President Obama’s choice for Homeland Security Secretary is coming under fire from progressive groups.
Jeh Johnson, who served on the national finance committee of Obama’s 2008 campaign, will be considered by a Senate panel next week.
“I oppose any person who has called for the criminal prosecution of whistleblowers who have blown the whistle on some of the nation’s biggest scandals, including mass secret surveillance and torture,” whistleblower attorney Jesselyn Radack said in a statement. “Appointing an official so opposed to civil liberties is an antithetical move that typifies all that’s wrong with politics today.”
“As the Pentagon lawyer who provided the legal justification for the US drone program, Jeh Johnson has been complicit in a policy that has fueled anti-American sentiment and jeopardized our national security. Why would we want someone like that to head the Department of Homeland Security?” CODEPINK founder Medea Benjamin asked in the group’s statement.
Johnson has contributed more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates and groups in the last decade.
The Obama administration’s expansive drone strikes have presented a liability to the administration within its progressive base.