Former DHS chief Jeh Johnson tells CBS News the department has become "overly politicized"
In an exclusive interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the agency has become "overly politicized." Johnson, who served under former President Barack Obama, spoke to O'Donnell Monday at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
"I have to say I view the agency with a fair amount of despair and dismay. I think our old agency has become overly politicized," Johnson said. "It is overwhelmed with the immigration mission, which is itself overly politicized, very, very emotional. Such that the American public often forgets that DHS is there day-to-day to protect the American Homeland, and to protect the people, land, sea, and air and in cyberspace. And those are missions around which politics should matter very little."
In addition to Johnson, O'Donnell also spoke with former Homeland Security Secretaries Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano. It was the first time the three former secretaries sat down for an interview together.
Watch more of O'Donnell's interview with Johnson, Chertoff and Napolitano on Monday, September 9, on the "CBS Evening News" at 6:30 p.m. ET.
