Yesterday, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, appeared before Capito’s Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. After discussing the importance of the department in the upcoming elections, Senator Capito questioned Wolf about the department’s proposed budget cuts to election security:

But, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., asserted, the president’s funding proposal for CISA is $250 million less than what Congress enacted in Fiscal Year 2020. “How are you justifying a $250 million cut to an area that is so critical?” she asked Wolf.

Wolf then “assured the committee that CISA would have enough money to retain its election security investments.”

Senator Capito responded:

Sen. Capito reminded Wolf that election security responsibilities span far beyond the 2020 presidential race.

“Just because this is an election year doesn’t mean that elections stop as we go past November of 2020. This is going to be an ongoing responsibility for you and others in the administration,” she said.

I realize that this is very mild criticism, but Capito never criticizes a Trump appointee. I found Capito’s election concerns on an information technology site and so I checked her congressional web page to see if they were mentioned in Capito's press release about Wolf’s appearance before the committee. There, a 534-word press release discusses questions to Wolf about coronavirus, FEMA/the 2016 WV flood, and the opioid epidemic but there is no mention of election security. On her Twitter feed, Capito featured an exchange with Wolf about how drugs enter the country illegally in which she praises the Trump appointee:

West Virginians care so much about our border security partly because deadly drugs enter our country through our borders. Learn how @DHSgov is working to catch opioids and other drugs before they enter the U.S. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/usMTRB112p

— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) February 25, 2020

I think Capito’s concern about budget cuts to election security were legitimate and important. Too bad she doesn’t want any West Virginian to know that she was critical of a Trump appointee who is unqualified, at best, and maybe a real danger to the country as Senator Kennedy’s (R – LA) questions clearly demonstrated:

"You're the secretary. I think you oughta know that answer" -- Even @SenJohnKennedy (R) is fed up with Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf's ignorance about coronavirus pic.twitter.com/yx1anMAAFV

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2020

Even Senator Kennedy, one of Trump's biggest defender, is willing to criticize Wolf and yet Capito's congressional page and her Twitter feed can say nothing negative about the incompetence of Trump's acting Head of Homeland Security.

That's too bad.