Obama emphasizes ‘rule of law’ in Homeland Security chief nomination
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President Obama nominated lawyer Jeh Johnson to serve as secretary of Homeland Security on Friday, emphasizing Johnson’s past leadership at the Pentagon as well as his commitment “to the rule of law” as qualifications for the job.
Johnson has been in the White House Situation Room “in moments of decision,” Obama said, and has a “deep understanding of the threats and challenges facing the United States.”
At the same time, Obama said, Johnson knows about “upholding the values” and the civil liberties that make the country great.
In naming Johnson, the former general counsel for the Department of Defense, Obama is promoting a lawyer who helped to establish the legal framework for lethal drone strikes.
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His nomination could step up the pressure on the Obama administration to pull back the curtains on those secret operations. During the Senate confirmation process for CIA director John Brennan last spring, lawmakers demanded more information about how the administration made decisions about which names to put on the kill list.
In the Rose Garden on Friday, Obama spoke of his faith in Johnson as an “outstanding public servant” and “pretty good lawyer” who knows about “adapting to threats.”
Standing next to the president, Johnson recalled his memories as a New Yorker in the city on the day of the 9/11 attacks.
“I wandered the streets of New York that day and wondered, ‘What can I do?’” Johnson said. “Since then I have tried to devote myself to answering that question.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson would take on the task of managing 240,000 employees in an agency cobbled together in the wake of those attacks.
He told Obama he would do his best to keep Americans safe even though he “was not looking for this opportunity” when it came along.
“I love this country,” he said. “I care about the safety of our people.”
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