White House Withdraws Nomination of Oklahoma Trooper as ICE Director

Markwayne Mullin (AP Photo/Alex Brandon); Richard Lance Schroyer, Inset

The White House withdrew its nomination of Oklahoma state trooper Richard Lance Schroyer for director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The White House shared the news Thursday on its website, listing Schroyer along with four other potential nominations it was choosing to withdraw.

Schroyer’s nomination came as a surprise since he “had no experience leading a major law enforcement agency, let alone an organization the size of ICE,” according to Politico,

He previously led the security team for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who  appointed him as a senior adviser at DHS.

Steve Herman, the executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy & Innovation, wrote on X, “The White House withdraws the nomination of an Oklahoma state trooper, Lance Schroyer, to lead ICE. Critics, including Republican lawmakers, said his only qualification for the job appeared to be his friendship with a DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a fellow Okie.”

Mullin had praised Schroyer’s nomination.

“President Trump has nominated Lance Schroyer to serve as the ICE Director. With over 29 years of law enforcement experience, Lance will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President’s mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens,” he wrote on X in June.

He added, “Lance is coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma under the 287g program. President Trump made a great pick, and I’m confident Lance’s strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people. It has been 11 years since @DHSgov has had a Senate confirmed @ICEgov Director. The Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.”

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