Houston, July 25 (RHC)-- U.S. officials pried open the doors of the Chinese consulate in Houston on Friday and took over the building shortly after Chinese officials vacated the facility on orders from the Donald Trump administration.

Federal officials and local law enforcement surrounded the Houston facility Friday afternoon as the Chinese officials moved out of the building.  Forty minutes after the 4 p.m. eviction deadline passed, U.S. officials broke into a back door of the consulate and a man believed to be a State Department official led the way of the U.S. takeover, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Photographs show federal officials and a locksmith trying to force their way into the vacated Consulate General of China.  U.S. officials had tried three other entrances but couldn't get in. 
Security teams wearing U.S. State Department emblems shirts stood guard while others broke down the doors.