A federal judge ruled that Ken Cuccinelli, who previously headed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was unlawfully appointed to run the agency.
Washington, D.C., District Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama appointee, decided the Trump administration violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) when Cuccinelli, the current deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was appointed to lead USCIS in June 2019.
He also ruled that Cuccinelli’s policy that accelerated screenings for immigrants seeking asylum should be eliminated, according to the ruling obtained by The Hill.
The FVRA regulates who the president can put in certain Cabinet and agency roles. President Trump’s administration created Cuccinelli’s first title, principal deputy director, in order for him to qualify to lead the agency in an interim status.
The judge ruled this title creation did not qualify him for the position.
“Cuccinelli may have the title of Principal Deputy Director, and the Department of Homeland Security’s order of succession may designate the office of the Principal Deputy Director as the first assistant’ to the Director,” he wrote. “But labels — without any substance — cannot satisfy the FVRA’s default rule under any plausible reading of the statute.”
