A month after former Homeland Security secretary John Kelly decamped for the White House, President Donald Trump has yet to formally interview any potential candidates to replace the retired general as the head of the department.

With large swaths of Texas underwater and top staffers focused on pushing tax reform, the president is taking his time filling the vacant Cabinet post at DHS. Though White House aides have whittled the contenders down to a final shortlist, it could be weeks before Trump finalizes his choice, according to a senior administration official and a homeland security expert familiar with the conversations.


Kelly, who as White House chief of staff has sought to impose order on the West Wing and revert to the practices and processes of previous administrations, has taken a lead role in helping to find his own replacement. It’s a window into Kelly’s leadership style and the impact he is having on the president.

His deliberative approach has slowed down the selection process, and he has pulled the president away from pet candidates who earned his favor on the campaign trail and pushed him towards those with deep experience in homeland security.

Trump was initially inclined to tap Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the central player in the president’s election fraud commission, as DHS secretary. But Kelly is said to have persuaded Trump against picking Kobach, one of the country’s leading immigration hawks, according to the person familiar with the internal discussions.

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Potential candidates for the job include Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Energy Secretary Rick Perry; James Loy, a former DHS official during the George W. Bush administration; Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee; and New York Rep. Peter King, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Not having a permanent leader at DHS has not appeared to hamper the federal government’s response to the storm — at least so far. But it’s difficult to chart a long-term policy strategy at the department without permanent leadership, leaving DHS in a temporary stasis until Trump makes his pick.

The president believes Kelly’s presence in the White House means the department won’t be neglected, administration officials said. Trump also has been pleased with acting Secretary Elaine Duke’s performance since Kelly’s swearing in as chief of staff on July 31.

Duke, a career civil servant who served at DHS during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, is playing a central role in the response to the massive storm devastating Texas and Louisiana, and she traveled with Trump’s for his visit to the Lone Star state this week. While Duke isn’t currently on the White House’s shortlist, she could also stay on in a permanent capacity if she continues to impress Trump.

“The president has full confidence in acting secretary Duke’s ability to lead the department,” White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said in an email. She declined to discuss the administration’s internal process for finding a nominee.

Top White House aides are also eager to avoid a nasty confirmation fight, so they’re taking a more cautious approach to finding the right pick.

“There’s a sense that it’s far better to get it right than to do it quickly,” the senior administration official said, adding, that nobody in the West Wing is “panicked” over the lack of progress in finding a new leader of DHS.

Some experts say Trump should move more quickly to nominate a new DHS secretary.

“I would hope the president would put it on a fast track,” said former DHS secretary Tom Ridge. “Time is of the essence.”

Ridge said he hopes Trump picks somebody who has experience working at or dealing with the agency, or a person who has a track-record of running a complicated and multifaceted organization.

“There have been proven models of leadership that fit nicely into the department,” he said, noting that governors, former members of Congress and military veterans would be obvious choices.

“They ought to be more focused on it. It’s an incredibly important job,” said Max Stier, president of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, which has advised Trump’s team on nominations.

Stier said the White House shouldn’t let the issue of the day distract from the need to staff up the administration. “The tendency is to allow the urgent to crowd out the important,” he said. “But it’s vital to deal with the important things, because otherwise you’ll be shorthanded when dealing with the urgent.”

Kelly and other aides have begun reaching out to potential candidates, including members of Congress, retired military officers and others with homeland security experience.

“They are reluctant to put anyone in there without a homeland security background. They want someone who can hit the ground running,” said a source familiar with the conversations.

But the daily drama in the White House could complicate efforts to recruit for the job. McCaul has already privately signaled his reluctance to take the job, CNN reported earlier this month, pointing to the president’s public lambasting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“It’s probably not the easiest job to recruit for right now,” a person close to Kelly said. “There’s a confluence of a lot of issues coming together: the staff changes in the White House, trying to find somebody who is confirmable and the unpredictability of the president himself and whether somebody wants to take that chance.”

