The reason we have a Dept. of Homeland Security is, The Democrats and the lapdog MSM were going to make political hay if we did not. All it did was add a layer of bureacracy on top of what was there. Remember the Dem mantra, Enlarge the central government.
A position is only as good as the person you put in it. If they want to make it a dummy position for political purposes, then put a dummy in it. If the position is to be of any value, then put someone in that may be valuable in finding methods to combat terrorists in our "homeland".