The Daily Fuckup

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said on Jan. 11, 2021, that he would step down effective late that day, closing out a stint that had already been battered by legal and political fights. The announcement came in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as the Trump administration was still trying to steady itself and prepare for the handoff to President-elect Joe Biden.

Homeland Security is one of the federal government’s key security posts, with a portfolio that includes domestic threats, election security and the mechanics of a presidential transition. Wolf’s departure left one less senior official in place during a week when the administration was already under intense scrutiny over the riot and its aftermath.

The same day, House lawmakers introduced H.Res. 24, the article of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of inciting insurrection. The resolution moved forward on Jan. 11 and was adopted two days later, on Jan. 13, by a vote of 232-197.

The two events shared a date, not a chain of custody. Wolf’s resignation was part of the broader post-Jan. 6 disorder inside the administration, while the impeachment article followed its own track through the House. Put together, they marked a government still reacting in real time to the assault on the Capitol and its political consequences.