Homeland Security Department--Components and Agencies

The Department of Homeland Security is a massive agency. During its first three years of existence, Secretary Ridge and his leadership team were able to complete and define the basic organizational makeup of the department. 

Tom Ridge was followed in office by Michael Chertoff, who formerly served as a U.S. circuit judge and former Department of Justice official. Secretary Chertoff served from February 2005 to January 2009. Upon his election in 2008, President Obama named former governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, to serve as secretary of DHS.

Changes to DHS

When the torch was passed from Ridge to Chertoff, Secretary Chertoff proposed several fundamental changes to the department’s organization. However, the greatest reorganization to DHS in its 10-year history was the result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By any account, Hurricane Katrina was a massive and deadly storm, but it was the failed response that followed which exposed serious cracks that had developed in the nation’s emergency management system and its ability to respond to a catastrophic event.

In the aftermath of the storm, Congress immediately tackled these shortfalls, drafting legislation aimed at patching many of the holes that been exposed and developing new systems that it hoped would reduce overall risk for the future. The resulting legislation, the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act, was signed into law by President Bush on December 2, 2006.

 

 

DHS under the Obama Administration

The Obama Administration is building on past efforts of the Bush Administration to understand and implement a balanced and universal approach to homeland security. This approach is referred to in the initial Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) published in February 2010. This study was conducted to identify and track all the department’s functions and to assess how efficiently its various components are at carrying out these functions in their present form. We will discuss the QHSR process in future lessons.

The Department was headed by Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano from 2009 - 2013. Highlights of her tenure include improvements in response from FEMA, enhanced information sharing in state Fusion Centers, and increased border security.

The Senate confirmed Jeh C. Johnson on December 16, 2013 as DHS Secretary. Mr. Johnson is the fourth person to lead the department since its inception after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  Mr. Johnson was the former general counsel for the Pentagon.

 

DHS under the Trump Administration

The Senate confirmed John F. Kelly as the fifth secretary of Homeland Security on January 20, 2017. Prior to assuming this role, Secretary Kelly served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 45 years. At the time of his retirement in 2016, he was the commander of the United Stated Southern Command.