Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore says President Barack Obama should immediately pull his choice of Ron Klain as the nation's new "Ebola czar" and appoint somebody Americans "can have confidence in."
"I take this very seriously. An Ebola potential spread is a homeland security issue, it's a national security issue, and frankly, there are more problems coming up the road," Gilmore said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"It needs to be somebody who is a responsible appointment, and just taking a guy who made his bones counting hanging chads in the presidential election with Al Gore is not a serious appointment.
"You have to have somebody the American people can have confidence in, that they're going to deal with an issue as they come up, and I promise you there are more problems ahead."
Gilmore, who chaired the National Commission on Homeland Security and is now president of the Free Congress Foundation, said he doubted Klain is up to the job.
"[The president is] not going to get good advice out of Ron Klain on this. Ron Klain doesn't have any experience or knowledge on this whatsoever," he said.
"The president knows he doesn't have the experience. He's treating it like a public relations issue rather than a homeland security issue."
Gilmore is also alarmed about reports that a "green card" bonanza is ahead for immigrants.
With some lawmakers predicting a sweeping executive order on immigration after the Nov. 4 elections, one federal agency is already making plans to hire a vendor to crank out up to 34 million blank green cards to accommodate an expected surge in immigrants in 2016.
"I don't want to send a message to the Hispanic community that we're against them. We believe that they're adding to the country," Gilmore said.
"However, the American people, including them, have a right to have an immigration policy that adheres to the law, and the president taking executive action that is in violation of the statutes undermines not only the immigration law but the entire rule of law for the United States."
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