Trump administration officials have grown increasingly frustrated with the Department of Homeland Security’s second in command, Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, and some have discussed replacing him just months after his return to the agency, according to two current and four former DHS officials familiar with the matter.
Edgar, who was on administrative leave from the agency in the winter near the end of the Kristi Noem era, returned in April under DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership. He has quickly exasperated administration officials who say he inserts himself in issues beyond his purview, while not aligning with Mullin’s efforts to move away from a micromanaging leadership style, said three current and three former agency officials.
“He wasn’t the right pick to begin with,” said one of the department officials, who added that some officials were unhappy with his return amid the agency reset under Mullin.
POLITICO spoke to a total of five current and five former DHS officials and another person familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics that they were not authorized to disclose.
Edgar didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
But Mullin remains publicly supportive of Edgar, saying in a statement to POLITICO: “Troy Edgar is a key part of my DHS team. I have the utmost trust and respect in Troy. These unfounded stories and attempts to divide and distract our mission will fail.”
The internal vexation with Edgar highlights the challenges Mullin faces as he tries to steady a department rocked by months of turmoil and leadership changes in the wake of Noem’s ouster in March. Since taking over, he has moved to reshape the agency, undoing controversial Noem-era policies and working to keep bad headlines at bay.
The first agency official who was quoted above said Edgar has meddled in ICE operations just as he did during his first stint, and views deportations as a “logistical exercise like moving packages around the country.” The official also said Edgar has a limited understanding of the deportation process, including complicated immigration courts and appeals. A separate current and two former DHS officials echoed that complaint, saying Mullin’s team has voiced concern that Edgar is not well informed on certain DHS matters.
Mullin has also made a concerted effort to overhaul the department’s management, decentralizing decision-making at DHS. He quickly reversed a much-criticized Noem policy requiring personal approval for contracts worth more than $100,000, and Mullin has repeatedly emphasized the importance of trusting his agency heads to run their departments.
But Edgar’s approach has at times broken with those efforts, said two department officials and three former officials. The first official mentioned above pointed to examples of what they viewed as micromanagement by Edgar, including instances of telling TSA how to deploy its staff instead of deferring to the agency’s leadership. He has also micromanaged operational components of DHS, the five said.
“He has few friends and supporters in the DHS,” said another DHS official.
Mullin, at least publicly, has appeared fond of Edgar. The deputy secretary has accompanied Mullin to several congressional hearings, and just last month, the DHS secretary even praised his No. 2 before the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee, calling Edgar “truly invaluable” to him.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson disputed the story and said that “President [Donald] Trump has total confidence in his DHS team, including Deputy Secretary Edgar.”
Brian Cavanaugh, who has been nominated to be undersecretary for management at DHS, is seen as a potential replacement for Edgar, according to a current and former DHS official as well as another person familiar with the matter. Cavanaugh, viewed as aligned with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, was previously at the Office of Management and Budget before moving to DHS.
Cavanaugh didn’t respond to requests for comment, but at least one person familiar with the matter said he has been approached as a potential replacement for Edgar.
Cavanaugh is not Senate-confirmed yet, but two former DHS officials familiar with the matter said there have been talks that Cavanaugh could move into Edgar’s position once he’s confirmed to an undersecretary role.
In December last year, Trump announced he was nominating Edgar to serve as ambassador to El Salvador, a nomination the White House withdrew this spring. Edgar, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as DHS’ chief financial officer in the first Trump administration and has decades of private-sector executive experience, returned to the agency in April as Mullin’s second-in-command.
Trump had tapped Edgar for the El Salvador gig after his relationship with Noem deteriorated, POLITICO reported in April. His previous departure, which a former official described as an ousting, also came as Noem’s tenure appeared imperiled.
Edgar’s return to DHS this spring faced mixed reviews internally. Edgar was viewed as a familiar face for administration officials who believed the new DHS secretary might benefit from his institutional knowledge of the sprawling department and its processes. Others, however, said it was a poor decision to bring back someone from the Noem era at a time when officials were eager to move forward.
Edgar asked for extra security to beef up his detail last year, a request that was met with raised eyebrows by people working for Noem because they viewed the request as excessive, according to one of the DHS officials and three former department officials. The first official said the extra security was unnecessary because his threat profile is “nonexistent,” while two of the three former officials said Edgar had asked for more than a dozen agents to be part of his detail.
People working for Edgar have recently told colleagues that the deputy secretary is asking again about an ambassadorship, according to two agency officials familiar with the conversations. One of the DHS officials also said that Edgar has been inquiring about being tapped to be ambassador to El Salvador again.
Eric Bazail-Eimil contributed to this report.
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