Suddenly it looks like Tucson will be hiring a new police chief soon.
That’s because something strange happened along the way toward the knock-down drag-out battle over Chris Magnus’ nomination to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The flaming opposition to the liberal police chief that seemed inevitable instead settled into a low smolder in the staid confines of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Sure, Republican senators pressed Magnus hard on whether the U.S.-Mexico border is in a “crisis” and on details of law, but the GOP performance had more of the feel of token opposition than a real effort to stop Magnus’ confirmation.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the opinionated and knowledgeable Magnus also turned bland and noncommittal, declining to join any debates or even reveal detailed understanding of the job he would take or his plans for it.
Apparently that’s good politics.
The positive signs started appearing for Magnus at the outset of Tuesday’s hearing. Both of Arizona’s U.S. senators, Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, appeared at the hearing to support Magnus, although both made noncommittal statements after Magnus’ nomination in April.
Over those months, this was the first time Sinema spoke out publicly in support of Magnus’s selection, and her statement was unconditional and valuable. She is the chair of the Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on government operations and border management — and her brother is a Tucson police officer.
Calling Magnus “an exceptional nominee,” Sinema said, “Chief Magnus has built great relationships through Arizona, and I’m certain he’ll bring that same consensus building and commonsense approach to CBP.”
Her support came despite a letter sent to her by the Arizona Sheriffs Association, headed by Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, opposing Magnus’ nomination. The sheriffs — really the Republican sheriffs, as Arizona’s Democratic ones didn’t support the decision — noted Magnus’ absence of federal law enforcement experience and that he had a “rift” with the Border Patrol agents’ union.
But as we’ve learned in the debate over infrastructure and spending plans, Sinema has come to play a key role in a Senate divided 50-50. And her enthusiastic support jibed with the general drift of the committee as the hearing played out.
Republicans lambasted the Biden administration’s border policies, blaming them for increasing flows of migrants and drugs, but they didn’t swing too hard at Magnus himself. And when they did, Magnus made sure he didn’t swing back.
Chris Magnus talks with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., after a Senate Finance Committee on his nomination to be the next U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, repeatedly tried to pin Magnus down on whether he considered the situation at the Mexican border a “crisis.”
Magnus initially responded, “Does it really matter whether we call it a major challenge, a crisis, a big problem?”
When Young continued to demand a yes or no response, Magnus said, “I appreciate your question and am doing my best to acknowledge the situation is very serious, regardless of what we call it.”
If it were me, I’d just have said that there are crises in certain times and places along the border, as in Del Rio, Texas, for much of this year. Magnus himself noted during the hearing that the border is not “homogenous.” But he stayed away from the word, crisis, that implies blame for the president who nominated him.
Young was also incredulous that Magnus apparently was not familiar with Title 8 Section 1325 of the federal code. That’s the law that makes it illegal to cross the border between ports of entry — Magnus said he would familiarize himself with all the relevant law if he becomes CBP commissioner.
But much of the questioning was friendly, even from some GOP members. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, referenced a congenial conversation with Magnus about the need for reforming the asylum system, and Magnus carefully reiterated his agreement.
Magnus also nodded in solemn concern about the many worries over international trade expressed by both Democrats and Republicans. Softwood lumber, auto parts.
And when Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said of border crossings that “We’ve never had a surge like this. This has never happened before in the history of our country,” you could see Magnus almost literally bite his lip. It seemed a quibble about the numbers was running through his mind.
But with discipline he responded, “Senator, I understand your concerns and the numbers are very high.”
The committee still hasn’t voted, and Magnus’ nomination still has to be considered by the full Senate. But this, it appears, is how you get through the meat grinder of a D.C. nomination process alive.
You keep it vague and win over the key people. Then, ironically, you can leave the borderlands to take over supervision of the nation’s border agencies.
