President Trump is expected to appoint former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli to be the next director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Cuccinelli, regarded as an immigration hard-liner, would oversee the country’s lawful immigration system, including the citizenship processing and asylum claims.
The move to replace Director Lee Francis Cissna comes after pressure from the White House for Cissna to step down, according to the New York Times.
Cissna announced he will be leaving the post on June 1.
Cuccinelli’s confirmation by the Senate is in question because of his past bad blood with some Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Kentucky senator has voiced his opposition to Cuccinelli being picked for any job in Trump’s administration. McConnell told reporters he did not want Cuccinelli to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security after the resignation of Kirstjen Nielsen, whom Trump fired via Tweet last month.
“I’ve not spoken to him about any of them. I have expressed my, shall I say, lack of enthusiasm for one of them … Ken Cuccinelli,” McConnell said in April.
Cuccinelli was charge of the Senate Conservatives Fund, which backed Matt Bevin in his 2014 primary challenge to McConnell.
