Rand Paul threatens to delay confirmation hearing for ICE nominee

Schroyer faces internal opposition from officials over immigration experience

During a closed-door briefing last week with senior Homeland Security officials, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) threatened to delay a confirmation hearing for Lance Schroyer, President Trump’s nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to people familiar with the matter.

Paul said he would not hold a hearing until he received more information about the shootings of two American citizens by immigration officers in Minneapolis, the people said. The Kentucky Republican has previously criticized the administration’s handling of the shootings, which earlier this year left two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, dead.

Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, declined this week to say whether he would hold a confirmation hearing, responding “Don’t have anything for you on that” when asked about Schroyer. An aide said the committee is still trading routine paperwork about the nomination.

The threat is the latest sign of trouble for Schroyer, a close ally of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin whom Trump announced in June as his pick to be ICE’s first permanent director in a decade. Trump announced the nomination in a Truth Social post, calling Schroyer a patriot “with real operational experience” and urging the Senate to confirm him immediately.

Schroyer, a veteran of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol who once led Mullin’s security detail, has faced internal opposition from administration officials since the day his nomination was announced, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials across ICE balked at his lack of federal government or immigration experience, and Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, also objected to the pick, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The nomination came after Mullin made a direct appeal to the president to select his friend, and the announcement took senior White House staff by surprise, the people said.

A DHS spokesperson said the agency stands behind Schroyer. Lauren Bis, a White House spokeswoman, said Trump “will always make sure the heroes of ICE have the resources and support they need to protect our homeland and keep America safe.”

Mullin and Paul have a contentious history. Before becoming Homeland Security secretary, Mullin called Paul a “freaking snake” and said he understood why an attacker ambushed the Kentucky Republican in his front yard in 2017, breaking several ribs and damaging his lung. Paul confronted Mullin about the comments at his March confirmation hearing and voted against his nomination.

ICE, the primary agency responsible for arresting and deporting immigrants in the country illegally, is at the center of Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations but has faced scrutiny since the start of his second term. Officials are under pressure to increase arrest numbers, and the agency came under scrutiny earlier this year after officers fatally shot the two U.S. citizens.

The agency has operated without a permanent director since the Obama administration. Todd Lyons, the previous acting director, oversaw much of the administration’s migrant crackdown before leaving at the end of May. He was succeeded by David Venturella, a former private prison company executive and former agency career employee who previously ran ICE’s Secure Communities Program during the Obama administration and later worked for the private prison company Geo Group.