WASHINGTON, D.C.: Calls are mounting on both sides of the aisle in Congress for the removal of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, after the fatal shooting of two American citizens in Minnesota.
As some voices rise, calling for her impeachment, even the Republicans are not coming to her rescue.
"The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done," top House Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.
"Kristi Noem should be fired immediately," the Democrats said, "or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives."
What started as criticism of Noem and a low-probability impeachment effort by Democrats in a Republican-led House has now become a turning point for her. She has become the public face of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
However, with President Donald Trump defending Noem at multiple junctures on January 28, there were strong indications that her job was not yet under any threat.
On January 27, when asked by reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Iowa, whether Noem was going to step down, Trump answered, "No."
Later, during an interview on Fox News, when asked if he had confidence in Noem, the president said, "I do."
However, Noem's confrontational leadership and her comments after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good have been widely viewed as causing lasting harm, especially since what was happening on the ground contradicted her version of events. Her close association with Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was later reassigned from the Minnesota operation as border czar Tom Homan stepped in, has further left her politically isolated in Congress.
As Democrats in Congress threaten a government shutdown unless limits are placed on Trump's mass deportation plans, serious doubts are growing about Noem's future at the department.
Republican leaders of the House and Senate committees that oversee Homeland Security have called in department officials to testify about the operations, which have shocked the country because of their heavy-handed tactics — including images of children, even a five-year-old, being taken from their families.
"This is clearly a turning point and a chance to review and seriously examine the policies, procedures, and how they're being carried out," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, where Noem previously served as a member of Congress and governor before joining the administration.
When asked whether he still had confidence in Noem's leadership, Thune said, "That decision belongs to the president."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer went further, calling Noem a "liar" and saying she should be removed from her post.
