Janet Napolitano was sworn in yesterday as the nation’s third Secretary of Homeland Security a day after she was confirmed by the Senate and resigned as governor of Arizona.
Napolitano met yesterday afternoon with the heads and acting chiefs of her department’s operating components, commonly referred to as the Gang of Seven. Among those operational chiefs is Ralph Basham, who has been asked to stay on as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
Also remaining with the DHS, at least for a while, are Deputy Secretary Paul Schneider and Under Secretary for Management Elaine Duke. DHS is in the midst of a critical revamp of its procedures and polices for conducting acquisitions (Defense Daily, Jan. 9). Both Schneider and Duke have been instrumental in this effort that began over a year ago.