Chad Wolf Steps Down at DHS After Capitol Attack Shakes the Transition

Chad Wolf said on January 11, 2021, that he was stepping down as acting Homeland Security secretary, with the resignation taking effect at 11:59 p.m. that night. The timing put the departure in the immediate wake of the assault on the Capitol, when federal agencies were already facing questions about how the attack was handled and who was responsible for the security failure. democrats-homeland.house.gov The resignation mattered because Homeland Security sits at the center of the federal government’s response to threats ranging from terrorism and cyberattacks to border security and major emergencies. Wolf’s exit left the department moving through the final days of the Trump administration with another leadership change at a moment when continuity was in short supply. A January 11 order from Wolf also set out the department’s succession list, underscoring how much of the leadership structure was being managed on an acting basis. dhs.gov Congressional Democrats seized on the departure as evidence of deeper problems inside the department. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wolf had been serving illegally and argued that his resignation came during a national crisis. Separate committee statements pointed to broader concerns about the Trump administration’s use of DHS and the legality of some of its senior appointments. democrats-homeland.house.gov The resignation did not resolve the questions around the Capitol attack, but it did add another turnover point to a department already under strain as the Biden transition approached. With the order of succession reset and a new administration only days away, the practical question was less whether DHS could project stability than how the department would carry authority through the handoff. dhs.gov