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Napolitano Uses The 'T-Word'

(AP)
As she outlined the priorities for her department at an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill this morning, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told the Senate Judiciary Committee, "the first is to guard against terrorism…that is why the department was set up."

While her statement may seem like an obvious one, it does represent a shift in tone for the secretary who, since being sworn-in as the nation's third Homeland Security chief, has assiduously avoided the nearly constant terror talk of her two predecessors, Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge.

In a January interview, Bob Orr pressed the former Arizona governor on whether or not terrorism would in fact remain the top priority at DHS under her tenure.

"It's a top priority," Napolitano answered.

And in February, at her first appearance before Congress as secretary, Napolitano neglected to even include the 'T-word' in her prepared testimony.

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