Some Senate Republicans say they have lost confidence in Kristi Noem’s ability to lead the Department of Homeland Security following the death of Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents on Saturday in Minneapolis.
In fact, they think she should resign or be removed from the job.
“She should go,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
When asked if he had any confidence in Noem, Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters, “Not at all. I think she should go.”
The Trump administration removed Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, a high-ranking federal immigration official, from Minnesota as the White House tries to calm tensions in the state following the shooting deaths of Pretti and Renee Good. President Donald Trump has dispatched White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to work with state leaders and oversee operations there.
But some Republicans are putting pressure on the administration to go further. Many who had previously voiced support for Noem would not say if they still did so.
Earlier on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that what has been happening in Minnesota was “an inflection point.”
“An opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and the procedures and how they’re being implemented and put in practice,” he continued.
When asked whether he has confidence in Noem, Thune demurred.
“That’s the president’s judgement call,” Thune said.
Coming out of Senate votes Tuesday, NOTUS asked Sen. Susan Collins whether she had confidence in Noem. The senator directed the question to her colleague, Murkowski, who was walking with her.
“No,” Murkowski said.
Collins added that she called Noem on Monday and “urged her to have a pause in both Minnesota and Maine on this surge of enforcement until we get a better focus.” But she did not respond to direct questions on whether Noem should remain as DHS secretary.
In a post on X, Collins said she had “spoken with the White House and with DHS Secretary Noem about the ICE operations.” She reiterated that she asked Noem to pause the immigration operations in the two states and called for “an independent investigation into the tragic shooting of Alex Pretti.”
“At this time of heightened tensions, these steps are necessary to help improve trust, accountability, and safety,” her statement continued.
Her statement on Tuesday evening came after Maine faith leaders staged a pray-in at her Portland office, demanding that she vote against any DHS spending bill that maintains funding for ICE and call for ICE to end its surge of operations in Maine and Minnesota. Nine of them were arrested after spending more than an hour in the hallway outside her office after police warned them to disperse. Those arrested are awaiting a February court date for criminal trespassing.
Other Republicans similarly refused to answer questions directly.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is facing a Senate primary against Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow, is one of several senators to have called for a thorough investigation into Pretti’s shooting. He told reporters that if that probe were to happen, “We’d have confidence in the investigation,” but did not address whether Noem should stay in her position.
Similarly, Sen. Rand Paul, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, told NOTUS, “I don’t have any conclusions.”
He pointed to the Feb. 12 hearing where his committee is set to question Immigration and Custom Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow.
“We’re going to find out a lot more with the hearing,” Paul said.
And Sen. John Cornyn, who is also in a hotly contested Senate primary, quickly walked away when reporters asked whether he was confident in Noem’s leadership.
Meanwhile, calls from Democrats for Noem to either be fired or impeached are surging.
Already, over three-fourths of the House Democratic Caucus support articles of impeachment against Noem introduced by Rep. Robin Kelly, her office announced Tuesday. The list includes several members in vulnerable seats, moderates and members of leadership. Democratic leadership also came out with a statement Tuesday that they’d begin impeachment proceedings in the House if Noem wasn’t “fired immediately.”
Sen. John Fetterman, one of seven Democrats who voted to confirm Noem, urged Trump to “immediately fire” Noem, arguing that she is “betraying” the Department of Homeland Security’s “core mission and trashing your border security legacy.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, who also voted to confirm Noem, told NOTUS that the secretary getting removed from her job would be “the smart play from the administration.”
“But I don’t want DHS Secretary Steve Miller,” Kaine quickly added, referring to Trump’s homeland security adviser. “It’s hard to imagine that there are people worse, but actually there are people worse.”
Ultimately, removing Noem from the job, he continued, “would be smart for the administration to do it, but it would not be enough.”
Maine Monitor reporter Sean Scott contributed reporting.
