Kerik nominated as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Thursday, December 2, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Bernard B. Kerik, the police commissioner of the New York Police Department during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to succeed Tom Ridge as the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Kerik resigned as police commissioner two months following the terrorist attacks, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but has since kept a very high profile. Following the invasion of Iraq, he chose to lead the training of Iraqi law enforcement. He campaigned for President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election and delivered a prime time speech at the Republican National Convention.
Among other security qualifications, he has served in the U.S. Army, as narcotics detective in the NYPD and as private security worker in Saudi Arabia.
Kerik faces the daunting task of running the DHS, an agency assembled from 22 other agencies with over 180,000 employees.
Sources
edit- Ex-NYPD Official to Succeed Ridge (Mike Allen and John Mintz; The Washington Post; December 2, 2004)
- Former New York police commissioner to replace Ridge (Shannon McCaffrey; Knight Ridder Newspapers; December 2, 2004)