Claire M. Grady is a former American government official who served in areas of national defense and security procurement. She served as the

Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Under Secretary, as head of the Management Directorate at DHS, is the principal staff assistant an ...

, as well as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from August 2017 until April 2019. Prior to assuming her the role, she served as director of defense procurement and acquisition policy at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. In her previous capacity in the U.S. Department of Defense, Grady was a member of the

Defense Acquisition Board The Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) is the senior advisory board for defense acquisitions in the Department of Defense of the United States. The board is chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and include ...

. In her role at the Department of Defense, Grady provided advice on matters related to the procurement of major weapon and automated information systems and leads policy for services acquisition. She oversaw the department's contingency, domestic, and international contract policy in areas including competition, leasing, multiyear contracting, source selection, warranties, and e-business. She previously served as the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

's deputy assistant commandant for acquisition, director of acquisition services, and head of contracting activity. She was also director of strategic initiatives for the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Chief Procurement Officer.

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump, and was ...

submitted her resignation as secretary of

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

on April 7, 2019, after a White House meeting with President Trump, two days after the President announced he wanted to go in a "tougher" direction on immigration. She had cut short a week-long trip to Europe where she was going to discuss cybersecurity and terror threats with senior UK and Swedish government officials. Trump also had tweeted, on April 7, that

Kevin McAleenan Kevin Kealoha McAleenan (born September 5, 1971) is an American attorney and government official who 2019–2020 Department of Homeland Security appointment disputes, unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security f ...

, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, would become acting secretary.) Trump announced that intention following the resignation of Nielsen on April 7, 2019. Legally, under 6 U.S.C. §113(g), the role would have fallen to then-Acting Deputy Secretary Grady. That succession was made legal after Trump forced Grady, the next in line, to resign on April 9. In a tweet, Nielsen had said that she had agreed to remain in her position until April 10, 2019 "to assist with an orderly transition and ensure that key DHS missions are not impacted." On Tuesday, April 9, 2019, Nielsen announced that Grady resigned effective April 10.

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* Living people National Defense University alumni Trinity University (Texas) alumni Trump administration personnel University System of Maryland alumni Year of birth missing (living people) United States Deputy Secretaries of Homeland Security {{US-gov-bio-stub