Tom Ridge Homeland Security Department Established: 2002 2003 Budget: $25.4 billion Full-time Employees: 170,000 Rumsfeld's Salary: $171,900 Web Site: www.whitehouse.gov/homeland No Grade Given Back To Overview And Other Cabinet Grades

National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 24, 2003

Less than a month after the September 11 attacks, Tom Ridge parachuted into Washington at President Bush's request armed only with a new and amorphous mandate to protect the American public through something called the Office of Homeland Security. The former Pennsylvania governor was suddenly immersed in a new and scary world of hijacked airplanes, anthrax-tainted letters, and potential attacks by terrorists unleashing nuclear weapons, "dirty" radioactive bombs, truck bombs, smallpox, cyber-sabotage, and brands of terrorism he hadn't yet imagined. Ridge's primary mission was to untangle the morass of federal, state, and local agencies with overlapping domestic security responsibilities. But he wasn't really in charge of anything. Officially, his job was only to advise the president, but the public expectation was that he would be the country's Homeland Security Savior.

Ridge, 57, spent his first seven months grappling with the slippery levers of power-he had unfettered access to the president but zero authority to make anyone do anything. Congress clamored for a homeland security overhaul, and Bush finally responded with his proposal for a Department of Homeland Security. Six months later, it passed. As the department's first secretary, Ridge has received a mission that is still broad: to prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist threats. But now, as a department head, he faces even higher public expectations that he will shield the country from another September 11.

In Ridge's first 15 months as Homeland Security czar, his greatest strength has been his inside influence -- he enjoys clear backing from Bush. He's earned respect on Capitol Hill and in the states. But the biggest area in which he's been lacking is "the vision thing." Ridge is good at taking care of the details of his job and acting when people come to him with a problem. For example, when state and local officials asked what they should do with the disconnected threat information they were getting from Washington, Ridge handed them a color-coded national alert system. When a Homeland Security Department employee-to-be was worried about retirement benefits, Ridge had an aide call back with an answer the next day. That's a good performance for a congressman or a governor -- both positions featured on Ridge's resume -- but it doesn't cut it for a national executive. He needs to give homeland security efforts a direction and force his department and the overall federal government toward that compass point.

Now Ridge must execute a huge 22-agency merger, which will give him 170,000 new employees. And these uprooted agencies will bring their problems, too: to name just a few, the management chaos of the new Transportation Security Agency, the ingrained culture of the 213-year-old Customs Service, and a political tug-of-war over immigration policy.

"He's got to keep his elbows sharp. If any Cabinet position calls for leadership, his does," says Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. "If we have another large attack on the homeland, our preparation is going to be tested, and if it doesn't measure up, he's a good candidate to take the fall."

Because Ridge's department only opened for business on January 24, National Journal opted for a narrative assessment, instead of letter grades, for the latest addition to the Cabinet.

Inside Influence
As homeland security director, Ridge made good use of his cubbyhole office just three doors down from the Oval Office. Ridge briefs the president every morning and often talks to him outside their regular meetings. He maintains that his access will be just as good in his new post.

Indeed, Bush has been behind many of Ridge's victories so far. The most recent was Ridge's drive to get additional money for his new department in the fiscal 2004 budget being drawn up now. The Office of Management and Budget challenged the initial amount that Ridge had requested for Homeland Security. Ridge then met with OMB Director Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., and the two eventually reached a compromise that also passed muster with Bush's Budget Review Board, chaired by Vice President Cheney. The board opted for a number high enough to support Ridge's arguments, but still less than what Ridge wanted. "I cannot underscore enough the president's support," Ridge said. "He made it very clear to OMB" that homeland security was a top priority.

Such recent wins are important for Ridge, because he got off to a rough start. He had urged the president to propose a merger of border agencies in his 2002 State of the Union address, but three confrontational meetings with Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials on the subject persuaded Ridge to back off. Ridge ultimately won the battle when Bush, in the face of increasing congressional pressure, threw his weight behind the merger and the Homeland Security Department. Ridge said he wasn't the only one learning lessons: "Other people learned about me; I'm pretty persistent."

Hill Clout
So, how much time did Ridge, a former congressman, spend working the Hill to get legislation creating his department passed? Ridge pauses in brief thought and then pronounces: "Enough!" He chuckles.

But the respect Ridge has on Capitol Hill came only after months of lawmaker displeasure that arose when the White House, standing on presidential privilege, insisted that Ridge was a White House adviser only and hence not required to appear before Congress to testify publicly.

Once freed to testify and lobby for a new department, Ridge focused quickly on wooing skeptics. He won about 90 percent of what he wanted in the Homeland Security bill, and he was key in forging the compromise on workers' rights. Ridge made an early strategic decision to court Sen. Ben Nelson, a moderate Democrat from Nebraska, who was undecided on the new department. Shortly after Bush announced his Homeland Security proposal, Ridge buttonholed Nelson on the Capitol subway to gauge whether they could work together. Nelson said he'd like to help, but told Ridge the current proposal wouldn't work. So Ridge reworked the plan and called back twice with alternatives.

In September, Nelson got together with two other Senate moderates, John Breaux, D-La., and Lincoln D. Chafee, R-R.I., and the three met with Ridge to craft some of the key compromises. And while the rest of the White House was campaigning for Republicans in early November, Ridge went to Omaha again to meet with Nelson. With a post-election push from Bush, the moderates got on board, and the White House got the votes it needed for a new department. "The guy's just money up on Congress," Richard Falkenrath, Ridge's top policy adviser, says of his boss.

Former White House Legislative Affairs Director Nicholas E. Calio ranked Ridge among the most-effective Cabinet members on the Hill. "He just spent hours and hours with them, reassuring them, and talking through the problems and discussing things," Calio said. "Part of being effective is keeping an open mind, and you look at Ridge, and he did that very well."

Political Imperatives
Like John D. Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, and Colin L. Powell, Ridge's highest imperative is to make sure a repeat of September 11 never happens, or if it does, to respond effectively. So in that sense, it's hard to judge Ridge's accomplishments to date.

But so far, Ridge has earned praise from many of Homeland Security's constituent groups-state and local governments and first responders -- for being accessible while largely deflecting their main criticism: There's still not enough money. Ridge's best strategy has been empathy. To the degree that he has kept complaints quiet and made his boss look active on homeland security, he's served Bush's political needs well.

"He has a tremendous, commanding presence and coolness when he's under pressure," George Vinson, California's homeland security director, said of Ridge. Vinson has met with Ridge in person seven times, and has participated in the weekly conference calls that Ridge and his top aides hold with state homeland security officials. "There's just no BS in the guy," said Vinson, a former FBI counter-terrorism agent. "I work for a Democrat, and I have not detected one iota of partisanship in this issue."

Running The Department
Around 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve, to show his support for the folks who are keeping watch on America's borders, Ridge stopped by the windowless round-the-clock homeland security watch center in the District of Columbia, where Coast Guard officers take turns looking out for unexpected threats. This hands-on and open approach to his workers has earned Ridge loyalty from aides and employees. His day-to-day management of his 100-person White House office, though, has left some outside his shop wondering whether a 145,000-worker department is more than Ridge can effectively manage. Experts working with the Office of Homeland Security say that Ridge's transition operation from office to department has been hobbled by poor planning. Ridge acknowledged that he didn't initially manage the transition. But, he added, "my involvement has escalated in time." Still, one expert who consults with the new department said that Ridge allowed the donating departments to do transition planning largely on their own, which in many cases meant that the departments hoarded their most qualified people while offering their second-stringers to the agencies slated for the merger. "There was no adult supervision," the expert said.

Insiders say that Ridge works well with aides he picks, but not as well with those he inherits or with those the White House gives him. Ridge, however, adamantly denies that charge. In any case, as appointments roll out for the new department, Ridge's role appears to be more consultative than commanding. Ridge's new deputy, Gordon England, who is leaving his post as Navy secretary, was the recommendation of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, for example. "I had some voice in the selection process," Ridge said.

Winning over his workers in the field may prove even tougher than shaping his management team. From immigration officers to Customs and Border Patrol workers, morale in the agencies Ridge will take over has not been the best, as workers have endured a couple of years of mixed policy and budget signals and considerable uncertainty. Said one Customs agent who works on the northern border: "We have terrible morale."

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