Cavanaugh previously served as the associate director of OMB’s Homeland Security Division.
President Trump is expected to tap former senior Office of Management and Budget official Brian Cavanaugh to serve as Under Secretary of Management at the Department of Homeland Security, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
If selected for the influential role, Cavanaugh would serve under newly-confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the department’s deputy secretary in overseeing the department’s vast workforce, multi-billion-dollar budget, security programs, and procurement protocols. National Review reported last weekend that Troy Edgar, whom Trump recently named U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador and who served as deputy secretary under Noem, is Mullin’s preferred pick for deputy secretary.
Like Mullin and other senior immigration enforcement officials, DHS’s new under secretary of management will face high expectations on the management front following former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s scandal-plagued tenure. The role is a Senate-confirmed position.
Pressed on Cavanaugh’s prospective nomination, a White House official said: “We have no DHS personnel announcements to share at this time.”
Cavanaugh’s wealth of experience makes him a strong fit for the role, sources say. He recently served as the associate director of OMB’s Homeland Security Division and has deep experience in homeland and national security related roles across government, including stints as special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council during Trump’s first term.
He has also previously served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) chief liaison for appropriations and budget, as executive director for Strategic Planning and Integration for DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, as and as preparedness officer for FEMA’s Protection and National Preparedness Directorate. He worked at the international strategic advisory firm Global Strategies LLC and was also previously a member of the Vandenberg Coalition’s advisory board until he left to join the second Trump administration.
Benjamine C. Huffman, the director of DHS’s Federal Law Enforcement Centers, is currently performing the official duties as acting Under Secretary for Management. Cavanaugh and DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
Editor’s note: This story previously said that he currently served at OMB. He no longer serves in that office.