService, the agency that provides protection for him and other top U.S. officials, the White House said on Monday, a day after the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

 

The dismissal of Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles comes amid major leadership changes at the sprawling Department of Homeland Security. The Secret Service director reports to the Homeland Security secretary.

 

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said James Murray, a career Secret Service agent, would take over the Secret Service in May. Alles had run the agency for two years and served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 35 years before retiring as a major general in 2011.

 

The Secret Service is responsible for protecting senior U.S. officials including the president and vice president, former presidents and visiting heads of state.

 

The agency came under scrutiny last week after a Chinese woman carrying electronic devices was charged with bluffing her way through security checks at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

 

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for Alles to testify before Congress "as soon as possible about the potential security vulnerabilities at Mar-a-Lago ... and other counterintelligence and national security threats."

 

The series of sudden changes at DHS also raised eyebrows with some Republican leaders in the Senate.

 

"We are dealing with a humanitarian and security crisis at the border because Congress failed to act," said Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

 

"In addition to congressional dysfunction, I am concerned with a growing leadership void within the department tasked with addressing some of the most significant problems facing the nation."

 

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the overhaul of the department.

 

LONG LIST OF DEPARTURES

The removal of Alles marked the latest in a long line of firings and resignations of senior officials in the Trump administration, a list that has included the secretaries of state, defence, homeland security, interior, veterans affairs and health and human services, the attorney general and numerous senior White House aides.

 

The first sign of Trump's overhaul of Homeland Security came late on Thursday, when he abruptly pulled his nomination of Ron Vitiello as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of DHS.

 

Trump described that move as part of a policy change "going in a tougher direction."

 

The Republican president, seeking re-election in 2020, has taken a hard line on immigration since taking office in January 2017, and he has said he will make border security a central theme in next year's race.

 

His first Homeland Security secretary was John Kelly, who later became his chief of staff. Kelly and Trump had an often-difficult relationship. Nielsen had been an aide to Kelly.

 

Nielsen, who oversaw Trump's bitterly contested immigration policies during her tumultuous 16-month tenure, resigned amid a surge in the number of migrants at the border with Mexico.

 

Her departure had been long rumoured particularly after criticism of the administration's 2018 family separation policy at the border with Mexico and as U.S. border officials estimated that 100,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in March, the highest level in a decade. Trump was so frustrated about the increase that he announced he would cut off U.S. aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

 

A senior administration official said Trump asked for Nielsen's resignation when the two met at the White House on Sunday. Trump also announced that Kevin McAleenan, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, would become acting DHS secretary.

 

CNN reported that Trump in recent weeks empowered his hard-line conservative aide Stephen Miller to lead the administration's border policies, and reported that L. Francis Cissna, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, and department General Counsel John Mitnick were also expected to soon leave their positions.

 

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Additional reporting by Makini Brice and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-09

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

CNN reported that Trump in recent weeks empowered his hard-line conservative aide Stephen Miller to lead the administration's border policies

Finally some good news. Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette. Now that pretty much everyone agrees the border invasions are a national emergency let's get this wall built pronto.

25 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Finally some good news. Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette. Now that pretty much everyone agrees the border invasions are a national emergency let's get this wall built pronto.

Latest Fox News Poll shows that Trump's performance on immigration has the support of 41% of Americans. Which I guess is your idea of  "pretty much everyone"

39 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Finally some good news. Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette. Now that pretty much everyone agrees the border invasions are a national emergency let's get this wall built pronto.

It's not about the wall, it's about the child separation policy. Nielsen said she wouldn't do it as it was illegal, immoral, just plain wrong. Trump doesn't care about adhering to the laws nor the constitution. He demands loyalty to his man-child whims, his multiple lies, or you're out the door.

One thing is certain as a Trump administration employee...keep your desk cleared, your briefcase packed and your resume current!...????

Trump may be a liar, but one thing he didn't lie about is, he is definitely a "high energy person". He can create more mayhem by lunchtime on any given day than most men could create in a month. New Yorkers; always on the offensive.

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Finally some good news. Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette. Now that pretty much everyone agrees the border invasions are a national emergency let's get this wall built pronto.

That miller dud is one sick dude and I recall about 2 weeks ago you claimed to be British if so why are you so in love with Donald?

10 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

Trump may be a liar, but one thing he didn't lie about is, he is definitely a "high energy person". He can create more mayhem by lunchtime on any given day than most men could create in a month. New Yorkers; always on the offensive.

And of course that is exactly what we want from a President, chaos.

Pure Evil, right out of central casting

 

28 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And of course that is exactly what we want from a President, chaos.

What do the Brits say?  "Does exactly what it says on the tin".

41 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

Trump may be a liar, but one thing he didn't lie about is, he is definitely a "high energy person". He can create more mayhem by lunchtime on any given day than most men could create in a month. New Yorkers; always on the offensive.

Ridiculous statement. As though Trump's psychopathology has anything to do with him being a New Yorker. As for being "high energy" it's reported that he spends 60 percent of his working hours devoted to something vague called "executive time". i.e. watching fox news.

35 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And of course that is exactly what we want from a President, chaos.

 

... doesn't have to be collusion, just a friendly reminder from tovarich Vladimir once in a while, in the middle of the night ...

 

 

Edited April 9, 20197 yr by jollyhangmon

1 minute ago, bristolboy said:

Ridiculous statement. As though Trump's psychopathology has anything to do with him being a New Yorker. As for being "high energy" it's reported that he spends 60 percent of his working hours devoted to something vague called "executive time". i.e. watching fox news.

OK.

3 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Latest Fox News Poll shows that Trump's performance on immigration has the support of 41% of Americans. Which I guess is your idea of  "pretty much everyone"

"Fox news poll" ????? they've been spot on for all of their other polls...right? How does that work for you?

3 hours ago, quandow said:

It's not about the wall, it's about the child separation policy. Nielsen said she wouldn't do it as it was illegal, immoral, just plain wrong. Trump doesn't care about adhering to the laws nor the constitution. He demands loyalty to his man-child whims, his multiple lies, or you're out the door.

Obama started it! Next question?

2 hours ago, TPI said:

Obama started it! Next question?

You think a distortion of an answer is dispositive? Try again.

AP FACT CHECK: Obama didn’t have family separation policy

President Donald Trump is falsely asserting that the federal policy that split migrant families at the border was practiced by his predecessor, Barack Obama, as well.

The Obama and Trump administrations operated under the same immigration laws but the “zero tolerance” policy that drove children from their parents was Trump’s.

https://www.apnews.com/91e9489c7f434099a987bed7defd3f1d

 

Donald Trump falsely says family separations were Obama policy

 

Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the Obama administration separated immigrant children from their parents at the border the same way the Trump administration did, the facts remain unchanged: that’s not true.

Family separations under the Obama administration did happen, but immigration experts say they were relatively rare; under Trump’s administration they were the systematic result of a policy to prosecute all immigrants who crossed illegally into the United States.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/nov/29/donald-trump/donald-trump-falsely-says-family-separations-were-/

Edited April 9, 20197 yr by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal.

All the blame storming is one issue but we might well ask as Donald purges the department of homeland security of professionals to plant his stooges who is keeping the nation safe?

2 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

What do the Brits say?  "Does exactly what it says on the tin".

Whether the contents of the tin are appropriate or not is another story.  When requiring a tin of nourishing soup, you definitely don't want a tin of garish, corrosive orange grease, no matter how well labeled it is.

7 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

Whether the contents of the tin are appropriate or not is another story.  When requiring a tin of nourishing soup, you definitely don't want a tin of garish, corrosive orange grease, no matter how well labeled it is.

Certainly not! But I think Trump's make up was pretty well known going in. That some people still bought it is what's shocking.

3 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Trump may be a liar, but one thing he didn't lie about is, he is definitely a "high energy person". He can create more mayhem by lunchtime on any given day than most men could create in a month. New Yorkers; always on the offensive.

That's because he's a "doer" instead of a "smooth talker".

1 hour ago, TPI said:

Obama started it! Next question?

 

Don't confuse them with reality!

 

 

All these complex theories.

 

The was a breach of security at Trump's Florida house. Secret Service criticized in way it was handled. Head honcho fired by man whose known to fire people quickly.

 

Hardly a surprise.

34 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

The was a breach of security at Trump's Florida house. Secret Service criticized in way it was handled.

The Secret Service said Yujing Zhang reached the reception desk before she was stopped.

Zhang apparently bluffed her way past two Secret Service checkpoints. She was finally foiled by a receptionist at the resort's main building.

• "I think that was just a fluke situation and I think that the person sitting at the front desk did a very good job," Mr. Trump said.
• "Certainly President Trump is the biggest target, but there's a lot of other people at Mar-a-Lago who have access or information or intelligence," "You have seasonal employees who are certainly not cleared like a White House employee is going to be. Recruit any of them and you've got a lot of information." - Former CIA officer Lisa Ruth

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mar-a-lago-security-breach-gaping-hole-for-foreign-intelligence-services/

Why even have the Secret Service at Mar-A-Lago? Resort employees can handle it all.

 

A nonsensical rant post has been removed. 

8 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Finally some good news. Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette. Now that pretty much everyone agrees the border invasions are a national emergency let's get this wall built pronto.

Agree with you, because that means Miller is toast. In stead of working and poisoning Trump in the background he now will be accountable for his actions.

yes miller is a good choice standing for a hardline policy but again democratic muslim antisemite 

ilhan omar lashes out with antisemitism against miller who is of jewish origin.

 

wbr

roobaa01

5 hours ago, TPI said:

Obama started it! Next question?

I thought we were well past the "He did it, so why can't Trump?" defense. Obama's sins don't justify Trump's offenses. Besides, I thought Trump abhorred all things Obama. Next?

He fired the man because the ex-SS boss did not open the door for him in front of the elevator ?

10 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Miller is a man that is not scared to break a few eggs to make his omelette.

 

You misspelled 'laws'.

He got ears an elephant would be proud to have