The department was also facing a lack of leadership even before Wolf stepped down, days after the siege, in part, he said, because of court rulings that claimed he had been illegally appointed to the position. Customs and Border Protection is led by an interim officer and the Government Accountability Office also issued a report saying that Cuccinelli was illegally appointed to the Department of Homeland Security. On Wednesday, Interim Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jonathan Fahey, resigned after less than a month in office, according to Jenny Burke, an ICE spokesman.
Deputy Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House’s Homeland Security Committee, considered the timing of Wolf’s departure “questionable” because of the department’s responsibility to help secure possession.
“He chose to resign during a period of national crisis and when domestic terrorists may be planning additional attacks on our government,” said Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi.
Wolf was replaced by Peter T. Gaynor, the respected former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Secret Service is leading security planning for the inauguration.
The high ranks of the Department of Justice were also depleted in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol. Under Mr. Barr, the heads of the civil and criminal divisions confirmed by the Senate left amid complaints that Mr. Barr regularly cut off senior officials, including Mr. Rosen, from important decisions and trusted a small circle of advisers on his office a handful of favorite US attorneys, according to five current and former employees.
While Trump punished Barr for not helping to try to overturn the election, he resigned last month, leaving the department in the hands of Rosen, a white-collar lawyer who had never worked in the department before and had no experience as a prosecutor.
And although Mr. Wray was confirmed to head the FBI in 2017, he was hampered by Trump’s blurred view of the bureau. Trump’s decision to allow him to stay was influenced by advisers who said the president could take more legal risks with an FBI director appointed by Biden than if Wray continued, government officials said.