Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security are wondering who will be next to depart the agency after a series of surprise terminations in recent days — and no way of knowing if President Trump is through with the chopping block.
Three senior officials at the 16-year-old agency, including the secretary of the department, have been stripped of their offices. That leaves the country’s border and immigration agencies without directors as the highest number of migrants in more than a decade continues to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The upheaval makes DHS the latest federal agency to operate under an acting director. And while immigration enforcement is a key component of DHS’ mission, it’s actually only one part. The Secret Service falls under DHS, and on Monday, that unit, charged with protecting the president and his family, saw its own shakeup.
The firings began last Thursday night when Ronald Vitiello, who was nominated last June to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was informed by a senior White House official he would not be traveling with Trump to the border the following day.
A source close to Vitiello told the Washington Examiner he learned later that night the White House had pulled his nomination due to “paperwork” issues. A second source close to the situation suggested it was due to Vitiello’s not being endorsed by ICE union chief Chris Crane. Vitiello passed a Senate committee vote last month and was on his way to getting a Senate confirmation vote.
Vitiello’s predecessor, Tom Homan, had been nominated to lead the agency but was never confirmed and retired last summer.
Vitiello had worked directly under Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan as deputy commissioner until last summer when he was tapped to lead the other agency, interrupting more than three decades of work with CBP. It’s not clear where he is now headed.
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was caught off-guard by the White House’s rescinding of Vitiello’s nomination.
She met with Trump at the White House Sunday evening and resigned after 16 months in the position, though Trump claimed Monday he fired her.
Nielsen, 47, joined the Trump administration in January 2017 as chief of staff for then-DHS Secretary John Kelly. Nielsen guided Kelly through his Senate confirmation process and became his chief of staff.
In July 2017, Trump picked Kelly for White House chief of staff, and Nielsen worked as his principal deputy chief of staff. Trump nominated Nielsen to lead DHS in October, and she was confirmed in a 62-37 vote.
Nielsen was first rumored to be headed out in November as apprehension numbers at the southern border began creeping up, after hitting a 45-year low during Trump’s first year in office.
Sources told the Examiner that David Pekoske, the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, and Kevin McAleenan were most likely to be chosen to succeed her. Although McAleenan has less experience than Pekoske, Trump selected him on Sunday to serve as acting director of DHS.
On Monday afternoon Trump asked Secret Service Director Randolph Alles to step down in late April. He picked James Murray, the Secret Service assistant director of the Office of Protective Operations, to take over in early May.
But Alles denounced reports that Trump abruptly fired him and insisted his departure was worked out weeks earlier, according to a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
“No doubt you have seen media reports regarding my ‘firing.’ I assure you that this is not the case, and in fact was told weeks ago by the Administration that transitions in leadership should be expected across the Department of Homeland Security. The President has directed an orderly transition in leadership for this agency and I intend to abide by that direction,” Alles said in a statement.
“It is my sincere regret that I was not able to address the workforce prior to this announcement,” he said.
Alles was tapped for the job in April 2017 and previously served in leadership positions within Customs and Border Protection and in the Marine Corps.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director L. Francis Cissna and the DHS General Counselor John Mitnick are also believed to be on the chopping block, according to a report.
