Pointing Out the Problems

Although he was named after Superman (by a comic-book-loving older brother), Clark Kent Ervin says he feels more like Paul Revere. The former inspector general at the Homeland Security Department made a name for himself warning of shortcomings at the agency, which he believes are jeopardizing national security. Unlike Paul Revere, Ervin doesn't need a horse, but he is looking for a publisher for his book. His working title: Mission Impossible: What It Will Take to Make the Department of Homeland Security Effective at Securing the Homeland.

"It is an absolutely critical department," Ervin says. "We all know that, God forbid, there's certainly going to be another attempted attack. I'm sure there has been already. Unfortunately, the odds being what they are, and al Qaeda being what it is, there will probably be another successful attack."

He's now director of the homeland security initiative at the nonprofit Aspen Institute, a perch from which he hopes to facilitate better security planning across the public and private sectors.

"I don't understand why there isn't a sense of urgency about [homeland security]. Of course we can't be 100 percent secure, but we can be a lot safer than we are," he says. "It's not rocket science."

Ervin was at Homeland Security for two years under a White House recess appointment, but was forced out in December when the Senate failed to confirm him. The reason depends on who you talk to. Ervin says that some in the Senate were not satisfied with his handling of a sexual harassment case when he was State Department inspector general, previous to his DHS appointment. Publicly, senators praised Ervin, but privately, Senate staffers say the White House no longer wanted him in the position. A White House official blamed Senate inaction for Ervin's departure. Ervin doesn't seem to mind the reason, whatever it is. "I could either do my job or save my job. I chose to do my job with a full understanding of how uncomfortable it could be," he says.

His first investigation addressed airport security in 2003. He dispatched undercover inspectors to probe defenses at 15 airports where the Transportation Department's inspector general had reported lax security. The report, which was classified, found that security hadn't improved much at those airports. "The bottom line was it was lousy," Ervin says. "That was my first real brush with antagonism on the part of senior managers. By 2004, we had one critical report after another. The antipathy rose." Many of Ervin's reports were classified for national security reasons. When possible, however, he published redacted versions, further rankling senior managers.

Ervin is a hard man to peg. He's a conservative, small government Republican, yet he believes DHS needs more people and funding. He says he shares the Bush administration's values and vision, yet his meticulously documented critiques could only have undermined public confidence in the administration's ability to manage security issues. He is an eloquent and polished speaker given to blunt assessments that are rare in Washington.

With degrees from Harvard (Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Laws, both cum laude) and Oxford (Master of Arts in politics, philosophy and economics), where he was a Rhodes scholar, his academic credentials are impeccable. His political credentials are impressive as well. A native Houstonian, Ervin served in the White House policy office during the George H.W. Bush administration from 1989 to 1992 and then in Texas state government when George W. Bush was governor.

Adam Ereli, a childhood friend of Ervin's and now a State Department spokesman, describes Ervin as "dedicated, honest and judicious." Ereli and Ervin met at the prestigious Kincaid School in Houston (President Bush attended the same school years earlier). While he describes Ervin as driven, his ambition extends far beyond any conventional desires. "It's not personal ambition that drives him, but a true commitment to public service," Ereli says. "He is a national treasure."