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Trump Says He Withdrew ICE Nominee to Appoint Someone ‘Tougher’

Trump Says He Withdrew ICE Nominee to Appoint Someone ‘Tougher’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he withdrew his nominee to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to appoint someone “different” and “tougher.”

Trump withdrew his nomination of Ronald Vitiello, who is the acting director of the immigration agency, in a letter sent to the Senate late Thursday, according to CNN. The White House didn’t publicly release the letter or announce the withdrawal.

“We’re going in a little different direction,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Ron’s a good man. But we’re going in a tougher direction. We want to go in a tougher direction.”

As he departed the White House on Friday for a trip to review a section of border wall in California, Trump told reporters that Vitiello is a “good man” but confirmed he’d withdrawn his nomination.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum

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