Trump might actually keep Kirstjen Nielsen around because of her caravan response

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen looks to have narrowly avoided a pink slip.

It was just a few weeks ago that The Washington Post reported President Trump was getting ready to fire Nielsen, having grown frustrated because he didn't think she was doing enough to keep the border secure. But Trump's position has changed, and Nielsen will probably keep her job "well into 2019," Politico reports.

The reason for this shift evidently comes down to the so-called migrant caravan. Nielsen's "tough stance" on the Central American migrants coming to the United States "seems to have impressed her most important audience: the president," Politico writes. After border officials were criticized for using tear gas against migrants and closing a port of entry, Nielsen released a lengthy statement on the Department of Homeland Security Facebook page defending the response, saying border officials had to protect themselves and contending that "the limited number of women and children in the caravan are being used by the organizers as 'human shields' when they confront law enforcement."

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One source who spoke with Politico specifically cited this "strong Facebook post" as one of the actions she has taken that has helped "subside the speculation on her future."