The Donald Trump administration on Thursday withdrew the nomination of Lance Schreiber, a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer, to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky halted his confirmation hearing. This action came as a result of Paul's obstruction of Schreiber's confirmation process.
Unusual Choice of Schreiber
Trump had nominated Schreiber for the position in June, describing him as a "patriot" with real-world experience and recognized leadership. According to Trump, Schreiber was expected to play a significant role in curbing immigration in the administration.
However, Trump did not provide any explanation for his decision to withdraw Schreiber's nomination, and the White House quickly did not respond to requests for further information.
Confirmation Challenges and Schreiber's Background
Schreiber was presented as an unusual choice because he had no experience leading an executive agency. He had been close to Chad Wolf, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and had previously served on his security team. Wolf later appointed him as a senior advisor at DHS.
Schreiber also contributed to leading the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's efforts in training officers and enforcing immigration crackdowns in cooperation with ICE in his state, and he was appointed last year to carry out arrests related to federal immigration enforcement.
Both Wolf and Trump had urged Congress to quickly confirm Schreiber after his nomination. Wolf at the time said, "Lance comes directly from the operational field where he has led major operations and worked with state and federal partners to remove illegal immigrants from Oklahoma."
However, Paul, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced in August that he would delay Schreiber's confirmation hearing until DHS provided more information about investigations related to the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. These shootings are considered one of the sensitive points in Trump's extensive immigration crackdown.
Since 2017, ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed leader. Schreiber's nomination came after the departure of Todd Lyons, the previous acting director of ICE, at the end of May. David Venturella, a long-time immigration official, has been serving as the acting director of ICE since June 1.
