Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen reiterated Tuesday night that she intends to continue leading the department following reports she threatened to resign from her post last week.
“You are here for the long haul?” Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Nielsen.
“I am, yes ma’am,” Nielsen replied.
The remarks come hours after the secretary again denied reports she considered stepping down following an interaction with President Trump in which she was allegedly chastised over an increase in illegal immigration.
“I have not resigned,” Nielsen responded Tuesday when a reporter asked about her status at DHS as she left a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“I didn’t threaten to resign,” she added.
Last week, a DHS official also pushed back on the reports.
The @nytimes article alleging that the Secretary drafted a resignation letter yesterday and was close to resigning is false. The Secretary is hard at work today on the President’s security-focused agenda and supporting the men and women of @DHSgov.
— Tyler Q. Houlton (@SpoxDHS) May 10, 2018
Ingraham asked Tuesday if the secretary and Trump were now on good terms. Nielsen said the president was “frustrated,” but pointed to Congress as the underlying cause.
“He’s [Trump] frustrated, and rightly so. Can you imagine? Here is the president of the United States saying I want to secure this country, Americans must come first, and Congress is saying we don’t have time, we are busy, we’ve got to go on recess,” Nielsen continued.
