Department of Homeland Security head Markwayne Mullin's attempt to park a friend in a high-ranking position is running into a roadblock.
Senior members of his department are hoping Senate Republicans will spike the nomination.
According to a report from Politico, some officials inside DHS, which houses ICE, question Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer's qualifications to lead the agency. They also prefer acting director Dave Venturella, an ally of border czar Tom Homan, who is viewed as a familiar and steady set of hands.
"We don't want [Schroyer]. We don't need him. Leave us alone. We are running better than ever," one of the officials told Politico. "People need to stop telling us how to do what we do best."
Many inside the agency are relieved that Senate Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul (R-KY) has blocked a hearing on Schroyer until the administration shares more information about its probes into federal agents' killings of two American citizens earlier this year in Minneapolis, putting his nomination in limbo.
The report adds, "There is a general feeling inside the agency that the White House isn't going above and beyond" to change the senator's mind.
"I don't get a sense that this nomination is going anywhere," one official admitted, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about feelings toward Schroyer within the administration.
Schroyer is Mullin's handpicked person for the job. That "shows how out of touch Mullin is. That's not even JV level for literally the most important job in the admin that remains unfilled," a second official said. "Mullin clearly doesn't subscribe to mass deportations."
Mike Howell, president of The Oversight Project, a conservative-leaning watchdog group, told Politico that Schroyer's lack of record on deportations undermines a pitch Mullin made during his own confirmation hearing — that he'd defer to agency heads given their expertise on the issues.
"If the whole point was to have someone with no immigration enforcement background either ideologically, politically or operationally as secretary, then it's kind of odd to have a similar person as the head of ICE, as opposed to somebody with familiarity or activism on the issue," Howell said.