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Donald Trump defended Kristi Noem on Tuesday amid growing calls for the president to fire his homeland security secretary over her handling of the White House’s mass deportation efforts.
Asked whether Noem would step down, Trump replied: “No”, adding: “I think she’s doing a very good job . . . the border is totally secure.”
Trump’s endorsement of the former South Dakota governor came a day after he deployed border tsar Tom Homan to Minnesota, in a move that was widely seen as a rebuke of Noem, who has overseen the president’s aggressive campaign to detain and deport illegal immigrants.
The personnel change is part of a shift in strategy as the White House comes under mounting pressure over its immigration crackdown from Republican lawmakers and the wider public, after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Pretti’s killing came less than three weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis, sparking a wave of protests in Minnesota and across the country.
Noem stoked public outrage when she accused Pretti of committing “domestic terrorism” at the time of his death despite video footage showing him attempting to help another protester who had been pepper sprayed. Federal agents then wrestled him to the ground before firing several shots from close range.
Asked on Tuesday whether Pretti’s death was justified, Trump replied: “We’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honourable and honest investigation.”
Homeland security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News on Tuesday that the president had “at length discussions” with Noem, adding the secretary would “continue to oversee” the department. McLaughlin refused to reject Noem’s statements calling Pretti a domestic terrorist.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have criticised Noem over her leadership of the DHS. At least three separate Republican-led congressional committees are planning to hold hearings on immigration enforcement in the coming weeks.
Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the Senate homeland security committee, on Tuesday called for an “immediate” investigation into Pretti’s killing.
“I can’t recall ever hearing a police chief immediately describing the victim as a ‘domestic terrorist’ or a ‘would-be assassin’”, Paul said in a post on X. “For calm to be restored, an independent investigation is the least that should be done.”
Nevada Republican congressman Mark Amodei, who chairs a House sub-committee on homeland security, said: “There’s people who have had it with Kristi Noem.”
“For an administration that’s had a lot of success on the border and immigration issues generally, in my view, this has put all that stuff into question, and whether that’s right or not, well, it is politics, and perception is reality,” he told the Nevada Independent newspaper.
“Right now, the perception is not outstanding,” he added.
Republicans control the Senate and the House of Representatives, but Democratic lawmakers in the House have threatened to impeach Noem if she remains in her post, in a move that could gain traction if enough Republicans in Congress sign on.
“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and fellow top House Democrats said in a statement on Tuesday. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Senate Democrats have separately threatened to oppose a legislative package that includes more federal funding for the DHS in a move that could shut down parts of the federal government as soon as Saturday unless the White House makes major concessions on immigration enforcement.