JUST IN: That Border Chief Who Absolutely Refused To Quit Under Threat Biden Would Fire Him? He Quit

R: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus has resigned after vowing he would not resign under threat of being fired by President Joe Biden.

In a statement emailed to Mediaite, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the resignation, and President Biden’s gratitude and well wishes to Mr. Magnus:

Statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Resignation of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The President has accepted the resignation of Christopher Magnus, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. President Biden appreciates Commissioner Magnus’ nearly forty years of service and the contributions he made to police reform during his tenure as police chief in three U.S. cities. The President thanks Mr. Magnus for his service at CBP and wishes him well.

The White House also provided a copy of the very nice resignation letter, which reads:

President Biden,

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Senate confirmed Commissioner of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection over the past year. It has been a privilege and honor to be part of your
administration.

I am submitting my resignation effective immediately but wish you and your administration the
very best going forward. Thank you again for this tremendous opportunity.

Sincerely,
Chris Magnus

The resignation comes hours after Magnus went to the press to declare he absolutely would not be resigning after he was ordered to do so, or risk being fired by the president.

“I want to make this clear: I have no plans to resign as C.B.P. commissioner,” Magnus said hours before resigning as CBP commissioner.

The resignation comes weeks after this exchange at a White House briefing:

EUGENE DANIELS:   My colleague is reporting today that five current administration officials who worked with the CBP Commissioner have described him as unengaged in his job and seen him fall asleep during multiple meetings.  Does the White House have a comment to that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Are you talking about Commissioner Magnus?

EUGENE DANIELS:    Yeah.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, under Secretary Mayorkas’s leadership, we’re — we’re securing the border, taking thousands of smugglers off the streets, installing new technologies to catch more drugs and traffickers, and making historic investments in — in the Department of Homeland Security.  That’s what we have seen, that’s what we have done in the past 20 months.

We’ll continue to focus our efforts on rebuilding the immigration system that the prior administration just gutted, decimated.  And Commissioner Magnus plays a key role on all of this.  That’s how we view his role.

Guess he’s awake now.

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