Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the most senior Senate Republican, issued a warning to the White House on Monday evening: Don’t dismiss any more immigration officials, particularly not Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Lee Francis Cissna.
During an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, Grassley said he was “very, very concerned” about reports that Cissna might be next at the chopping block, following the departure of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles on Monday. The White House also pulled its nomination of Ronald Vitiello last week, who was tapped to run ICE.
“One, those are good public servants,” Grassley told the Post. “Secondly, besides the personal connection I have with them and the qualifications they have, they are the intellectual basis for what the president wants to accomplish in immigration.”
“The president has to have some stability and particularly with the number one issue that he’s made for his campaign, throughout his two and a half years of presidency,” Grassley continued. “He’s pulling the rug out from the very people that are trying to help him accomplish his goal.”
