Hundreds gather around a growing memorial at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue South in Minneapolis, where federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti earlier in the day on Saturday, January 24, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing increasing criticism, including from some Republicans in Congress and moderate Democrats, over her response to a second killing by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
President Donald Trump reiterated his confidence in Noem on Tuesday, but several Republican senators, a group that overwhelmingly voted for Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security last year, are pushing for an independent investigation into Noem’s killing on Saturday 37-year-old Alex Pretti from border guards and asked her to testify before Congress.
And Democrats, who are generally not among the most aggressive opponents of the Trump administration in their party, have joined a call to impeach Noem and restrict funding to her department.
However, Trump told reporters that the former South Dakota governor had done a good job, particularly in controlling border crossings.
“No,” he said when asked if she would resign, according to White House pool reports.
In an afternoon appearance in Iowa, he made a similar statement to Fox News’ Will Cain.
“She was there with the border,” he told Cain. “Who closed the border? She did it.”
GOP calls for investigation
The calls for an independent investigation signaled a loss of confidence in Noem among some Republicans following missteps following Pretti’s killing. Last year, no Republican senators voted against her confirmation.
Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, criticized Noem on Tuesday for not placing the agents involved in the shooting of Pretti on administrative leave.
“This should happen immediately,” Paul wrote on social media on Tuesday, He added that an independent investigation was needed to “restore calm.”
Just hours after Saturday’s shooting, Noem called Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, a “domestic terrorist” who planned to “inflict maximum harm on individuals and kill law enforcement officers.”
Noem used similar terminology after the federal immigration official Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good is January 7th.
Both Good and Pretti’s shootings were frequently caught on camera, contradicting Noem’s claims that both posed a threat.
Multiple videos show Good was driving away when Ross fired three shots into her windshield.
New York Times video analysis shows Pretti being tackled to the ground by several agents and two officers firing 10 shots while they were restrained. The analysis also found that an officer took a handgun from Pretti that he had a permit for while he was being detained.
The contradictions hurt Noem’s reputation among some Republicans.
“I don’t recall ever hearing a police chief immediately label the victim a ‘domestic terrorist’ or a ‘would-be assassin,'” Paul said, taking aim at both Noem and White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who called Pretti a “would-be assassin.”
Hearings
Also mention said that Pretti, because he owned a handgun, inherently posed a danger to DHS agents, a claim that has divided Republicans.
Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho contradicted Noem’s criticism of Pretti’s gun ownership.
“His family, law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights, and the trust of the American people deserve a fair trial,” he continued Social Media Monday.
Sen. John Curtis, Republican of Utah, criticized Noem for her handling of Saturday’s shooting.
“Officers who rush to judgment before all the facts are known undermine public trust and the mission of law enforcement.” he wrote on social media Monday. “I disagree with Secretary Noem’s hasty response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened trust.”
He also called for an independent investigation.
Paul on Monday called on several heads of Homeland Security agencies to testify before his committee – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The same agency leaders are scheduled to appear before the House Homeland Security Committee on February 10.
Democrats step up impeachment talks
Democrats are calling for Noem’s removal and pushing for changes to the Homeland Security funding bill. increases the likelihood of a partial government shutdown Friday at midnight.
In the house, 162 Democrats co-sponsored it As of Tuesday afternoon, there were multiple articles of impeachment against Noem, a number that increased throughout the day. The articles were presented for the first time shortly after Good’s death.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Monday calling for Noem to be fired. If that doesn’t happen, Democrats would move forward with impeachment, leaders said. The effort is unlikely to gain traction within House-controlled Republicans.
“Dramatic changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security,” Jeffries said. “Federal agents who have violated the law must be prosecuted. Paramilitary tactics must end.”
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called on Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio to impeach Noem, noting that masked agents from her department “brutally killed two American citizens.”
“Instead of cold-bloodedly condemning these unlawful and cruel murders, Secretary Noem immediately labeled Renée and Alex ‘domestic terrorists,’ blatantly lied about the circumstances of the shootings that killed them, and attempted to cover up and block any legitimate investigation into their deaths,” Raskin said.
On Tuesday, John Fetterman, a moderate Pennsylvania Democrat who voted to confirm Noem, appealed directly to Trump to fire her.
“Americans have died,” Fetterman said in a statement. “It betrays DHS’s core mission and destroys its legacy of border security.”
Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, another moderate Democrat, also called for Noem’s impeachment.
Trump is changing course
Trump faces increasing pressure softened his tone with state and local officials and rolled back his administration’s aggressive immigration measures in Minnesota, which Noem had overseen.
Trump assigned border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to take over ICE operations, effectively sidelining Noem, who deployed 3,000 federal immigration agents to the state in December after right-wing media influencers resurfaced reports about it Fraud in the state’s social service programs.
According to multiple media reports, senior Border Patrol agent Gregory Bovino was removed from his post as commander-in-chief on Monday evening and sent back to California.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision to send Homan to Minnesota, arguing that Noem was busy leading FEMA operations as a winter storm grips much of the country.
Financial statement
After Saturday’s shooting, Democrats in the Senate quickly contradicted the Homeland Security spending bill, which the chamber was expected to pass this week.
Instead, Democrats argued that the measure should be removed from the state’s six-bill funding package and renegotiated to impose more restrictions on federal immigration enforcement.
The funding package passed the House this month, but a majority of Democrats rejected any funding for ICE, which would maintain a flat funding level of $10 billion.
Even if there is a partial government shutdown, DHS will still have up to $190 billion to spend from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax and spending cuts package signed by the president last summer.
