Former Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar – a local face for the anti-sanctuary movement in California – is the new chief financial officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Edgar on Tuesday, May 12, more than a year after President Trump nominated him to oversee the federal agency’s finances. The agency’s budget is $92 billion this year and is slated to be cut to $75.9 billion in the next fiscal year.
“I feel very honored to be asked to contribute to our country at this level by President Trump,” Edgar said.
“I firmly believe that in 10 years from now history will accurately interpret the significance of what is happening during this administration to our economy, personal prosperity, immigration reform and America’s new standing in the world order. I will be very proud to be a small part of it.”
Edgar came to the attention of the Trump administration in 2018, when he was mayor of Los Alamitos and a supporter of a city ordinance in which the town declared itself exempt from SB-54, a California law that limits cooperation between local enforcement and federal immigration agents.
After Los Alamitos’ ordinance was passed, many other California cities passed their own-anti-sanctuary measures. The movement launched Edgar to become a repeat guest on Fox News and other news networks, where he voiced opposition to California’s protection of immigrants who live in the state without documentation.
The Trump administration noticed, and invited Edgar and others who shared his views to the White House to talk about immigration.
Ironically, Edgar’s confirmation for his new role at DHS came a day after Los Alamitos voted to take its anti-sanctuary law off the books.
RELATED: Los Alamitos rescinds anti-sanctuary law after Huntington Beach loses court case
Samuel Pullen, a church pastor in Los Alamitos and head of a community group that sued the city over the anti-sanctuary ordinance, accused Edgar of using his platform as a city official “for his own political advancement.”
Edgar declined Tuesday to address that criticism, saying that Los Alamitos “did what it had to do” to maintain local control over its police department.
Trump tapped Edgar for the job in March of 2019, but the nomination hit a snag three months later when U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, blocked his and one other nomination, tying them to immigration issues. At the time, Rosen said she wanted to see an end to what she called “the inhumane and substandard conditions for children” in migrant detention centers. Rosen pulled her objection in March of this year.
To prepare for the job and avoid conflict-of-interest issues, Edgar was required to temporarily sever ties with two local companies he owns: Global Conductor Construction Corp., which works with telecommunications, electrical and other companies, and Global Conductor Inc., which provides management consulting services.
His new job will pay him $164,000 annually.
Edgar, 53, served on the Los Alamitos council for 12 years, three times as mayor. A U.S. Navy veteran, he also served on other public agency and non-profit boards, including the Orange County Sanitation District and the Casa Youth Shelter in Los Alamitos.
Edgar moved to Washington D.C. in January, when he accepted the interim appointment as associate deputy undersecretary of management for the Department of Homeland Security.
His swearing-in could be as early as Friday.
Source: Orange County Register
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