Kirstjen Nielsen is the current Secretary of Homeland Security, United States. She is a lawyer by profession and was John F. Kelly’s chief of staff when he was Secretary of Homeland Security. Nielsen was also Donald Trump’s Deputy White House Chief of Staff.
Her appointment as Secretary of Homeland Security was confirmed on December 5, 2017. Following the appointment, she pushed through a policy stating that children should be separated from their parents once they are charged with illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.
Kirstjen Nielsen’s biography
Nielson was born on May 14, 1972 in Springs, Colorado to the family of James McHenry Nielsen and Michele Nielsen. Her parents worked as doctors for the US Army. When she was born, the family moved from Colorado Springs to Florida. She has a younger brother named; Fletcher and a younger sister named; Ashley. She is the eldest of three children.
After high school, Nielsen went to GeorgetownSchool of Foreign Service and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1999 she received her PhD from the University of Virginia Law School. She also attended Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, where she studied Japanese Studies.
Professional beginnings
Kirstjen Nielsen was a special assistant to the President during the administration of George W. Bush. She also served as senior director for Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR) at the White House. She served as senior member of the Resilience Task Force on the Committee on Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University.
Nielsen became John F. Kelly’s chief of staff when he took office as Secretary of Homeland Security in January 2017. Eight months later, she transferred to the White House due to her new position as Deputy White House Chief of Staff. She also worked in the White House under John F. Kelly.
Homeland Security career
Kirstjen Nielsen was officially nominated by the President of the United States; Donald Trump as 6th Secretary of Homeland Security on October 11, 2017 replacing Elaine Duke; the previous deputy minister of internal security. Two months later, the United States Senate confirmed her appointment. She was sworn in as Minister of Homeland Security on December 6, 2017.
As Minister of Homeland Security, she is responsible for aviation security, border security, port security, cyber security and maritime security. Their responsibilities also include counterterrorism, administering and enforcing immigration laws, detecting and protecting against biological, chemical and nuclear threats to the homeland.
Nielson became quite popular in the media after it turned out that she was contemplating resigning because President Trump reportedly had some scathing words for her for failing to secure US borders. She also made headlines for refusing to implement Trump’s call for parents of illegal immigrants to be separated from their children while they are in custody. This refusal is said to have created a rift between the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Family – married, husband or spouse
The former special assistant to the president keeps her affairs off camera, especially when it comes to the topic of relationships. It is quite obvious that she is not married yet and has no children. But whether she is dating or engaged to anyone is not yet known. She has consistently managed to keep this information a secret over the years.
A while ago a number of speculations surfaced about her relationship status and it was rumored that she was dating Chad Wolf; the guy she was with at a state dinner in Washington DC. Without further delay, Nielsen contradicted the speculation, stating that Chad Wolf was neither her boyfriend nor a date. In addition, she reiterated that Chad was only her subordinate.