Homeland's No. 2 will retire in April

WASHINGTON -- Elaine Duke, the No. 2 official at the Department of Homeland Security, announced Friday that she will step down after serving less than a year in the job.

A longtime Homeland Security Department official who ran the agency as acting secretary for more than four months last year, Duke, now deputy secretary, is a well-regarded figure at the department and viewed as one of its most experienced managers. Duke was largely sidelined after Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen took over in December and given a portfolio described as "embarrassingly light," according to people familiar with the matter.

In a brief statement, Nielsen said Duke would "retire from government service in April," having "selflessly served the federal government for three decades."

Duke was recruited back to the agency by then-Secretary John Kelly. When Kelly moved to the White House to be chief of staff a few months later, Duke became acting secretary.

A Section on 02/24/2018

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