McAleenan says DHS doesn’t have resources to fight rising white supremacy

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacks the necessary resources to fight rising white supremacy across the U.S., acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Tuesday.  

McAleenan said on CBS “This Morning” that “we need [to] invest more, no question.” 

“We do need a better effort to coordinate that at the headquarters level. And that’s what I’ve directed. I’d like to triple the staff we have available to address this and coordinate the intelligence side of it at the headquarters level, as well as investing in those grants and efforts that are going to help communities prepare for these kind of incidents,” he said. 

{mosads}McAleenan on Tuesday also pushed back on accusations that the Trump administration is not responding aggressively to the threat of white supremacist attacks. 

“I think we are responding aggressively. The president gave us a very clear call to action, tasked the Department of Justice with a number of different steps,” he said.

McAleenan pointed to active shooter training and cybersecurity training as steps the department is taking to prevent the attacks.  

The department’s Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Protection, however, reportedly has about the quarter of the staff and an eighth of the budget of a similar Obama administration program.  

The comments come after at least 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday. The accused shooter is alleged to have written a white nationalist manifesto ahead of the attack.

Many Democrats have been quick to draw parallels between the purported white supremacist attacks and President Trump’s rhetoric. 

“Do you think rhetoric on a national scale by a figure of the president’s stature contributes to the problem?” CBS host Anthony Mason asked McAleenan on Tuesday. 

“I think we’ve got a responsibility to call out hate in all of its forms, and white supremacist extremism is a critical element that we’re trying to address. I think the president was very clear on that yesterday,” he responded.