The White House has pulled its nomination of Lance Schroyer to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to reports Thursday, leaving the agency without a Senate-confirmed director for the ninth year running.
President Trump nominated Schroyer, a former Oklahoma State Trooper and U.S. Marine with 29 years in law enforcement, in late June. In announcing the pick, Trump praised Schroyer’s work on 287(g) partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE and called him “a PATRIOT with real operational experience.” Trump wrote at the time that “the Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY.”
Schroyer had been serving as an adviser and member of the security detail for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a longtime friend, before the nomination.
The nomination ran into resistance in the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) had said he would not move Schroyer’s nomination out of committee until the Trump administration turned over more information about its investigation into federal agents involved in fatal shootings in Minneapolis earlier this year, Politico reported. Paul’s office said the senator had not voiced outright opposition to Schroyer himself.
Separately, some officials told the Washington Examiner they had doubts about both the pick and Mullin’s leadership at DHS. One official called the nomination a “mistake,” citing Schroyer’s lack of managerial experience, his closeness to Mullin, and his inexperience running a federal agency. Mullin himself came into his role at DHS without a background in homeland security, immigration or border policy.
An 11-year vacancy
ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since Sarah Saldaña left the post on January 20, 2017, at the end of the Obama administration. The agency has been run by a string of acting directors since then. David Venturella became acting director in 2026 after Todd Lyons departed; Venturella, a former ICE senior advisor, was recruited by border czar Tom Homan to hold the position while the administration searched for a permanent nominee.
Mullin flagged the length of the vacancy when Schroyer was first nominated, writing on social media: “It has been 11 years since @DHSgov has had a Senate confirmed @ICEgov Director. The Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.”
With the nomination now withdrawn, the agency remains without a confirmed leader, and it is not clear who the administration will put forward next.
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