PrintUS Secret Service director says he wasn't fired
Don't you just hate it when a liberal narrative falls apart?
Well, not really. And in the case of Secret Service director Randolph "Tex" Alles, who was reportedly fired yesterday, the narrative has gone off the rails.
Conventional wisdom in the last 24 hours has Donald Trump engaged in a "purge" of Homeland Security. No so, says Alles, who stressed the "orderly transition" at DHS.
"No doubt you have seen media reports regarding my 'firing.' I assure you that this is not the case, and in fact was told weeks ago by the administration that transitions in leadership should be expected across the Department of Homeland Security," Alles said in a message to Secret Service agents.
"The president has directed an orderly transition in leadership for this agency and I intend to abide by that direction," Alles said.
Sounds more like a reorganization than a "purge" to me. But then, "purge" is so much more dramatic, don't you think?
The president doesn't like the direction DHS is taking.
Neither Trump nor the White House has explained the overhaul of DHS, but the president's anger over a recent surge in migrants from Central America has been well documented. The DHS oversees immigration and border security.
The Republican president made stopping illegal immigration a centerpiece in his run for office in 2016, promising to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico. Trump has said he will make border security a key part of his campaign for re-election in 2020.
Senior senators from both parties said they were concerned about a vacuum in leadership at the agency, which also oversees the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration, among other critical functions.
A bureaucracy like DHS pretty much runs itself, so a "vacuum in leadership" doesn't exist. At least, it won't exist for very long. Meanwhile, the paper keeps flowing, paychecks are paid, and those in temporary positions of leadership are still protecting the country.
I guess it just goes to show that the press can gin up hysteria and outrage over just about anything.
