Chuck Grassley gives a big thumbs down on Trump's legally dubious Homeland Security appointment

The White House may have found a workaround to appoint immigration hardliner and acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services chief Ken Cuccinelli to head the Homeland Security Department, but Sen. Chuck Grassley (D-Iowa) isn't buying it.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Trump administration, through some complicated maneuvering that would involve tabbing Cucinnelli (or someone else who falls in line with President Trump's immigration policies) first as the assistant secretary of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office before vaulting him to homeland security secretary, might be able to get the job done even though Cucinnelli is ineligible for the role because of the federal Vacancies Act.

Grassley, though, wasn't aware of any such plans, and doesn't think it hold up legally, anyway. "I have not heard anything about some go-around," Grassley told Politico. "But it's my understanding that the existing law would not permit him to" lead the department. Read more at Politico and The New York Times.