Kirstjen Nielsen has been the focal point of controversy more and more because of the family separations occurring at the southern border. As Secretary of Homeland Security, she is helping lead the way rhetorically in defending the Trump administration’s actions, which have been hotly criticized by some.
That has some people wondering about Kirstjen Nielsen’s own family. Is she married? Does she have a husband or children? The answer to those questions is no. Kirstjen Nielsen, who is 46-years-old, is not married, and she does not have a husband or children.
Here’s what you need to know:
Nielsen Introduced Her Father, Siblings & Other Extended Family During Her Nomination Hearing
US Vice President Mike Pence (R) administers the oath of office to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 8, 2017 in Washington, DC.
When Kirstjen Nielsen appeared before Congress after she was nominated to be Homeland Security secretary, she was accompanied by some members of her family. According to the transcript of her statement, she introduced “the members of my family who are here with me today. My dad, James, my brother, Fletcher, my sister, Ashley, my aunt and uncle, Mary Ellen and Trevor Burton and my cousin Andrew Bragg.” Her father was at her swearing in, and you can see him in the above photo.
Nielsen has served as Homeland Security secretary since December 2017, according to her LinkedIn page. She is originally from Colorado but was raised in Clearwater, Florida. Her mother, Phyllis Michele Nielsen, died in 2011. Her father is 76-year-old James McHenry Nielsen, who worked as an opthalmologist in Florida. Her parents were both Army doctors, and records show they divorced when Kirstjen Nielsen was in college. Her brother, Fletcher, is a musician.
You can read more about Nielsen’s parents and siblings here:
She Attended a State Dinner With a Subordinate Named Chad Wolf
Kirstjen Nielsen laughed off a comment about marriage in the above video when she attended an April 2018 state dinner. She was accompanied by a man named Chad Wolf, according to the guest list.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Chad Wolf arrive at the White House for a state dinner April 24, 2018 in Washington, DC .
However, according to Wolf’s LinkedIn page, he’s Kirstjen Nielsen’s acting chief of staff. He does not appear to be her boyfriend, however, as he is her subordinate.
Nielsen Listed ‘None’ Under the Spousal Section in Her Public Financial Disclosure Report
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen arrives for a hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee January 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. RIchard Durbin Durbin both questioned Nielsen about derogatory language reportedly used by U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting last week on immigration. Nielsen said “I did not hear that word used”, when asked about the word “shithole.”
Public officials like Nielsen are required to disclose their financial sources of income in a public financial disclosure report as well as the income sources of their spouses. However, Kirstjen Nielsen wrote “none” in the section of the form that asked for “Spouse’s Employment Assets & Income and Retirement Accounts.”
You can see the report here. It lists Nielsen’s previous positions, stocks, and salary. She listed the following positions outside government for 2016 and 2017:
Sunesis Consulting, LLC Alexandria,Virginia LLC President 4/2012 1/2017
Res/CON, Greater New Orleans Inc. New Orleans, Louisiana Non-profit Advisory Board Member for Global Resiliance Summit 4/2016 1/2017
Trump for America, Inc. Colonia, New Jersey Non-Profit Volunteer 11/2016 1/2017
World Economic Forum Geneva, Switzerland, Outside U.S. Non-Profit Global Risks Report Advisory Board Member 9/2016 1/2017
Cyber Institute, National Cybersecurity Center Colorado Springs, Colorado Non-Profit Advisory Board Member 6/2016 1/2017
Center for Naval Analyses Safety and Security Advisory Board Arlington, Virginia Non-Profit Advisory Board Member 4/2014 1/2016
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Brussels, Outside U.S. Intergovernmen tal alliance Civil Expert 5/2015 1/2017
World Economic Forum Geneva, Switzerland, Outside U.S. Non-Profit Chair, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Risks and
Resilience 6/2014 10/2016
George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia University/College Senior Fellow, Center for Cyber and Homeland
Security 4/2014 1/2017
Nielsen, Who Was a Controversial Figure in the White House, Is Front & Center in the Family Separation Debate
“We have to do our job. We will not apologize for doing our job,” says Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on separating families at the border. “This administration has a simple message: If you cross the border illegally, we will prosecute you.” t.co/NdC1STntVi
Kirstjen Nielsen has made a series of comments that have plunged her into the focal point of the controversy over the family separation debate. The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border has led to children being separated from their parents as their parents are prosecuted for unlawfully entering the country. On June 20, 2018, Trump signed an executive order to allow families to be detained intact, although there are questions about its legality. He pledged to continue the border crossing prosecutions.
Here are some of Nielsen’s comments on Twitter:
DHS takes very seriously its duty to protect minors in our temporary custody from gangs, traffickers, criminals and abuse.
For those seeking asylum at ports of entry, we have continued the policy from previous Administrations and will only separate if the child is in danger, there is no custodial relationship between ‘family’ members, or if the adult has broken a law.
We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.
You are not breaking the law by seeking asylum at a port of entry.
This misreporting by Members, press & advocacy groups must stop. It is irresponsible and unproductive. As I have said many times before, if you are seeking asylum for your family, there is no reason to break the law and illegally cross between ports of entry.
Texas Monthly has posted one of the most detailed accounts of first-hand stories of what’s happening at the border. You can read it here.
(Photo by John Moore/Getty ImagesA two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy towards undocumented immigrants. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said that domestic and gang violence in immigrants’ country of origin would no longer qualify them for political asylum status.
In the White House, Nielsen was a controversial figure even before she was appointed Homeland Security Security. She previously worked in the administration of President George W. Bush “as special assistant to the president and as senior director for prevention, preparedness and response at the White House Homeland Security Council” as well as running the “Transportation Security Administration’s offices of legislative policy and government affairs,” Newsweek reports.
She rankled some with what was perceived as a “rigid style” when she followed John Kelly to the White House as his deputy chief of staff, Politico reported. Her demeanor led some Trump loyalists to call her Nurse Ratched, the nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, according to Politico.
