DHSJohnson’s nomination marks shift in DHS focus

Published 31 October 2013

Analysts say that President Barack Obama’s nomination of Jeh Johnson to replace Janet Napolitano as head of the Department of Homeland Securityis an indication of a shift in DHS priorities — from a focus on immigration and border issues to a focus on security and counterterrorism.

Analysts say that President Barack Obama’s nomination of Jeh Johnson to replace Janet Napolitano as head of the Department of Homeland Security   is an indication of a shift in DHS priorities — from a focus on immigration and border issues to a focus on security and counterterrorism.

Obama said that Johnson, currently an attorney with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, was nominated because of his “deep understanding of the threats and challenges facing the United States.”  The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that at the Rose Garden announcement of the nomination  on  18 October 2013, Johnson was credited with helping design and implement policies to dismantle the core of alQaeda’s overseas operations and also credited for his effort to repeal the don’t ask - don’t tell (DADT) policy which banned openly gay service members in the military. “He’s been there in the Situation Room, at the table in moments of decision,” Obama said.

As head of DHS, Johnson would manage a department with more than twenty agencies, a budget of more than $45 billion, and a staff of hundreds of thousands of civilian, law enforcement, and military personnel. If confirmed, Johnson would be responsible for filling several high-level vacancies within the department, including deputy secretary of DHS and heads of key agencies such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director.

Johnson, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1989 to 1991, and  general counsel for the Defense Department from 2009 to 2012, spent most of his career dealing with national security issues, including establishing  military commissions to try some terror suspects rather than using civilian courts and overseeing the escalation of  drone strikes against terrorist targets. Johnson has defended the administration’s targeted killings of U.S. citizens abroad, as well as the role of the U.S. spy court and crackdowns to keep government secrets.