DHS Chief of Staff Kristie Canegallo will be designated by President Biden as the Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told staff today.
Deputy Homeland Security Secretary John Tien, who was confirmed 60-34 in the United States Senate in June 2021, announced that he will be retiring on July 20.
“As @SecMayorkas says, ‘when we serve, we all serve.’ After 26 years of federal service & living apart from family for 2 years, I will return to Atlanta to rejoin them. Thanks to the DHS team — with honor & integrity, safeguarding the American people, our homeland & our values,” Tien tweeted Tuesday. “I am grateful for the over 200 employee engagements, across country and world, with the dedicated @DHSgov team.”
“At every outpost or office, on boat decks or flight pads, and inside every operation or command center, you are doing what’s best for America. I am proud to call you teammates. #WeAreDHS,” he added.
Canegallo, who joined DHS in January 2022, will assume her new role on July 21, following Tien’s retirement.
“She has helped oversee our Department across its wide-ranging missions and organizational lines of effort. Most recently, she has led work across DHS with our Agency leaders and interagency partners in preparation for the return to Title 8 processing at our Southwest Border,” Mayorkas said in his message to the workforce. “She is an exceptional leader, manager, and colleague, equally comfortable with the toughest strategic challenges and the most nuanced operational details. Kristie, like Deputy Secretary Tien and me, views her primary responsibility as helping enable each of you to do your best work.”
Prior to joining DHS, Canegallo was Google’s Vice President of Trust & Safety from 2018-2021, where she led the global team that developed and enforced Google’s product policies to keep people safe while using Google products.
From 2005 through 2017, Canegallo served in a range of domestic policy, national security, and management roles in the Bush and Obama-Biden Administrations, concluding as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation from 2014-2017. As Deputy Chief of Staff, she directed the execution of some of the U.S. Governments most complex issues; her areas of focus included the Affordable Care Act and health care, immigration, and cybersecurity. From 2008-2012, Canegallo served on the National Security Council staff as Director for Defense Policy and later Senior Advisor to the Deputy National Security Advisor. Prior to that, she worked at the Department of Defense as a civilian, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Leaders across our Department, from every Agency and Office, have worked closely with Kristie since she began her tenure as the Chief of Staff more than 18 months ago,” Mayorkas said. “We know through experience how fortunate the Department and all of us are that she will serve as our Acting Deputy Secretary. She brings a pragmatic, problem-solving mindset and a singular focus on our mission. I am grateful and eager for all of you to have the same opportunity to learn that firsthand.”
