DHSSenate confirms Jeh Johnson as new DHS secretary

Democrats yesterday (Monday) used the newly established lower threshold for ending filibusters to assure Senate confirmation of Jeh Johnson, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be DHS secretary.

The Democrats, on a 57-37 vote, ended GOP procedural efforts to block Johnson before the Senate, minutes later, confirmed him on a 78-16 vote.

Before the Democratic majority last month changed the Senate’s filibuster cloture threshold on certain presidential nominations, it would have required sixty votes to end a filibuster and bring the Johnson nomination for a final vote.

The Boston Herald reports that about 40 percent of the senior leadership positions at DHS are now vacant, and Johnson said filling those posts was among his top priorities.

In a statement, Obama praised the Senate for confirming Johnson, calling him “a critical member of my national security team.”

“And he helped to shape some of our most successful national security policies and strategies,” the president added.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) questioned Johnson’s experience for heading the department. “I’m not saying he’s not a good man, but he’s not a good choice for this,” Sessions said.

On Friday, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said he was also troubled by the fact that Johnson did not answer all the questions about immigration policy during his confirmation process.

Johnson, a multimillionaire lawyer, has served for two years in the U.S. attorney’s office in New York between 1989 and 1991 and as general counsel of the Department of the Air Force under President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001.

He was the Defense Department’s general counsel until 2012, when he returned to private practice.