Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar,” has a post that does not need Senate approval and could have less oversight by Congress, experts say.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to carry out his sweeping deportation plans may be able to operate with more power, and less oversight from Congress, than some of his own Cabinet members.
That’s because the appointee, former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan, will not be put directly in charge of the Department of Homeland Security or a sub-agency tasked with addressing immigration issues.
Homan will instead be the Trump administration’s “Border Czar”, a title that could grant him significant influence over immigration and border policy without the formal authority — and guardrails — that come with being a Cabinet secretary.
Trump announced Homan’s selection in a Sunday night post on his Truth Social platform, putting the immigration hard-liner “in charge of our Nation’s Borders.”
Homan will also “be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin”, Trump wrote in the post.
Unlike Cabinet nominees — or the roughly 1,200 other federal roles that require Senate confirmation — Homan will not need congressional approval to serve under Trump. And he may be insulated from other forms of Legislative Branch scrutiny, experts told CNBC.
“White House appointees are subject to less oversight than Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials”, said Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst for the Project on Government Oversight.
“It is much harder for Congress to enforce subpoenas against White House officials, and they are more likely to cite executive privilege and refuse to testify and have that refusal upheld by courts”, Hawkins said.
Those staffers may lack the formal authorization of Congress, but that does not necessarily mean they are subordinate to their Senate-confirmed counterparts.
