• Editor’s note: With the Mueller Report now out, this April 12th opinion by The Seattle Times editorial board is more important than ever for Congressional oversight functions of the Executive Branch to be performed on this topic.

By The Seattle Times editorial board

“Only one word applies to what President Donald Trump has been doing to the Department of Homeland Security: Purge.

“DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen: Asked to resign. Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady: Resigned. Secret Service Director Randolph D. Alles: Gone. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting chief Ronald Vitiello: Nomination withdrawn.

“Rumors swirl that more departures are imminent — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services chief L. Francis Cissna and Homeland Security General Counsel John M. Mitnick are reportedly on borrowed time.

“Even normally steadfast allies of the president are sounding the alarm about the unprecedented upheaval at the massive department that oversees nearly every aspect of domestic security and emergency response, from the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard to the U.S. Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“The purge appears to be one more Trumpian temper tantrum over a spike in the number of illegal border crossings and asylum-seekers to levels not seen in more than a decade.” Read more