
Following Trump's presidential tweet concerning Nielsen's resignation, Nielsen released her own statement discussing her involvement in the DHS since assuming the position in December 2017.
Then, floor time will be eaten up before the Republican majority likely pushes all of them to confirmation.
"The purge of senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security is unprecedented and a threat to our national security", declared Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California.
U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles was sacked Monday, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Lee Cissna, DHS undersecretary for management Claire Grady and DHS general counsel John Mitnick are also leaving the administration.
The White House also on Friday withdrew Ronald Vitiello's nomination for director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Reportedly for weeks, Nielsen has felt 'in limbo"-'limbo" is the right word here, because we've all been watching just how low she can go".
Following Ms Nielsen's resignation, Mr Trump announced the head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Kevin McAleenan, would become the acting secretary.
Grassley said he told White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney Monday "his concerns about Cissna's potential departure", according to the paper.
On Monday, Nielsen told reporters she still supports the president's border goals. Trump tweeted the news before she could get her letter out. "This White House is weird, man".
The former Virginia attorney general visited the White House last week amid reports that Trump was searching for an "immigration czar" to coordinate policy across the government.
Trump, Quartz reports, would see what Miller printed out and would "pick up the phone and blast Nielsen".
The number of migrants arrested at the border has risen in recent months. She has said she will leave her position on Wednesday.
According to the New York Times, Trump frequently "called Ms. Nielsen at home early in the mornings to demand that she take action to stop migrants from entering the country, including doing things that were clearly illegal, such as blocking all migrants from seeking asylum". But there's no effort afoot to craft the kind of bipartisan immigration overhaul bill that would be able to pass both chambers. "He also is 'particularly adept, ' one administration official said, at placing blame on others in the White House when ideas he promotes do not work". "The big takeaways from a legal perspective is that these are exceedingly hard issues and many of them are being resolved by the federal courts, which mean there will be no quick answers".
This makes sense, as even with the Trump administration's ever-revolving door, Miller is one of the few officials not related to Trump, who are racist and sycophantic enough to have stuck around since the very beginning. The president and Stephen Miller, 33, his hardline immigration adviser, are thought to have at least two other senior officials in their sights: John Mitnick, the department's chief legal officer, and Francis... Following those rules, the Undersecretary for Management (Claire Grady) would probably have had to replace Nielsen, so it looks like she'll be departing also to clear the way for McAleenan.