Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is now facing criticism from both sides of the aisle following the near-disaster over Detroit last week. New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, wrote a letter to Napolitano this week calling on her to step down. He said Napolitano, an attorney and former Arizona governor, does not have the experience for the post she is in.
“We should have someone who doesn’t need to go in there and learn about terrorism, learn about security,” Codey told Fox News. “How close were these 300 people on this plane from losing their lives because homeland security broke down? Boy, it was really close.”
Republicans have expressed great concern over Napolitano’s mindset and capabilities since her appointment to lead a department of 200,000 employees and a $50 billion budget. Her claim that acts of war and terrorism should be viewed as “man caused disasters” revealed a dramatic shift in governmental approaches to terrorism under the Obama administration.
Napolitano’s astounding observation that “the system worked” following the botched airline bombing on Christmas Day has resulted in many lawmakers calling for President Obama to fire her immediately. In an interview with CNN’s Candy Crowley, Napolitano proclaimed, “The traveling public is very, very safe in this air environment.” An astonished Crowley pointed out it is unfathomable for citizens to feel safe when the passenger screening methods in place clearly are not working.
President Obama is in a corner on this one. He has no choice but to remove Napolitano immediately. Already suffering plummeting approval numbers, he simply cannot afford any more embarrassments over the somewhat bi-partisan issue of homeland security. Allowing Napolitano to stay would be a political nightmare for him.
