Key takeaways:
- The White House withdrew Schroyer’s nomination to run ICE less than three months after announcing it.
- CBS News reported Sen. Rand Paul stalled the nomination while seeking details on investigations into agent-involved shootings in Minnesota.
- David Venturella is currently performing the duties of ICE director, and the agency has lacked a Senate-confirmed director since 2017.
The White House has withdrawn President Trump’s nomination of Schroyer to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the pick stalled in the Senate less than three months after it was announced.
CBS News identified the nominee as Richard Schroyer, while The Guardian identified him as Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper. The White House announcement posted Thursday did not give a reason for withdrawing the nomination, The Guardian reported.
Schroyer had been nominated in June to run ICE as an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. He had been serving as an adviser to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin after previously working as a member of Mullin’s security detail when Mullin was in the Senate, according to The Guardian. CBS News reported that Schroyer was serving as a senior adviser to Mullin when Trump nominated him.
The nomination failed to advance in the Senate. CBS News reported that Republican Sen. Rand Paul stalled Schroyer’s advancement while demanding details of investigations into agent-involved shootings in Minnesota, and that Schroyer did not make it past the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Guardian reported that the nomination stalled because Paul, described by the outlet as the Republican chair of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, had not scheduled a hearing.
Critics had questioned the nomination because Schroyer had no formal experience working in ICE, The Guardian reported. The nomination came as Trump pursued an aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.
CBS News said it had reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. The Guardian said it had asked the White House for more information.
ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2017. The agency has been led by acting officials for years. David Venturella is currently the senior official performing the duties of ICE director after Todd Lyons announced his departure from the top ICE role in April, according to CBS News. The Guardian also reported that Venturella is the most recent acting official overseeing the agency.
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