The other day we told you about a couple of names that were under consideration to replace outgoing DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen: Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Ken Cuccinelli.
But now another name, according to the man himself, is under consideration for the job and he happens to be a Trump supporter favorite (from what I hear on the mean streets of Trump USA):
DC EXAMINER – Kris Kobach said Tuesday he is eager to become President Trump’s Homeland Security secretary and confirmed he has been communicating with the White House about the job.
Kobach is emerging as the favorite of immigration hawks as Trump considers replacements for Kirstjen Nielsen. The former Kansas secretary of state, a Trump confidant on immigration matters, built his political career around advocating for curbing immigration into the United States, whether legal or illegal.
After the president fired Nielsen for, in his view, not cracking down on the flow of illegal migration across the Mexican border in a show of strength ahead of 2020, immigration restrictionists are hoping Kobach gets the nod — despite warnings from establishment Republicans that Senate confirmation would be an uphill battle.
“He’s got an important decision to make,” Kobach said of Trump, in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “If he wants to have me serve in this capacity, and thinks it would be the best thing for the country, I would certainly do so.”
In the report from the other day it did mention Kobach’s name, but only as a footnote. It said that while his name was mentioned, he was seen as unlikely, just like Pam Bondi.
So this new report would seem to suggest that Kobach’s status has elevated, or it was never just a footnote in the first place.
The bad thing is that, according to this report, there is RINO pushback on Kobach. Of course we all know what that means. The Collins/Murkowski wing of the GOP Senate will bow to Democrat pressure and vote against him. And if enough RINOs bail, there’s probably not as much incentive for red-state Democrats to vote for him either.
So it will be very interesting to see if Trump wants to turn this into a fight for his next DHS Secretary.
UPDATE:
It looks like some of the RINO pushback isn’t that strong after all. Roberts was said to be one of those who initially pushed back on Kobach:
— Senator Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) April 9, 2019