In wake of the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend, Democrats are overwhelmingly demanding the removal of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Democratic lawmakers in both chambers have called for Noem to resign or be fired after a DHS agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, during protests in Minneapolis.
Even Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who is viewed as a more centrist Democrat and had disapproved of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, made “a direct appeal” to the administration to oust Noem.
“She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy,” Fetterman wrote on social media Tuesday. “DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary.”
Along with many others, Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y.; joined the call for Noem’s termination.
Hickenlooper called her leadership “a disaster,” while Schumer directly attacked Noem as “a liar,” “incompetent,” and “vicious.”
If the Trump administration does not fire her, Democrats are threatening impeachment.
“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” House Democratic leaders, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote Tuesday. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Pretti’s killing is the second death at the hands of DHS agents in Minneapolis over the past few weeks as riots against immigration enforcement continue.
Noem has defended the fatal shooting, claiming that Pretti was “brandishing” a gun. Videos of the Saturday morning incident suggest he may have been shot after agents confiscated his weapon in a scuffle.
President Donald Trump reiterated his support for Noem on Tuesday, even as Republicans expressed concerns over the incident.
“I think she’s doing a very good job,” Trump told reporters. “The border is totally secure. You forget, we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now, we have a border where no one is coming through.”
