WASHINGTON — Democratic senators rallied Friday around President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Transportation Security Administration as new details emerged indicating that key lawmakers already knew when they voted in November to advance his nomination that he mischaracterized a personal incident in his testimony.
The White House rushed to defend Erroll Southers, who is under fire for providing inconsistent statements to Congress about inappropriately accessing confidential criminal records 20 years ago about his then- estranged wife’s new boyfriend.
Democratic senators, meanwhile, intensified pressure to confirm Southers soon after Congress returns from its winter recess, saying it is critical that permanent leadership is installed at the TSA in the aftermath of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner.
Still, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who earlier delayed Southers’ nomination over a labor union issue, on Friday became the first senator to oppose the nominee, saying, “If he can’t tell the truth, then he’s not qualified and should not be confirmed.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who had raised suspicions about Southers’ statements to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Friday that she is satisfied with his explanations and has faith in his nomination.
“In the absence of any new information, I intend to support Mr. Southers, who is qualified to lead the TSA during this challenging time for the agency,” Collins said in a statement.
Collins, the top Republican on the committee, said Friday that she had had suspicions about Southers’ statements and approved his nomination conditionally Nov. 19, asking him to account in writing for inconsistencies between his sworn account of the incident and documents the committee obtained from the FBI.
Southers originally told Congress that as an FBI agent, he had asked a police officer to access the records about the boyfriend, but he later acknowledged that he did two searches himself.
A day after the vote, Collins said, Southers took responsibility for giving Congress misleading information, citing a poor memory.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., the committee’s chairman, said he supports the nominee, and he echoed Democratic senators in saying Southers’ experience as a law enforcement official “more than qualifies him for the position.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who chairs an aviation subcommittee that approved Southers’ selection, said the inconsistencies should not derail his nomination.
“Look, nobody’s perfect. He made a mistake a couple of decades ago, and he disclosed that mistake to the committees,” Dorgan said Friday. “He clearly is well qualified for that job, and we also very clearly need someone in that post to head the TSA. Nothing that I have seen changes my mind.”
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called Southers “a highly regarded leader in counterterrorism.”
“Erroll Southers’ years of experience in aviation security and law enforcement are recognized across the country and by our international partners throughout the world,” Napolitano said in a statement. “Erroll will bring a strong understanding of technology and its application in the aviation environment.”
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