President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the United States finally received a Senate vote after 14 months. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed his name from consideration for the position.
Harris County sheriff Ed Gonzales declared that he had notified the White House that he was no longer interested in serving as the agency’s director when he was nominated to do so in April 2021. Gonzales was the sheriff of Houston’s Harris County.
Gonzales said in a tweet, “I arrived at this decision after prayerfully considering what’s best for our nation, my family, and the people of Harris County who elected me to serve a second term as Sheriff. I am grateful to President Biden for the honor of nominating me, and I wish this administration well as it strives to overcome the paralyzing political gridlock that threatens far more than our nation’s border. Frankly, the dysfunction threatens America’s heart and soul.”
Gonzalez’s revocation, however, comes after the Senate decided to postpone his confirmation process in March over allegations that he was a suspect in a domestic violence dispute with his wife, Melissa.
Gonzalez worked for the Houston Police Department for nearly two decades prior to being appointed sheriff. While there, he voiced his opposition to ICE, a federal organization that is in charge of detaining and expelling people who are unlawfully present in the country as well as conducting extensive homeland security-related investigations.
The sheriff raised his voice after former President Donald Trump decided to remove children from their parents as part of a zero-tolerance policy in 2018, and he did so once more the year after when Trump pledged to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s choice for the Supreme Court, was also criticized and investigated. After Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, said that her nation forbade assault weapons, Ketanji Brown Jackson was observed applauding.
This happened when Ardern was addressing Harvard University graduates at their commencement ceremony, and Biden’s Supreme Court nominee was in the audience, seated to Ardern’s rear left (our right).
In a video of the speech, Jackson can be seen clapping after Ardern mentioned New Zealand’s prohibition on the specific weapons. Jackson is wearing what looks to be a black and white shirt with wiggly graphics.
