Before Kirstjen Nielsen could release a statement Sunday saying she was stepping down, President Trump fired the Homeland Security secretary via Twitter.
Nielsen brought a resignation letter to her meeting with the president at the White House on Sunday afternoon but did not intend to quit. The meeting did not go well, and Trump sent the tweet as she raced to put out the letter, according to Axios.
“Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service,” the president tweeted.
Nielsen said in her resignation letter that it was the “right time” for her to step aside.
Her 16 months leading the department saw Trump growing more and more frustrated with an increase in migrant families from Central America heading to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump’s unexpected announcement came days after the White House suddenly pulled the nomination of Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was also fired by the president via Twitter, in March 2018.
[Related: GOP leaders praise outgoing DHS chief Kirstjen Nielsen as ‘strong’ and ‘principled’]
