h/t to gux for the heads up here for us.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday sent paperwork withdrawing the nomination of longtime border official Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to three people with knowledge of the move.
According to the report and unnamed sources “with direct knowledge” speaking on the condition of anonymity, the abrupt move was met with “some confusion” within the Homeland Security officials, saying “it was done in error.”
Ron Vitiello has a 30-year career in law enforcement starting with the US Border Patrol in 1985. He has passed through the Senate hearing in November and the homeland security committee passed his nomination.
Thursday’s letter caught Homeland Security officials off guard. Vitiello was supposed to travel with Trump to the border Friday, but he is no longer going, one official said. He will still remain acting director of the agency tasked with enforcing immigration law in the interior of the U.S.
One Homeland Security official insisted the letter was a paperwork error that had been corrected. But other, higher-level officials said the move did not appear to be a mistake, even though they were not informed ahead of time.
“The Department of Homeland Security referred questions Thursday to the White House, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment.”
There is no other information at this time. So far this is only a single sourced report from the Associated Press as of Thursday night. We’ll keep an eye on this and update if more details emerge.