Setback for Trump: Court of Auditors declares appointment of US ministers illegal

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Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. That could have consequences for the minister

In order to bypass the confirmation of the Senate, US President Donald Trump regularly appoints politicians to ministerial positions. With this practice, Trump has now suffered a setback. As the Court of Auditors (Government Accountability Office) has now decided, this practice violates federal law.

Specifically, it is about the appointment of the incumbent Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and his deputy Kenneth Cuccinelli. After an investigation, the Court of Auditors concluded that both were wrongly appointed to their offices.

After the resignation of Homeland Security Minister Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019, Trump's preferred candidate Kevin McAleenan took over responsibility for internal security in the USA as acting minister. According to the Court of Auditors, a successor by the Director of the Computer Security Authority (CISA) would be required by law.

Trump "likes acting"

According to the rules introduced by McAleenan, Wolf was appointed as acting minister in November 2019, and later Cuccinelli as his deputy. Trump had defended the practice of only ever promoting executive ministers who did not have the full authority of a minister confirmed by the Senate. "I like acting. It gives you great flexibility," he said.

In the US, the majority of the Senate usually has to approve the appointment of ambassadors, cabinet members, and some top officials and judges. The Court of Auditors had not checked the conduct of Wolf and Cuccinelli's office, the appeals were illegal, it said. The matter will now be handed over to the responsible body in the Ministry of Homeland Security for examination.

The parliamentary group leader of the opposition Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, demanded the immediate resignation of the two ministers after the findings of the audit office. He also called on the Department of Homeland Security to investigate any decision made during Wolf and Cuccinelli's tenure. 

Ministry established after September 11th

The Department of Homeland Security was set up in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It corresponds to a Department of Homeland Security, while the US Department of the Interior deals mostly with the national parks and public land. Many different government agencies are grouped together in the huge "Homeland Security" device, with a total of around 240,000 employees.

The agency has a central role in the Trump-driven fight against illegal immigration. Under McAleenan, the number of illegal border crossings from Mexico to the United States had fallen significantly. One of Trump's most important campaign promises was to curb illegal migration - among other things, he promised to build a wall on the border at Mexico's expense. He could not even begin to fulfill this promise.

hba / dpa