US President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Secret Service Director Randolph Alles from his position.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that Alles "has done a great job at the agency over the last two years, and the President is thankful for his over 40 years of service to the country", according to CNBC.
Alles "will be leaving shortly," Sanders said, adding that Trump "has selected James M. Murray, a career member of the USSS, to take over as director beginning in May."
A White House official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss Alles' departure, told CNBC that the president has been frustrated with the increasingly high numbers of monthly illegal border crossings.
There were approximately 76,000 illegal border crossings in February alone, according to US Customs and Border Protection statistics. The figure for March, set for public release by Tuesday, is expected by some to be as high as 100,000.
CNN had reported earlier that Trump had instructed acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to fire Alles.
His firing comes a day after the announcement that Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen would be stepping down.
Trump, who announced on Twitter that Nielsen would be leaving, also said that Kevin McAleenan, the current commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, will serve as acting Homeland Security secretary.