Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who was accused of sabotaging the Trump administration’s deportation operation because of a personal opposition to the plan, has given for years solely to Democratic causes, according to federal records.
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, wrote in an op-ed Monday that the secretary and his wife’s donations only to Democratic politicians and organizations over the past 12 years could explain why McAleenan allegedly leaked a nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid to the media last week, forcing the administration to cancel the extensive undertaking after months of planning.
“He has proven his political leanings in his actions, including his campaign contributions,” Judd wrote in a Fox News op-ed. “By definition, Kevin McAleenan should be considered anti-Trump.”
McAleenan had no giving history until the 2008 presidential election, Federal Election Commission data shows. He made 11 contributions from $100 to $600 totaling $3,000 to then-Sen. Barack Obama between November 2007 and November 2008. One $100 donation was rescinded.
The Trump-appointed Cabinet member gave $67.10 to the DNC Services Corporation/Democratic National Committee in October 2008, then $3,300 to the same entity in November. Two weeks later, that large donation was rescinded, according to Federal Election Commission records.
At the time of the 2007-2009 donations, McAleenan was working for the Department of Homeland Security as U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s area port director at Los Angeles International Airport, his LinkedIn page shows.
In February 2008, he left the public sector and joined the Sentinel HS Group.
McAleenan gave again in late 2008 and early 2009, a total of $300 in two donations to Justin Oberman, a founding member of the Transportation Security Administration who ran as a Democrat to fill the vacant Illinois House seat left behind by Obama’s newly installed White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
McAleenan rejoined Customs and Border Protection in 2010 as deputy assistant commissioner of field operations. He was promoted in 2012 to assistant commissioner.
Federal Election Commission data shows Corina Avalos McAleenan, whom the acting secretary married in 2002, gave a total $888 in two $444 donations to Obama for America and Obama Victory Fund 2012. The assistant commissioner did not give to any person or group that cycle. READ MORE
