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Release Date: September 24, 2007
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
It is with great regret that I announce the resignation of Michael P. Jackson as Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, effective October 26. Michael is the longest serving Deputy Secretary at this department and has devoted enormous energy, talent and thought into making it a stronger, more integrated and mature organization. He is a remarkable chief operating officer, my most trusted counselor and a close personal friend.
Michael is an outstanding public servant, among the best of his generation. He came to this department after his tenure of more than two years as Deputy Secretary at the Department of Transportation. Among his many achievements there, he helped to stand up the new Transportation Security Administration and managed recovery efforts for the nation’s aviation industry after 9/11. Michael has served in two other administrations. He was Special Assistant to the President for Cabinet Liaison and later Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush. He also served in various capacities at the Department of Education during President Reagan’s administration.
Michael will leave this department having made an enduring impact on our homeland security. At this department, he was fundamental in invigorating our operating components, fusing our intelligence capabilities, building a new FEMA, and managing the response to the disrupted airline plot of August 2006. He brought tremendous focus, discipline and planning to department-wide operations, budgets and polices, and he significantly advanced the integration of our component agencies. Michael kept an open door for all 208,000 employees, and was relentless in building with them a common department culture. His work has earned him wide respect throughout the Congress, with state and local officials and among international allies.
Our homeland is more secure and better prepared as result of Michael’s tireless service, and on behalf of all Americans, I offer him our deep gratitude. I respect and admire his difficult decision to move on, and I look forward to our continued friendship.
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This page was last modified on September 24, 2007