ANKARA

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that acting Secretary Chad Wolf would be nominated to officially fill the Homeland Security Department helm.

"Chad has done an outstanding job and we greatly appreciate his service!" Trump said on Twitter. 

Wolf said he was "honored to be nominated" by Trump to lead the department “in safeguarding the American people." 

“As the US faces evolving threats from natural disasters, violent opportunists, malign cyber actors, and transnational criminal organizations, the mission of DHS [Department of Homeland Security] is as critical as ever," he added. 

Wolf was appointed acting secretary last November. 

The Government Accountability Office, an independent congressional watchdog, ruled earlier this month that Chad’s appointment was invalid because the department did not follow proper procedures of succession after the resignation of former Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.