Look — it doesn’t matter if your job is supervising a burger joint or managing an office; it’s hard being the boss.
But if your job is to oversee the guys rounding up families by the truckload, the stress is evidently so high it can take a legitimate medical toll, at least if you’re acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement direct Todd Lyons.
According to bombshell reporting by Politico, Lyons has had at least two stress-related hospital visits during his time as acting head, both of which were overnight stays. On top of the hospitalizations, people close to Lyons told the outlet his general stress levels have been so high that they’re actively hindering his ability to make decisions for the agency.
Much of that stress seems to be a result of intense pressure from the White House, especially Donald Trump’s foreign policy lackey Stephen Miller. According to Politico, Miller has made a habit of screaming at Lyons over morning phone calls, particularly when he feels that ICE isn’t moving enough bodies to the nation’s growing number of detention centers — which is ironic, given that Lyons has publicly daydreamed about running ICE like Amazon Prime, “but with human beings.”
“He [Lyons] would be visibly upset and struggling to make the decisions that were needed to be made by the director,” one former official told the outlet. Whenever the job got particularly stressful, ICE officials said they witnessed Lyons turn a deep red shade, and break out into a profuse sweat.
In a statement to Politico, Lyons said the stress wasn’t related to the White House, but somehow to former president Joe Biden.
“Since the beginning of this administration, I have worked night and day, all day, every day to undo the harms Joe Biden has caused to the American people,” Lyons said. “Any stress is in no way related to pressure from the White House, and nothing will get in the way of me doing my job.”
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