He could have, but one advantage of not really wanting the job is he can speak his mind about what really should be done without giving a crap that he will be fired.
I’m not saying he will do that, just that he is in a better position to say “that is an amazingly stupid policy, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets us all killed and best case is it makes us less safe”.
If he actually does say that I imagine it’ll get him fired about as fast as someone saying “the justice department won’t defend this executive order in court”, but there is a tiny chance it could actually change 45’s tiny mind. (and if fired, well the press conferences are a great time to say “well I serve at the pleasure of the president, and a honest look at his policies don’t bring him any pleasure, nor will his policies bring the country any safety”
