A growing number of lawmakers are pushing to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after a month of unrest in Minnesota due to immigration enforcement efforts and her response after the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti who was shot by Border Patrol agents.
Shortly after the death of Pretti, several congressional Republicans came out in support of an independent investigation into the shooting as well as general oversight into how DHS and immigration officers are operating. But some Republicans took it a step further, suggesting Noem should step down or be fired.
“I think that what she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters on Tuesday. “She should be out of a job. It’s just amateurish, it’s terrible. It’s making the president look bad on policies that he won on.”
Tillis specifically pointed to Noem’s handling of the incident, during which she labeled Pretti as a dangerous individual and also called him a “domestic terrorist.” Those characterizations were amplified by other Trump officials such Stephen Miller, who described Pretti as a “would-be assassin.”
The North Carolina senator blamed those two for deteriorating public trust in the Department of Homeland Security, which he says must now be rebuilt.
“Those two people told the president, before they even had any incident report whatsoever, that the person who died was a terrorist,” he said. “I mean, that is amateur hour at its worst. We need to get back on immigration enforcement, making it very clear you need to come into this country in an orderly manner, codify the good policy put together and hopefully gain back some credibility.”
Noem’s response to ICE shooting thrust into national spotlight
Pretti, who was the second American citizen to be fatally shot by federal agents after Renee Good’s death earlier this month, was killed over the weekend. He was an intensive care unit nurse and described by his family as a caring person — but in the wake of his death, Trump administration officials like White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller and FBI Director Kash Patel suggested he was potentially dangerous because he was carrying a gun at the time of his death.
While initial investigations are still underway, video shared online showed Pretti approach the officers with his cellphone in hand while filming their operations.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed he was a lawful gun owner who had a permit to carry, and in the videos online, it did not appear Pretti reached for his gun when struggling with multiple officers.
“This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them,” Noem said Saturday. On Sunday, she used softer language, arguing that Pretti was “laying hands on law enforcement.”
Noem claimed that Pretti was wishing to inflict harm on the officers by having “dozens” of rounds of ammunition and “brandishing” his weapon.
In the several days since Pretti’s death, it sparked an unusual gun rights debate, with national gun rights organizations criticizing the Trump administration for their response over Pretti’s Second Amendment right. It also placed Noem at the center of the controversy — as the leader of her department, she oversees ICE operations.
She also faced scrutiny about President Donald Trump’s confidence in her leadership after acting ICE leader Gregory Bovino was removed from Minneapolis and the president sent border czar Tom Homan to work with local officials during the unrest instead of Noem herself.
Republicans and Democrats who backed Noem withdraw support
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Tillis in the ranks of Republicans rescinding their support of Noem, telling reporters that if given the chance, she “would not support her again.”
“I think it probably is time for her to step down,” Murkowski said. “We would be better served with new leadership at (the) department. … I’ve been disappointed.”
Tillis argued Noem’s performance has undermined Trump’s campaign promises on immigration, which has led to Republicans now “losing on an issue that we should be winning on.”
That criticism extended to the handful of Democrats who voted in favor of Noem’s nomination early last year, ensuring that she was placed in the position.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, one of the seven Democrats who voted to confirm Noem, expressed regret for that decision on Tuesday, telling reporters: “Clearly, (Noem) was not up for the job.”
However, Shaheen stopped short of backing impeachment efforts being floated by House Democratic leaders “given the makeup of Congress,” but said “the Trump administration should get rid of her.”
White House defends Noem
Despite bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Washington, Trump seems poised to keep Noem leading the department.
“We have a very good relationship,” he said of Noem. “I think she’s done a very good job.”
Amid the DHS frenzy and questions about her future, Noem met with Trump for several hours on Monday evening. The New York Times reported Noem requested to speak with Trump and during the two-hour meeting, the president did not suggest that her job was on the line.
However, the meeting occurred the same day that Homan was sent to Minnesota and Bovino was reportedly leaving, essentially cutting out Noem.
Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed several times to reporters during a briefing that Trump still has the “utmost confidence” in Noem as she oversees the entire department.
“Of course, Secretary Noem is also in charge of FEMA, and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that,” Leavitt said.
Since Noem is preoccupied with Federal Emergency Management Agency responsibilities following the weekend’s storm, Homan was in the right position to “drop everything and go to Minnesota to continue having these productive conversations with state and local officials,” Leavitt said.
While Noem is in hot water regarding her role with ICE, it appears she’s trying to show that she is focused on the other responsibilities, including with FEMA. She shared online that she was proud of the people serving at the National Response Coordination Center that responded to the recent winter weather that hit much of the United States.
“The Trump administration has worked around the clock with state and local governments ahead of this winter storm. Response to this storm has been locally executed, state led and federally supported,” she wrote online.
While Noem’s job security remains up in the air, even as Trump insists she’ll continue to lead the department, it is clear that in the year since returning to the White House, this is one of the more serious times Trump has changed course on policy from one of his Cabinet officials, something he was not afraid to do more publicly during his first administration.