Cuccinelli unlawfully appointed to head Citizenship and Immigration Services, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Sunday that one of the Trump administration's top immigration officials, Ken Cuccinelli, was unlawfully appointed to his post because of a decades-old law on federal vacancies.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that Cuccinelli's appointment as the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) circumvented a law that said a senior government position could be filled only if the Senate first approved the individual.

It was not immediately clear what impact this would have on Cuccinelli's tenure, if any.