Transition Watch Chertoff says wait on DHS revamp

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has urged his successor to wait on any reorganization that could increase fear and doubt across the sprawling Homeland Security Department, according to Federal Times.

Critics of the department have said such a reorganization is badly needed; Chertoff, however, said in a recent interview that such a course of action would set Homeland Security back a year.

Instead, Chertoff said the new secretary—who will be Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, if she’s confirmed by Congress—should focus on completing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, fashioning a 2010 budget, and quickly deploying the next generation of biological and nuclear weapons detectors, Federal Times reported.