Former officials who served at the top of the Department of Homeland Security are worried Mark Morgan, President Trump’s new pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is better suited to Fox News than leading the agency.
Two top Homeland Security officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner Monday described Morgan as a career FBI employee with less than one year of experience working in any Homeland Security entity, who likely got the job because he used TV stints to woo Trump.
“What he does is he goes on Fox News and shoots his mouth out — how he was in charge of Border Patrol for three months?” said the first official, who has led two Homeland Security agencies and asked to speak on background to avoid upsetting clients. “People look at that as an expert. He’s far from an expert. He’s just a loyalist, OK? He gets on Fox and talks about how good the president is. The president loves it: ‘Why don’t we hire this guy?’”
Morgan emerged on Fox last year and has since made a name for himself by endorsing Trump’s policies, including transporting asylum-seekers to sanctuary cities. One official the Examiner heard from said he may hurt his ability to lead ICE if he steps on the toes of other Homeland Security officials who have more say on border policies than he does as the head of an agency tasked with homeland security investigations and deported unauthorized immigrants.
“Trump may expect him to continue to be an outspoken advocate, but Morgan will step on a lot of toes within Homeland Security if he continually strays outside his lane. Becoming head of ICE will give him a lane he hasn’t had since he left the Obama administration,” a second official wrote in an email. “I think it will be a bit harder for Morgan to ‘push the Trump agenda’ as head of ICE (if confirmed), especially more so than as he has been able to from outside the system.”
Morgan is slated to take over an agency he has no experience working for. After an 11-year stint in the Marine Corps and 20 years in the FBI, he was tapped in 2014 for assistant commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. In that role, he oversaw the Border Patrol.
But Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, railed against Obama’s pick of Morgan in late 2016 because it marked the first time in the agency’s 93 years a nonagent had been tapped to lead the 20,000 agents. Shortly after assuming office in early 2017, Trump fired the Obama holdover.
Because of Morgan’s reputation as uninterested in working with the Border Patrol union, the second official said he may face problems if he does not work with ICE’s union president, Chris Crane.
ICE has not had a confirmed director since January 2017. Trump’s first pick, Tom Homan, retired after waiting to be confirmed. Last summer, Trump picked Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Ronald Vitiello to oversee ICE, but let him go in early April to hire someone “tougher.”
But for all Trump has done to find nominees who support his agenda and are willing to serve, the first official said he has made no progress on implementing meaningful changes to immigration and border policies.
“Think about Trump — the only thing Trump has done, he’s raised this issue … But everything he’s tried to do has failed,” the official said. “He has not made a single dent in this whole thing. Matter of fact, it’s worse than ever. He’s hoping this Morgan will bring his enforcement background to this, but he’s going to run up against the same buzz saws.”
For all of the concerns, the same official said he hopes Morgan is confirmed if only so the agency has permanent leadership.
Vitiello wouldn’t comment on how he expects Morgan to perform as director or whether he will be able to get confirmed, he said.
“I wish Mr. Morgan the best as he takes the helm,” Vitiello wrote in an email. “The men and women of ICE, and their loved ones, deserve our never ending support. They work each day to protect the homeland, secure our border and ensure integrity of the U.S. immigration and trade systems. Despite the crisis at our border, exacerbated by congressional inaction, they perform their tasks with Integrity, Courage and Excellence.”
