“He is the president. What he says is important,” Wolf said in an interview with CNN. “People listen to you – especially your supporters, I would say, really listen to you – so there is responsibility in that.”
“I was disappointed that the president didn’t speak out before. I think he had a role to do that. I think, unfortunately, the government lost some of the high morale in this issue because it didn’t speak out about him before,” he said on Wednesday Trump fair not readily condemning the violence.
Wolf told CNN that he would like to see more of the president in terms of calling for non-violent protests.
“[I]If you are going to protest, do it in a very non-violent way. I would like him to speak, for him to say this and only that, “said Wolf.” And that is the message that takes the day. ”
High-ranking lawmakers and advisers had been pleading with the president to issue such a declaration as they prepared for members of their own party to vote for impeachment.
Wolf, who adhered to those calls on Wednesday, said his decision to step down earlier than planned was in part due to the most recent court case that challenged his authority to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
“While I talked to the lawyers, we talked to the Ministry of Justice and others, there was no, there was no light at the end of the tunnel, there was no way to really fight it,” he said.
Wolf’s legitimacy has been a struggle for the department, which had a leadership carousel under the Trump administration, and the issue threatened to undermine the policies and other actions implemented during his tenure.
Last Thursday, it was revealed that the White House withdrew Wolf’s official nomination for secretary, raising concerns among DHS officials about whether Wolf could stay legally, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Since resigning from the top job, Wolf has remained in the department to close.
He told CNN on Wednesday that he wanted to leave the department in “the best possible hands”.
“I wanted to make sure that they had an interim secretary who could make certain decisions. In the last eight days alone, many decisions need to be made, either internally or externally. I didn’t want all of those decisions to be litigated, “said Wolf.
Earlier this week, Homeland Security House Speaker Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, called the moment of Wolf’s resignation “questionable”, citing concerns about the legality of his appointment. Representative Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, accused Wolf of “running away” from his responsibilities, but said the immediate issue was to deal with the widespread domestic terrorism event that “was born last week.”
Wolf dismissed concerns that his departure so close to a major national event could impact security, saying that “it is an operational exercise at the moment.
“The acting secretary has very little role in this other than establishing some policy, make sure that other agencies in the Cabinet are doing their part, which is true. “
He said the police are concerned about possible attacks on easy targets in the next few days, as officials strengthen central Washington for the inauguration.
“Individuals who want to be violent, who want to solve the problem with their own hands. They are looking for easy targets, they are not looking for difficult targets. And then, obviously, the concern is that DC will be hardened, where? Will they go? ” Wolf said, pointing to the massive security presence taking place in the capital.
In one of his last acts as interim secretary, Wolf authorized the start date for the designation of the Special National Security Event to be moved to January 13 from January 19. The designation, which places the US Secret Service as the lead agency, allows for a higher level of security and greater coordination of law enforcement. The department wanted all means of law enforcement in place for the weekend and any meetings allowed, he said.
Wolf said he was “very confident about the police’s ability to ensure that possession is as secure and protected as it can be.”
On Tuesday, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, asked DHS to immediately add the “rebels” who invaded Capitol to the Transportation Security Administration’s air exclusion list. Schumer said he talked to FBI director Christopher Wray twice in the past few days.
Wolf, who was involved in establishing the TSA, rejected the idea of adding the people involved in the riot to the air exclusion list. “This is a very slippery slope, when it comes to Americans, it is a very slippery slope,” he said, arguing that people arrested for violent acts during the protests this summer would also need to be added to the list.
He said adding people to the list is a “very serious issue” that must be carefully considered.
This story was updated with additional details from the interview.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this story.