United States Secretary of Homeland Security

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The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It did not, however, include the FBI or the CIA.

Inclusion in the Presidential Line of Succession

Traditionally, the order of the presidential line of succession is determined (after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate) by the order of the creation of the cabinet positions, and is mandated as such under .

On March 9, 2006, President Bush signed as , which renewed the Patriot Act and amended the Presidential Succession Act to include the Secretary of Homeland Security in the line of succession after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (§ 503). In the 109th Congress, legislation was introduced to place the Secretary of Homeland Security into the line of succession after the Attorney General but that bill expired at the end of the 109th Congress and has not been re-introduced.

List of Secretaries of Homeland Security

Prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, there existed an Assistant to the President for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Office was led by Tom Ridge, then John A. Gordon, and is presently led by Michael Chertoff.

No.		Secretaries of Homeland Security	Term	President(s) served under
1		Tom Ridge	January 24, 2003 – February 1, 2005	George W. Bush
		James Loy, acting	February 1, 2005 – February 15, 2005
2		Michael Chertoff	February 15, 2005 – present

Order of succession

The order of succession for the Secretary of Homeland Security is as follows:

1. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
2. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs
3. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management
4. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Policy)
5. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
6. General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security
7. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration)
8. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
9. Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
10. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
11. Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
12. Chief Financial Officer
13. Regional Administrator, Region V, Federal Emergency Management Agency
14. Regional Administrator, Region VI, Federal Emergency Management Agency
15. Regional Administrator, Region VII, Federal Emergency Management Agency
16. Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal Emergency Management Agency
17. Regional Administrator, Region I, Federal Emergency Management Agency

References

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Last updated on Wednesday July 16, 2008 at 14:00:39 PDT (GMT -0700)
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