I have known Kirstjen Nielsen for nearly 30 years. She should resign

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/19/opinions/dhs-secretary-kirstjen-nielsen-must-resign-wierson/index.html


(CNN) I have known Kirstjen Nielsen for nearly 30 years -- since we were both incoming freshman at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, or SFS, in Washington. The program is considered to be a training ground for the diplomats, policymakers and global business leaders of tomorrow. As the school's website says, "SFS undergraduates enter a prestigious program with a legacy of academic excellence combined with a devotion to humanitarian service."

But I, like many Americans, watched in horror as Nielsen, now our nation's Department of Homeland Security secretary, attempted to defend the indefensible at Monday's evening press briefing aimed at defusing the swelling chorus of voices shocked by the images and sounds of children -- some just a few months old -- being torn from their parents' arms by US border security officials.

So much for humanitarian service.

CNN's Chris Cillizza nailed it when he summed up Nielsen's robotic performance at the podium in the White House Briefing Room: "This issue isn't just about dry policymaking. It's about people, too. And Nielsen never even nodded to that fact."

Something just doesn't sit well with the image of a bureaucrat scoffing at a reporter's question about whether separating young immigrant children from their parents constitutes a form of child abuse.

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