Nielsen, who served as Kelly’s deputy at Homeland Security before following him to the White House, has experience in disaster response and started a consulting firm that gave her extensive expertise in cybersecurity, a top priority for the department.
In picking Nielsen, Trump passed over potential nominees with close ties to administration officials who favor hard-line efforts to restrict both legal and illegal immigration.
Among the people under consideration, according to a former Homeland Security official, were Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state who is heading Trump’s voter fraud commission and who has been a leader in the immigration-restriction movement, and Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who launched his political career as an anti-immigration mayor.
The decision to go with Nielsen indicates that Kelly, by recommending a top aide and a Homeland Security veteran, was able to exert more influence than Stephen Miller, Trump’s speechwriter and domestic policy advisor, who has pushed measures to severely restrict immigration.