Federal Agencies, Agency Memos & Announcements

DHS Issues Order Designating the Order of Succession for the Secretary of Homeland Security

11/14/20 AILA Doc. No. 20111737.

On 11/4/20, Peter T. Gaynor, administrator of FEMA, exercised any authority of the position of Acting Secretary that he had to designate an order of succession for DHS Secretary under 6 U.S.C. § 113(g)(2). This order was issued in response to a GAO decision and recent federal court rulings that found that the November 8, 2019, order of succession issued by then-Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan was invalid and that Chad Wolf is not legally eligible to serve in his current role as Acting DHS Secretary.

Per DHS:

Mr. Gaynor’s order re-issued the order of succession established by former Acting Secretary McAleenan on November 8, 2019, and placed the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans above the FEMA Administrator in the order of succession. Once Mr. Gaynor’s order was executed, it superseded any authority Mr. Gaynor may have had under the Federal Vacancy Reform Act and confirmed Acting Secretary Wolf’s authority to continue to serve as the Acting Secretary.

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Cite as AILA Doc. No. 20111737.

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