DHS NPPD Under Secretary Appointment Announced

President Obama announced yesterday that he intends to appoint Rand Beers as U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). He has been serving as Acting Deputy Secretary during the transition. This would mean that he would be responsible for the Office of Infrastructure Protection that includes supervision of the CFATS program. According to the DHS press release: “Beers brings a long career in national security and law enforcement policy to NPPD. He has served in leadership roles under four Presidents, including as White House/National Security Council Director for Counterterrorism and Counternarcotics; Director for Peacekeeping; Senior Director for Intelligence Programs; Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism; and Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In 2006, Beers founded the National Security Network, a foreign policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from the University of Michigan.”