The Senate on Thursday confirmed by voice vote Gil Kerlikowske, John Roth and Suzanne Spaulding to fill the vacant positions of Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Inspector General and under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) respectively.
Spaulding previously was serving as the acting under secretary for NPPD and before that was the deputy under secretary of the directorate.
“As the acting under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directors, she has brought a direct and engaged management approach to some of the department’s most important missions and she is well prepared to fill the role permanently,” Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), the ranking member on the committee, said in a statement that Spaulding’s “previous experience at the department also makes her an asset in improving cyber security for the federal government’s own critical IT systems, something that is long overdue.”
NPPD is responsible for securing the nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyber attacks.
Roth will be filling an Inspector General’s position that has been vacant for three years.
“It is vital to have a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader in this office to ensure that it has the authority and legitimacy needed to conduct comprehensive investigations,” Carper said.
Kerlikowske is a former chief of police in Seattle and most recently served as director of National Drug Control in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He has also served as police commissioner in Buffalo, N.Y.