U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Chris Magnus said Friday he refused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' request that he resign.
Multiple outlets reported earlier in the day that Magnus had been asked to resign a day after Tuesday's midterm elections.
"I want to make this clear: I have no plans to resign as CBP Commissioner," Magnus said in a statement, The Washington Post reported.
"I didn’t take this job as a resume builder. I came to Washington, DC — moved my family here — because I care about this agency, its mission, and the goals of this Administration."
The news came amid a southern border migrant crisis that began when President Joe Biden took office.
Magnus, 62, was confirmed, mostly along party lines, by the Senate in December.
House Republicans last week called for Magnus to resign, alleging he is "unengaged" at his job.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., and 15 other Republicans cited a report by Politico in which five unnamed officials levied accusations against Magnus.
Politico portrayed Magnus as an isolated, disengaged leader who sometimes nodded off during meetings.
Magnus attributed his unscheduled naps to spells of fatigue as a side effect of multiple sclerosis, a neurological condition he was diagnosed with 15 years ago. He added that his medication had been adjusted to address those effects.
In his statement Friday, Magnus said his job at CBP is not finished.
"I haven’t been afraid to ask 'why' things are done in certain ways and want to continue to do so," he said, the Post reported. "In addition to focusing on Border security and critical issues associated with irregular immigration, I’m also committed to carrying out common-sense law enforcement reforms to improve the agency’s culture and our standing with the public — while still respecting and supporting our workforce as they carry out our important mission."
Republicans have threatened to impeach Mayorkas, who is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee next week, the Post reported.
Border Patrol's 2.7 million border encounters last fiscal year, mostly at the U.S.-Mexico border, were a record high.
Magnus, CBP's first openly gay commissioner, previously served mostly in smaller law enforcement settings. He was police chief in Fargo, North Dakota; Richmond, California; and Tucson, Arizona, where he took over in 2016.
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