Maine Sen. Susan Collins has come out in opposition to President Obama's nomination of Rafael Borras for a top post at the Department of Homeland Security.
Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, says Borras is not qualified to be DHS's Under Secretary of Management. "It is extremely unusual for me to oppose the nomination of a person to serve in the Cabinet or in a senior Executive branch position, for this president or any other president," Collins says in a statement. "But I cannot support the nomination of Mr. Borras."
Borras is currently vice president of construction services for URS Corporation's Mid-Atlantic region and a former regional director for the General Services Administration. Collins says in his current position, Borras manages 100 people, and in the new DHS position, he would manage more than 200,000 people, along with a $50 billion annual budget.
Collins says Borras also made numerous tax errors on recent federal income tax filings, mistakes she says "show a lack of attention of detail and a pattern of carelessness."
Despite the objections of Collins and other Republicans on the panel, Borras nomination was approved by a vote of 7 to 3. The nomination will now be considered by the full Senate.
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