Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, reportedly demanded access to a jet 24 hours a day and the ability to enter the Oval Office without prior approval before he will take on the role as Donald Trump’s “immigration czar”.
He allegedly handed over a list of 10 conditions to the White House as the would-be presidential aide was considered for the new post, which the president is creating in order to coordinate America’s immigration policy across agencies.
In addition to the jet and “walk in” privileges, Mr Kobach indicated that he wanted to be offered a job as secretary of Homeland Security come November if he wanted it — and the ability to spend his weekends away from Washington with his family.
According to the New York Times, which first reported the demands, Mr Kobach indicated that he would need access to the jet in order to make weekly visits to the border, and to travel to his family on the weekends.
Mr Kobach — who previously headed up the president’s now dissolved voter fraud commission — is among several candidates who are apparently on the president’s short-list or the new job.
Others being considered include Kenneth Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general who the president is reportedly leaning towards.
The Kansas man is a graduate of Harvard, Oxford, and Yale Law School. In addition to his work on the voter fraud commission and as secretary of state in Kansas, he also worked as an adviser to former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, and helped him craft a racist bill that required police in Arizona to check citizenship of individuals if they had suspicions about their nationality.
