Infighting inside the Department of Homeland Security has erupted with senior leadership turning on a top border official over what aides described as an excessive office renovation request.
That’s according to a Politico exclusive, which reported Friday that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott is at the center of the internal conflict after he sought approval for a sweeping $2.1 million renovation of his office suite. The request came as the Trump administration continues to press DHS to ramp up deportations and accelerate construction of the border wall.
The proposal included nearly $300,000 for new furniture, more than $86,000 for furniture-related services, and $33,000 for “window treatments, millwork, and equipment,” according to a memo obtained by Politico.
“That request was met with befuddlement by Noem’s team, who were surprised that such an ask was made because they felt the proposed amount of money to spend was excessive, according to the three officials granted anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak to the media,” Politico reported Friday.
“We were like, what? This seems totally insane,” one administration official told the outlet, especially as CBP is expected to relocate its headquarters in the coming years.
While DHS ultimately greenlit roughly $1.9 million of the project for mold remediation, security improvements, and IT infrastructure, about $137,000 worth of cosmetic upgrades was rejected late last year.
But according to Politico, the internal strife runs deeper than office décor.
“As the Trump administration faces internal fallout from the deadly Minneapolis shooting, top DHS political leadership, including Noem and top aide Corey Lewandowski, have told people they’re frustrated that Scott is not delivering results at the speed that they want, according to the three officials,” the report stated, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Finalizing border wall contracts, according to one of the administration officials who spoke to Politico, “should be the focus each and every day, and it’s clearly not. “That’s the president’s priority, that was the president’s campaign promise, and so to not prioritize that as top of the billet is pretty unacceptable.”
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