DHS Is Not ‘The President’s Personal Militia,’ Tom Ridge Says

On Tuesday, the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took issue with President Donald Trump’s recent use of federal officers to quell riots in Portland, Oregon, and said he would resist unilateral action from the White House if he were still a governor.

Tom Ridge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to head DHS after it was created in the wake of 9/11, told radio host Michael Smerconish, “The department was established to protect America from the ever-present threat of global terrorism. It was not established to be the president’s personal militia.”