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Statement on DHS nominee Kirstjen Nielsen

Statement to the Rachel Maddow Show from Blain Rethmeier, who is assisting DHS nominee Kirstjen Nielsen

Statement to The Rachel Maddow Show from Blain Rethmeier, who is assisting Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Kirstjen Nielsen in her confirmation process:

“Ms. Nielsen’s role in the response to Katrina has been vastly overstated by the media.  As a policy director, she was responsible for coordinating policy and information flow. After she left the White House, she took the lessons of Katrina and put them to good use.  First she worked with Fran Townsend to draft the Katrina Lessons Learned Review that objectively looked at many of the flaws in the state, local and federal response. Second, she worked with members on the Hill to draft the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act that radically improved the way the Federal Government is structured to respond to major disasters. And finally, she worked to develop the National Response Framework, from which all major disasters are addressed.”