Republicans warn Cuccinelli won't get confirmed by GOP Senate

By Jordain Carney - 06/10/19 06:49 PM EDT
 
Senate Republicans are warning that Ken Cuccinelli, who was tapped Monday to serve as the acting head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will not be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate. 
 
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Cuccinelli started his job atop the immigration agency Monday, a controversial move that came even after top Senate Republicans publicly warned that the former Senate Conservatives Fund leader would face a rocky reception on Capitol Hill. 
 
Trump hasn't said if he will try to get Cuccinelli confirmed to the spot on a permanent basis. But Republican senators sent a warning shot on Monday, predicting that he likely cannot be confirmed in the GOP-controlled Senate, where a nomination has to lose four Republican senators to fall short of the simple majority required for nominations. 
 
 
Asked about putting Cuccinelli in the spot in an "acting" capacity, Thune added that it's "probably the only way they could get him in there" and that it would be "hard" for the administration to get the former Virginia attorney general in the role permanently. 
 
 
“He’s made a career of attacking other Republicans and frankly attacking President TrumpDonald John TrumpDavid Axelrod after Ginsburg cancer treatment: Supreme Court vacancy could 'tear this country apart' EU says it will 'respond in kind' if US slaps tariffs on France Ginsburg again leaves Supreme Court with an uncertain future MORE, so I doubt he’ll have the support to get confirmed,” Cornyn said.
 
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Cuccinelli would have to lose four Republican senators and win no support from Democrats if he was sent before the Senate for confirmation. 
 
But the pushback from top Senate Republicans comes after McConnell publicly warned earlier this year that he did not want Cuccinelli as the next Department of Homeland Security secretary. Cuccinelli tried to unseat McConnell in 2014, including backing his primary opponent, Matt Bevin. 
 
"I've not spoken to him about any of them. I have expressed my, shall I say, lack of enthusiasm for one of them … Ken Cuccinelli," McConnell told reporters in April.
 
Cuccinelli is replacing Lee Francis Cissna, who was forced out as USCIS chief late last month amid a shake-up at the department that was engineered by top White House policy adviser Stephen MillerStephen MillerThe White House and schools have this in common: Asbestos The Hill's Morning Report - Trump on defense over economic jitters Top immigration aide experienced 'jolt of electricity to my soul' when Trump announced campaign MORE. 
 
 
Cuccinelli is also the latest in a growing number of administration positions Trump is filing in an "acting" capacity, letting him avoid having his nominations go through potentially bloody Senate confirmation battles.
 
Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioGOP group calls on Republican senators to stand up to McConnell on election security in new ads What the gun safety debate says about Washington Trump moves forward with F-16 sale to Taiwan opposed by China MORE (R-Fla.) said on Monday that he didn't think appointing Cuccinelli in an acting capacity was a "wise move" because the tensions could spill over into other nominations. 
 
"Just knowing people the way I do, it's going to make some people angry," Rubio said. 
 
 
"I prefer votes in the Senate for positions of that nature," he said. 
Tags Ken Cuccinelli Mitch McConnell Chuck Grassley Stephen Miller Mick Mulvaney Donald Trump John Cornyn Marco Rubio Mitt Romney John Thune Immigration border security