SOURCE:
CNNURL:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/05/politics/ice-director-nomination-pulled/index.htmlBy Priscilla Alvarez, Geneva Sands and Jim Acosta
President Donald Trump is pulling the nomination of Ron Vitiello to lead ICE, saying he wants to go in a "tougher direction."
"We're going in a little different direction. Ron's a good man but we're going in a tougher direction. We want to go in a tougher direction," Trump told reporters Friday at the White House.
The move to withdraw the nomination for the director of US Immigration and Customs and Enforcement came as a surprise to the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress, sources familiar with the nomination told CNN.
The White House on Thursday evening informed the Senate it was withdrawing its nomination of Vitiello to lead ICE, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
ICE leadership was under the impression, even this morning, that it was a clerical error, according to someone with knowledge of the nomination process. The agency was anticipating a positive outcome in the next couple of weeks.
Trump nominated Vitiello, who's been leading ICE in an acting capacity since late June, to head the agency in August. He previously served as chief of the US Border Patrol and acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
Vitiello came under scrutiny during his confirmation process as a result of past controversial social media posts. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan asked in the hearing about a 2012 tweet, in which Vitiello "suggested that the Democratic Party should be renamed the 'liberalcratic party' or the "Neo-Klanist party.'"
(EXCERPT) CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST....
