When Did Politico Become a Gossip Sheet for the D.C. Establishment?
Smarmy political maneuvering is as old as the Republic itself
By Andrew R. Arthur on March 30, 2026
APolitico hit piece last week on acting ICE Director Todd Lyons bears the salacious headline “‘Visibly upset and struggling’: Acting ICE head hospitalized twice over stress, officials say”. That story carries the same byline as an earlier article (which I eviscerated because I understand how government contracting works) on CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. Respectfully, I’d question Lyons’ sense if he didn’t feel strain in his current, thankless job, but when exactly did Politico become a gossip sheet for the D.C. establishment? The outlet should realize it’s being used in a smarmy political effort by unknown individuals with their own hidden agendas, a maneuver as old as the Republic itself.
Todd Lyons
Lyons is about as close to an “ICE lifer” as anyone in the 23-year-old agency can be.
He began his public service career in 1993 with the U.S. Air Force, where he served in South Korea, Asia, and Europe.
He left the service in July 1999 and worked in law enforcement in Florida, only to be recalled to active duty in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks to serve as “the antiterrorism/force protection liaison for Special Operations Command - Central” overseas.
In April 2007, he joined ICE as an Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) immigration and enforcement agent in Dallas, later becoming a supervisory detention and deportation officer for fugitive operations before ascending to the position of chief of staff for the Dallas ERO field office director (FOD) in August 2014.
https://cis.org/Arthur/When-Did-Politico-Become-Gossip-Sheet-DC-Establishment
