Senate panel approves top DHS official

A Senate panel on Wednesday approved longtime bureaucrat Elaine Duke’s nomination to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee approved Duke’s nomination in a voice vote, sending it to the full Senate. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was the only lawmaker to oppose the nomination.

Duke, a former undersecretary of management at DHS who served under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, took questions from the committee last week at her nomination hearing.

{mosads}When asked about President Trump’s proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall and its costs, Duke promised she would “look at the budget very carefully if confirmed.” She also assured lawmakers that DHS officials are preparing a cost-benefit analysis of such a wall.

Duke also said she was open to using technology, rather than a physical wall as Trump has proposed, if analysis pointed to alternate options as the best way to secure borders.

“I think that we should test things before we deploy them,” Duke said. “We have to test not only are they effective in securing the border but are they sustainable.”

The deputy secretary of Homeland Security is the chief operating officer in charge of DHS.