The tumult has even extended to the White House’s search to find a leader for a sprawling agency of more than 240,000 employees, a search that does not appear to be over. Even when Mr. Wolf is officially named as acting secretary, he is not expected to be nominated to the position, according to two administration officials.
Some in the administration have pushed for an acting secretary who displays the same aggressive messaging that Mr. Trump looks for when choosing officials to lead the agencies in the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for enforcing Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda.
While Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, and Ken Cuccinelli II, who oversees legal immigration, have taken that tack, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel recommended that appointing either of them would violate a federal statute that determines the rules of succession for cabinet positions.
The White House had explored a way to work around the statute by appointing a potential candidate for the top job to lead homeland security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is waived from the same Senate approval requirements. But reports of the move prompted backlash from Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
The president’s aides have told him that Mr. Wolf would be a legally safer pick.
As Ms. Nielsen’s chief of staff, Mr. Wolf helped enforce the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy to prosecute families who crossed the border illegally, which led to thousands of children being separated from their parents. Many of those children are still separated from their families.
Mr. Wolf is viewed by Stephen Miller, the White House adviser and the chief architect of the president’s border policies, as someone who can reliably put into effect his immigration agenda, according to administration officials.
Before joining the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Wolf worked as a lobbyist representing companies aiming to sell products to the Department of Homeland Security.