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White Supremacists Top Terrorist Threats Within U.S., Wolf Says

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Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, speaks during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23. 

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, speaks during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23. 

Photographer: Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency in charge of curbing domestic terrorism told senators that White supremacists have become the “most persistent and lethal threat” to the U.S. from within the country.

“White supremacist extremists, from a lethality standpoint over the last two years, particularly when you look at 2018 and 2019, are certainly the most persistent and lethal threat when we talk about domestic violent extremists,” said Chad Wolf, who has been heading the Department of Homeland Security in an acting capacity since late last year.