Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had a 5 p.m. meeting Sunday at the White House with President Donald Trump where she was planning to discuss with him immigration and border issues and a path forward, senior administration officials tell CNN.
She had no intention of resigning, according to one of the sources, but rather was going there with an agenda. But the source said, it is believed within the administration that Trump will be pushing for personnel changes.
The source notes Trump’s frustration with the current asylum laws, and his desire for individuals who work for the administration to just stop central American asylum seekers from entering the United States, contrary to the law.
Separately, a source close to Nielsen and an administration official said she was blindsided by the White House pulling Ron Vitiello’s nomination to be director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has heard of other impending immigration-related personnel changes, so she asked for a meeting with Trump to get a sense of his thinking.
While Nielsen did not enter this meeting with the intention of resigning, this source says, it’s possible that if Nielsen doesn’t hear what she is hoping to that she could offer her resignation.
Sources have said Nielsen has been on thin ice before.
