Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke rescinds job acceptance with Department of Homeland Security: Report

Significant delays in the appointment process caused the controversial law enforcement figure to withdraw

Published June 18, 2017 12:06PM (EDT)

Sheriff David Clarke, Jr. (AP/Mark Humphrey)
Sheriff David Clarke, Jr. (AP/Mark Humphrey)

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke rescinded his name from consideration for a role with the Department of Homeland Security, according to the Washington Post.

Late Friday, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. formally notified Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly that he had rescinded his acceptance of the agency’s offer to join DHS as an assistant secretary," Craig Peterson, an adviser to Clarke said, according to the Post. "Sheriff Clarke is 100 percent committed to the success of President Trump and believes his skills could be better utilized to promote the president’s agenda in a more aggressive role."

Last month during an interview Clarke told conservative radio host Vicki McKenna he had accepted the role of deputy secretary. Clarke was scheduled to begin his new job by the end of June but a source with knowledge of the situation told the Post that there were significant delays during the appointment process that led to his withdrawal. 

Clarke has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump since he was on the campaign trail, but Clarke is also a controversial law enforcement figure. Numerous inmates have died in Milwaukee County Jail, and one former inmate was recently awarded $6.7 million after she was repeatedly raped by a guard. Clarke has been a strong critic of the Black Lives Matter movement as well and has blamed them for the rise in tensions between law enforcement and the public throughout the country.

"You see, Black Lives Matter is proving itself to seek only one end — and that is discord, alienation among Americans, rise in hate, and destruction of community bonds," Clarke once wrote in an article for Fox News.

 


By Charlie May

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Black Lives Matter Donald Trump Milwaukee County Jail Sheriff David Clarke Trump Administration