Amid a continued shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security, its general counsel John Mitnick, has been fired.
“We thank John for this service, and we wish him well,” a DHS spokesperson told the New York Times Tuesday night.
The DHS has seen a number of high-profile departures in recent months, including its former secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen and acting deputy secretary Claire Grady. The department oversees President Trump’s immigration agenda and has been the target of lawsuits targeting the administration’s immigration policies.
According to an administration official, Mitnick’s firing was reportedly pushed by the White House general counsel’s office and not senior adviser Stephen Miller, who promoted the previous DHS ousters. Despite that, two people briefed on the firing said that the counsel’s office actually tried to keep Mitnick in the role.
A DHS official said that Joseph Maher, the department’s principal deputy general counsel, would take over from Mitnick.
