Headline Roundup March 2, 2020
Judge Rules Cuccinelli Appointment Illegal
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Featured Coverage of this Story
Politico
A D.C.-based federal judge ruled Sunday that President Donald Trump's appointment of Ken Cuccinelli as acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a decision that suspends two policies Cuccinelli implemented while leading the agency.
Cuccinelli, an immigration hard-liner who was previously attorney general in Virginia, became acting head of USCIS in June, assuming the newly created role of “principal deputy director." In November, Cuccinelli also assumed the position of "senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary" at USCIS' parent agency, the Department...
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.
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.
AllSides Picks
Headline Roundup
Some Left-rated Media Blame House Dems for Blocking Hegseth Impeachment
November 11th, 2026
Headline Roundup
Rep. Massie Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Hegseth
November 9th, 2026
.jpg)
Blog
Tracking Trump’s Campaign Promises
AllSides Staff
November 7th, 2026
Blog
When Jeffrey Epstein Decides the Midterms
Dan Schnur
October 26th, 2026
