Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem confronted rising calls to step down or be fired Wednesday over her dealing with of President Trump’s Minneapolis immigration crackdown and the killing of Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers.
Not less than two Republican senators have joined many Democratic lawmakers in calling for the ouster of Noem as public outrage continues to construct over her effort to whitewash the killing of Pretti and smear the sufferer as a “domestic terrorist.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) known as for Noem to go. Each relative moderates voted to substantiate Noem final yr.
“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying,” Tillis (R-NC) advised reporters on Capitol Hill. “She should be out of a job. I mean, really, it’s just amateurish.”
A lady lights a candle whereas mourning at a makeshift memorial within the space the place Alex Pretti was shot useless by federal immigration brokers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 26, 2026. (Octavio JONES / AFP by way of Getty Photographs)
Trump has thus far stood by Noem, a right-wing former South Dakota governor. However that would change as she seems to be a political albatross dragging down his approval scores in polls and inflicting him to lose assist even amongst Republican lawmakers.
After weeks of spewing pugnacious rhetoric in regards to the Minnesota crackdown, Trump has sought to take a extra measured tone for the reason that Saturday killing of Pretti, which has sparked widespread bipartisan outrage.
Trump successfully sidelined Noem and eradicating her tough-talking ally Greg Bovino from his Border Patrol “commander at large” place on Monday, putting border czar Tom Homan on the helm.
Homan has sought to place a extra skilled and fewer confrontational stamp on the enforcement operation, assembly with Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey on his first full day within the metropolis Tuesday.
Pretti was utilizing his cellular phone to file ICE brokers and sought to assist a fellow protester when the brokers tackled him on Saturday morning. They shot him 10 occasions.
{A photograph} of the pistol recovered by immigration brokers after a taking pictures in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday morning is proven on a display behind U.S. Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem as she speaks throughout a information convention within the Nationwide Response Coordination Middle on the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) headquarters on January 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Photographs)
ICE brokers discovered a gun on Pretti however he was legally licensed to hold it and by no means unholstered it, a preliminary DHS investigative report stated.
Regardless of proof on the contrary, Noem falsely stated Pretti “brandished” the gun at brokers. An official assertion from DHS claimed Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” with out offering any proof to again up these claims.
Pretti is the second U.S. citizen to be killed by ICE brokers this month after brokers shot useless unarmed motorist Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
White Home spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dodged questions on whether or not Trump agrees with Noem’s false statements in regards to the killing of Pretti, 37, a revered intensive care nurse at an area Veterans Administration hospital.
The president vowed to carry an “honest and honorable” investigation of the slaying, however thus far it’s being dealt with by DHS itself, and there’s no signal of a critical probe into whether or not the brokers broke the regulation by killing Pretti.
Trump additionally questioned why Pretti was carrying a gun, statements which have irked a few of his conservative supporters who’re additionally gun-rights advocates.
