DHS prepares for attack during transition

down. Many of these career officials were on hand at the May training exercise at DHS’ Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. The exercise’s purpose, according to Duke, was twofold: First, it taught the career executives strategies for managing a national event, an important step for a department that has been criticized for an overreliance on political leadership. But it also reinforced their relationships with one another, a valuable outcome not just during the transition, but for years to come. “I think it makes sense,” said Clark Kent Ervin, a homeland security scholar at the Aspen Institute. “I applaud the effort. … DHS needs a cadre of cross-trained professionals.”

Duke stressed that DHS does not have a large number of political appointees: The department has about 200 political appointees - 83 of whom are considered “key executives” — in a work force of more than 200,000. The department has taken other steps to increase the role of career officials in its management. Earlier this year, DHS added a career deputy at TSA, and a career deputy to the department’s offices of management and science and technology.

Duke’s office is also preparing briefing materials for the next administration. They include a list of requirements for the first 30, 60, and 90 days of the new presidency. In February, for example, the department must certify to Congress that 50 percent of air cargo is being screened for explosives. The program is under TSA’s jurisdiction, but department headquarters is providing oversight and tracking its progress. One question the next administration will need to address is whether to reorganize the department. The department has struggled since it was formed in 2003 to coordinate the work of dozens of agencies under its jurisdiction, and many lawmakers have urged more changes. Among them are pulling FEMA out of DHS, elevating the department’s cybersecurity operation, and relocating the Federal Protective Service, which is now part of ICE.

Meanwhile, some experts say the department, after an initial rocky start, is finally starting to get its operation right, and they caution against a quick reorganization under the next administration. “There have been a lot of efforts to rethink the organizational structure,” Ervin said. “But I would caution against doing any reorganizing anytime soon. … The last thing this department needs is a big change.” Duke agreed that the department has made progress in running itself since it was formed. “One of our biggest strides is defining the difference between headquarters and the components,” Duke said. “We needed to differentiate. … It’s evolved to where the components execute with department oversight.”

Ervin suggested the department hold another training exercise this winter, after the election, involving both the outgoing and incoming administrations. That would be an opportunity for the Bush administration’s officials to mentor the new appointees, Ervin said. Although she is a political appointee herself, but Duke may still have a job next year. The undersecretary of management is allowed to stay on board - with the incoming administration’s consent - until a new undersecretary is confirmed, which could take up to a year. Duke confirmed that she would be willing to stay in her position.