White House Withdraws Trump's ICE Director Nominee Schroyer

The White House withdrew President Trump's nomination of Schroyer — identified by the AP and NPR as Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, and by CBS News as Richard Schroyer — to lead ICE, the agency announced September 17, 2026, without explanation. Schroyer, a senior adviser to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, was nominated in June but never advanced past the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Chairman Rand Paul said he had withheld a hearing while awaiting details on an internal investigation into ICE-involved civilian deaths, including two American citizens killed in Minneapolis, and said he still had not received that information when the withdrawal was announced.

The setback leaves ICE without a Senate-confirmed director for the ninth year running, currently led by acting director David Venturella after Todd Lyons' April resignation, as the agency's August arrest total reached nearly 51,000 — a monthly high for the administration.

The White House has not named a replacement nominee or explained the withdrawal.