Associations Add Support for McAleenan Confirmation in Letter to Senate Finance Leaders
Thirteen associations expressed support for the confirmation of CBP commissioner nominee Kevin McAleenan in a letter (here) to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The groups said McAleenan is fully familiar with the ongoing rollout of ACE and regulations drafted pursuant to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. The groups requested that the Senate “expedite” his confirmation process to “solidify the political leadership” of the agency at a time when significant trade enforcement and policy are central to the overall White House agenda. A spokeswoman for the committee's GOP majority didn't comment, but Hatch noted the CBP commissioner vacancy during a committee meeting April 25, and asked for the Trump administration to submit nominees for open trade positions promptly, pledging to move them through his committee "quickly."
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The organizations that signed the letter, including the Airforwarders Association, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, offered to meet with Hatch, Wyden and other Finance members to discuss the confirmation process. “In sum, we believe that Acting Commissioner McAleenan’s performance over the past several years in a variety of roles within CBP gives the trade community confidence in his ability to lead CBP at this important time,” the letter said. The NCBFAA previously offered support for McAleenan (see 1704170014), as did a group of former Department of Homeland Security and CBP officials (see 1704100034).
McAleenan’s previous work advancing CBP’s trade transformation agenda as the agency’s COO, overseeing CBP border security operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and other airport facilities in one of the agency’s largest field commands as area port director of LAX, and his oversight of lawful trade and travel at 329 U.S. ports of entry as assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations makes him well-suited for the CBP commissionership, the groups wrote.