President Trump withdrew his nomination Thursday for Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The longtime border official was nominated to lead the federal agency after spending more than 30 years in law enforcement.
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It’s unclear why Trump pulled Vitiello’s nomination.
Source tells me Trump has pulled nomination of ICE acting director Ronald Vitiello. This comes just weeks after he passed Senate committee vote. pic.twitter.com/Mo1SG02AjX
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) April 5, 2019
Vitiello was scheduled to travel with Trump to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, but is no longer joining the president, the Associated Press reported.
He will still serve as the acting director of the agency for the time being.
The withdrawal comes as the U.S. is seeing a surge in border crossings.
Trump threatened to close the southern border in recent days if Mexico did not stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the U.S., but backed down from his threat Thursday. Instead, he gave Mexico a “one-year warning” before possibly imposing tariffs on cars.
Republican critics of a border closure said international trade was too important to close the border.
