(CNN) President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order chartering an investigation into alleged corruption in the American electoral system -- an institution he has repeatedly smeared with baseless charges of mass voter fraud.

But as much or more than the initiative itself, the early criticism has been trained on its designated point man, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Opponents past and present responded with anger on Thursday as news of his involvement spread.

"Kris Kobach being named to run a commission on 'voter integrity' is like naming Bernie Madoff to run a commission on financial crimes," Frank Sharry, the founder and executive director of America's Voice, an immigrant group, said in a statement. "His bigotry and radicalism have no place in our federal government. Any commission which Kobach leads has no integrity."

Kobach, who consulted Trump during the transition, got his first taste of Washington during a stint as an immigration law adviser in the George W. Bush administration. In that role, he helped craft the the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), a post-9/11 program that required additional layers of screening for people entering the US from countries -- almost all in the Middle East -- believed to be home to known terror suspects.