Bipartisan pressure mounts for Kristi Noem’s removal after Minneapolis deaths

Federal officials and lawmakers intensified demands that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem leave her post after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis tied to federal immigration enforcement operations, with House Democratic leaders threatening impeachment if she is not removed.

House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar said in a joint statement that "the country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done" and that "Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives." The threat of formal removal proceedings escalates after what critics describe as a pattern of aggressive enforcement that has produced deadly outcomes in recent weeks.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer added pressure, calling Noem a "liar" and saying she must be fired. Several other senior Democrats pressed for accountability and for changes to federal deployments. Senator Tammy Baldwin named the two people killed as Alex Pretti and Renee Good and demanded an independent investigation into what she described as "ICE officers killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good." Baldwin said she would not support funding for ICE without "clear accountability and stronger controls" and explicitly tied that stance to consideration of Fiscal Year 2026 funding bills in the Senate. She urged the withdrawal of "thousands of masked, armed ICE agents" from Minnesota and said, "ICE is simply out of control, and Americans are demanding accountability at the Department of Homeland Security – and that starts with Kristi Noem."

Representative Bennie Thompson declared he would support efforts to impeach Noem and said, "The House must immediately take steps to impeach Kristi Noem." Thompson described the killing of Alex Pretti as "sick and should shock all Americans" and charged that the violence reflected "purposeful chaos and violence that Trump and Kristi Noem welcome and are responsible for," adding that "Trump and Noem have blood on their hands."

Senator Jacky Rosen wrote that Noem "has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year" and asserted that Noem "must be impeached and removed from office immediately," calling the department's handling of the Pretti killing "deeply shameful." State officials and governors including Kathy Hochul and Gavin Newsom, and members of Congress such as Marc Veasey and Chrissy Houlahan, have also publicly called for Noem to resign.

Labor and community groups joined the chorus. Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said, "Enough is enough," accusing Noem of reckless mismanagement that has harmed communities and of repeatedly misrepresenting facts to the American people. The NCAE statement criticized an expansion of ICE operations in cities including Charlotte and Minneapolis and linked that surge to "multiple fatal shootings involving federal agents."

Republican responses were limited. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the situation "an inflection point and an opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and procedures and how they are being implemented and put into practice," but when asked whether he had confidence in Noem he deferred to the president, saying, "That’s the president’s judgment call to make." Observers noted that few Republicans have publicly defended Noem amid the uproar.

Photographs published of Noem show her speaking at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters on Jan. 24, taken by Julia Demaree Nikhinson of The Associated Press. As congressional leaders weigh impeachment and senators condition funding on accountability, investigators and lawmakers face outstanding questions about the shootings, the scope of federal deployments in Minnesota, and whether DHS or ICE will announce internal or independent inquiries.