Trump's pull of Lance Schroyer proves patronage is not a strategy
By Aoife Gallagher · Reporting from Dublin ·
When Donald Trump took to Truth Social to hail Lance Schroyer as a "PATRIOT" with the "decades of experience" required to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he wasn't…
# A Security Detail is Not a Strategy for Governance
Donald Trump hailed Lance Schroyer as a "PATRIOT" on Truth Social, citing "decades of experience" to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Schroyer was not a career civil servant or an immigration expert. He was a former Oklahoma state trooper and a bodyguard for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The White House essentially nominated the man who held the Secretary's door open.
The White House withdrew Schroyer’s nomination on September 17. Critics frame the move as a tactical retreat, but it was actually a collision between a political appointment and Senate confirmation hearings. Since 2017, ICE has lacked a confirmed leader. The administration hoped personal loyalty would replace professional expertise, but the attempt failed.
The opposition did not spring from a partisan whim. According to The Guardian, DHS employees refused to report for duty under a man who lacked any formal experience within ICE. These workers feared a boss who valued a small inner circle over the agency's professional standards. This drift mirrored the 2005 appointment of Alberto Gonzales, when scrutiny over qualifications signaled a shift toward political policing.
Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stalled the hearing. Paul said he had no concern with Schroyer himself, but he demanded an update on internal investigations into civilian deaths.
In 2026, ICE officers shot and killed several people in Minneapolis, including American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. These deaths did not happen in isolation; they occurred while the agency operated without a permanent director. When the state fails to hold agents transparently accountable, the law becomes a blunt instrument of violence. The administration tried to install Schroyer to quiet these questions, but Paul forced the White House to choose between its nominee and its ability to evade scrutiny.
This pattern mirrors the Iran-Contra affair. In that scandal, the executive branch ran a clandestine operation that bypassed the laws of Congress. The structure collapsed only when investigations into the misconduct became impossible to ignore. Today, the executive branch again pushes a loyalist into a powerful enforcement arm while stalling the transparency required to investigate the agency's killings.
The Blood on the Ledger of Unchecked Power
David Venturella remains the acting director. This status allows the agency to function without the constitutional check of a Senate vote. This pattern repeats: the 2017 ICE raids and the 2019 Border Crisis showed that an agency running on "acting" authority answers to no one. The executive branch uses these interim gaps to insulate itself from the consequences of its enforcement surges.
The White House treats the agency like a private estate rather than a public institution. By treating the nomination process as a hurdle to clear through patronage, the administration ensures that any future candidate will hit the same wall of resistance.
According to NPR, ICE arrests reached nearly 51,000 in August—roughly 1,700 people every day. This surge continues under a leader who never faced a public hearing.
Who answers for the acting director?
The White House will likely nominate another close associate of Secretary Markwayne Mullin. They may choose a candidate with a more polished veneer of operational experience, but the strategy remains the same: install a loyalist to ensure the machine keeps turning without the friction of oversight.
This is not a failure of the Senate, but a failure of the executive to respect the confirmation process. The withdrawal of Schroyer is not a victory for transparency. It is a temporary pause in a long-running effort to govern through shadows.