Katko, at border, mixed on Biden security picks | News

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. John Katko is giving mixed opinions to a pair of nominees set to guide two of the nation’s most distinguished security businesses because the congressman once more visited the southern border.

Katko, in his fourth time period, is the highest-ranking Republican in Congress on issues of homeland security and has performed an more and more distinguished position this session as a critic of Biden’s immigration and security insurance policies. The Camillus native and former federal prosecutor this week stated two decisions by the White House to move highly effective federal departments confirmed mixed, and in his opinion flawed, priorities.

Biden on Monday introduced the nomination of former U.S. Army officer and National Security Agency (NSA) veteran Jen Easterly to function director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), a transfer Katko applauded.

“I’m inspired to see the intent to appoint a director for the helm of our nation’s lead federal civilian cybersecurity company,” Katko stated. “Ms. Easterly brings substantial credibility and a fame of working productively between authorities and the non-public sector to extend the cybersecurity resilience of the nation.”

Cybersecurity has been a prioritiy for Katko since his first day representing Oswego, Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties in Washington, but additionally pointed to 2 latest occasions — the “SolarWinds” cyber marketing campaign and compromise of a Microsoft electronic mail server — as proof the nation is “at a crossroads in our technique.”

“I proceed to name on President Biden to help desperately-needed modifications to permit CISA extra centralized, real-time visibility into everything of the civilian .gov and put CISA on a a lot wanted path to turning into a $5 billion company,” Katko stated. “I sit up for working with Ms. Easterly to make sure that CISA has the assets, workforce and authorities it wants to hold out its mission.”

At the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday close to McAllen, Texas with different Republican members of Congress, Katko struck a decidedly completely different tone in reacting to the nomination of Tuscon Police Chief Chris Magnus for the place of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner. It’s the second time since January that Katko has visited the border.

“It is extraordinarily discouraging to see a nominee for Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection who has vocally opposed the productive and commonsense border security insurance policies of the final administration,” Katko stated.

Magnus, a lifelong lawman who has served because the chief of police for Arizona’s second-largest metropolis since 2016, penned an op-ed for the New York Times in 2017 pushing again towards then-Attorney General Jeff Session’s aggressive immigration insurance policies.

“As the police chief right here, I’m deeply troubled by the Trump administration’s marketing campaign towards ‘sanctuary cities,’ which refuse to show over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities,” Magnus wrote. “Washington is attempting to retaliate towards them by withholding funding for issues like crime prevention, drug remedy and psychological well being applications.”

Katko has levied blame for points at the border squarely on Biden’s administration.

“Right now, border patrol brokers and assets are overwhelmed and overextended,” Katko stated. “They are being pulled off vital nationwide security traces to help processing the overflow of migrants at amenities. There is just a lot pressure these border patrol brokers might be positioned below.”

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