Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano resigned from her position on Friday to take over the University of California system, according to the Associated Press.
Her appointment as president of the UC system still must be confirmed by the system’s board of regents.
The former Arizona governor said in her announcement that she planned to stay on as secretary until early September.
When she announced her resignation Friday, the AP report said, she left behind a department still working to coordinate the activities of two dozen agencies that were merged after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the U.S.
The agencies under Homeland Security’s jurisdiction protect the president, respond to disasters and enforce immigration laws as well as secure air travel. They include Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection as well as Transportation Services Agency.
Obama has not announced a replacement.
Napolitano’s new $600,000 salary would be more than three times the $199,700 she earned working for the federal government.
