The Homeland Security deputy secretary who was on the outs late last year is back in the department following Kristi Noem’s firing.
Troy Edgar is serving in the same role under Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Politico reported on Monday.
Edgar was sworn in last March, but his working relationship with Noem deteriorated late last year, one Trump administration official and a former DHS official told the outlet. The ex-DHS official said Edgar had essentially been “ousted.”
In January, Donald Trump nominated him as ambassador to El Salvador, but that nomination has now been withdrawn.
“The Admin is withdrawing Troy’s nomination and the withdrawal is expected to be transmitted to the Senate today,” a second administration official told Politico. “Troy never resigned from his DHS position so he was able to return.”
Acting DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told the Daily Beast in a statement: “DHS is fortunate to have Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar continue in his role. He brings valuable knowledge of the Department from the President’s first term when he served as DHS’ Chief Financial Officer. He will play an integral role in helping to make America safe again.”
The Daily Beast has also reached out to the White House and a representative for Noem for comment.
Mullin, in a statement, said Edgar is a “valuable player in the department’s efforts to make America safe again.”
”We are one team united to empower DHS leadership to fulfill the president’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens, secure our borders, protect our cyberspace, and secure our maritime borders,” he told Politico. ”His knowledge of the department makes him a valuable member of our DHS team.”
Edgar, who was CFO from May 2020 until the end of Trump’s first term, did not respond to requests for comment from Politico or the Daily Beast.
Edgar is a Navy veteran, a consultant, and a former City Councilmember and Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, according to his DHS biography. He hosts a podcast called Ameritocracy focused on politics, business and technology.
Noem, after being fired last month and named the special envoy to the newly created Shield of the Americas, has had to contend with scandal in her personal life as well. In addition to having to deny having a rumored relationship with former top aide Corey Lewandowski, Noem claimed she was “blindsided” by a report about her husband, Bryon, crossdressing as a “bimbo” while chatting with and paying adult performers.
The couple has been married since 1992, and has three children.
