Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli
Official portrait, 2019
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security[1]
De facto, unlawful
In office
November 13, 2019 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byDavid Pekoske
Succeeded byDavid Pekoske (acting)
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services[1]
De facto, unlawful
In office
June 10, 2019 – January 20, 2021[2][3]
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byL. Francis Cissna
Succeeded byTracy Renaud (acting)
Principal Deputy Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
In office
June 10, 2019 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
46th Attorney General of Virginia
In office
January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014
GovernorBob McDonnell
Preceded byBill Mims
Succeeded byMark Herring
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 37th district
In office
August 19, 2002 – January 12, 2010
Preceded byWarren E. Barry
Succeeded byDavid W. Marsden
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II

(1968-07-30) July 30, 1968 (age 56)
Edison, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Alice Monteiro Davis
(m. 1991)
Children7
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BS)
George Mason University (MA, JD)
Signature

Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II (/ˌkɪˈnɛli/ KOO-chin-EL-ee; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the senior official performing the duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the Principal Deputy and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and was Attorney General of Virginia from 2010 to 2014.

He previously served in the Virginia Senate, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County from 2002 until 2010, and as the 46th attorney general of Virginia from 2010 until 2014. Cuccinelli was the Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election, losing to the Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe.

A self-described opponent of homosexuality, Cuccinelli in his position as Virginia Attorney General defended anti-sodomy laws and prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, and in his position as Attorney General investigated climate scientists whom he accused of fraud. Characterized as an immigration hard-liner, Cuccinelli sought to prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending universities, repeal birthright citizenship, and force employees to speak English in the workplace.

His appointment as Acting USCIS Director by the Donald Trump administration was ruled unlawful by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in March 2020, who found it to be in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Later that year, the Government Accountability Office ruled his appointment as the acting Deputy Secretary illegal, as well.

  1. ^ a b "Leadership". Department of Homeland Security. September 7, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. ^ Performing Duties: December 31, 2019 - January 20, 2021
    Acting: June 10, 2019 – December 31, 2019
  3. ^ "Leadership". Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2021.