A number of former Trump administration officials top the list of potential appointees and nominees for new positions within President-elect Donald Trump’s forthcoming second term, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Sources close to the transition process and who have advised the Trump campaign this cycle on immigration issues told the Washington Examiner on Friday that Trump is keeping loyal homeland security hawks close and considering where to place them in the government come Jan. 20, 2025.
Department of Homeland Security secretary
Tom Homan, the former acting director of the Department of Homeland Security agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was a top name for DHS secretary as of late last week — until Trump announced late Sunday evening that he would make Homan his “border czar.”
“[Homan] is going to be great. He’s going to be one of the most no bulls*** guys we’ve had. I think he’s going to have overwhelmingly the support of DHS employees,” said the first source, who had spoken with transition team officials and candidates.
Trump announced late Sunday evening that he would make Homan responsible for the southern border, northern border, coastal and air borders.
“I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” Trump wrote in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social.
“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” said Trump. “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”
Homan’s appointment means he will not need to get Senate confirmation, avoiding an ugly and potentially difficult process given Homan’s loyalty to Trump through the years. As a czar, Homan will advise the president on border issues and be the point-person on related matters.
Homan retired as acting director of ICE in June 2018 and has continued to speak out on the issue, hopping back and forth on TV networks, talking up the better days of the Trump administration’s border management and bashing the Biden-Harris administration’s record-high illegal immigration crisis.
Homan originally planned to retire from his post atop ICE in January 2017, when Trump first took office. However, then-DHS Secretary John Kelly asked Homan on the day of his retirement party to stay on until a replacement could be found, and Homan agreed.
A replacement was never found and Homan stayed on nearly a year and a half longer before retiring from government service.
Other names that have been floated are House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), who led the charge to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this year. Mark Morgan, who led U.S. Customs and Border Protection under Trump, and Chad Wolf, the former acting DHS secretary, are also possible contenders after remaining loyal to Trump in the years since he left office.
Wolf told NewsNation’s The Hill on Thursday evening that he would be “happy” to serve “if” Trump wanted to nominate him again.
“I think it’s an honor to do that, not only for the president, but for the country. So happy to serve if needed,” said Wolf.
Trump has made border enforcement a top priority for his second term and has pledged to start mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
US Customs and Border Protection
At the top of the list for CBP is Rodney Scott. Scott was the chief of the Border Patrol under Trump and Biden before Biden forced out Scott five months into his term.
Scott left in June 2021 in a move that was “completely driven by politics,” according to one person familiar with the internal dealings. The 29-year law enforcement veteran was a martyr after being put out to sea by the Biden-Harris administration and took on a visiting fellow role at the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, Texas.
The position requires Senate confirmation. Biden failed to get a Senate-confirmed leader at CBP. A career official, Troy Miller, has led CBP on an acting basis since Biden nominee Chris Magnus resigned under pressure from the post in 2022.
The job would be a promotion for Scott, who led the 20,000-employee Border Patrol, which is one of several smaller organizations within CBP. CBP is responsible for inspecting people and goods entering the United States by air, land, and sea.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Retired supervisory special agent at ICE, Victor Avila, is being floated as the head of the agency. Avila retired from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations arm and then ran for the Republican nominee in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District but was defeated by incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX).
Avila authored Agent Under Fire: A Murder and a Manifesto, a book about a 2011 incident in which Mexican cartel members ambushed the southern border, laying out his strategy for border security.
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He is a regular on conservative TV networks and holds the world record for the longest handgun shot.
Avila and Homan did not respond to requests for comment.