Senate GOP critics say Noem ‘needs to go’ amid fallout from Minneapolis shootings

A pair of Senate Republicans are demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem lose her job in the wake of a pair of fatal shootings in the midst of the agency’s immigration operations in Minnesota. 

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are no strangers to being critical of the Trump administration, and have again broken from their party in calling for Noem to either step aside or be fired by President Donald Trump. 

They join several Senate Democrats who have demanded accountability for the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in the midst of DHS’ immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minn. It also comes as Senate Democrats are threatening to shut the government down in their bid to sideline the DHS funding bill. 

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When pressed on whether Noem should resign, Murkowski noted that she voted for her confirmation last year.

“I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as the Secretary of Homeland Security. I would not support her again, and I think it probably is time for her to step down,” she said. 

Trump on Tuesday said that Noem was doing a “very good job.” 

“The border is totally secure,” Trump told reporters outside of the White House. “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.”

When asked if she would be stepping down, he said “no.” 

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Tillis, who has made a habit of going after Trump officials in the last several months and accusing them of giving the president bad policy advice, was more biting in his assessment of Noem’s performance, and extended that breakdown to White House Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who similarly accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist. 

He charged that “people like Noem are squandering” Trump’s ability to codify policy and open the door to a discussion on immigration reform — something both sides of the aisle have desired for some time. 

“I don’t know if it’s lost yet, but if it is an opportunity lost, I put it squarely on the shoulders of people like Noem and Stephen Miller,” Tillis said. “Those two people told the president, before they even had any incident report whatsoever, that the person who died was a terrorist. I mean, that is amateur hour at its worst.”

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When asked about Noem’s choice to label Pretti as a domestic terrorist, Murkowski said that the DHS head has an “obligation to control these situations that are under her jurisdiction, and she has not done so.” 

Murkowski contended that accountability in the situation goes all the way to the top rung of leadership. 

“I think you have a secretary right now who needs to be accountable to to the chaos and some of the tragedy that we have seen,” Murkowski said. 

And Tillis, when asked if Noem should be removed from her position, said “100%,” but stopped short of supporting impeachment. 

“I’m not going to get into impeachment,” Tillis said. “I think it should be a management decision. She needs to go.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS.