Donald Trump Defends ‘Very Good’ Kristi Noem Following Fatal Federal Immigration Shootings

President Donald Trump is standing behind Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as Democratic lawmakers call for her impeachment amid the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in separate shootings by federal immigration agents.

The president, 79, was asked by reporters if Noem, 54, had plans of stepping down from her position, a news outlet reported on Tuesday, January 27.

“No,” he bluntly replied, before adding he believes Noem is doing a “very good job” in her role in closing down the border.

Trump’s blunt response comes as multiple voices in Washington call for Noem’s firing, receiving widespread criticism after fatal shootings involving federal agents in Minnesota earlier this month.

“I make a direct appeal to immediately fire @Sec_Noem. Americans have died,” Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa. wrote via X on Tuesday, January 27, tagging Trump and Noem’s handles. “She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Homeland Security leader one day earlier, emphasizing she had earned the “utmost confidence and trust of the president.”

“[Noem is] continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the whole entire country,” Leavitt, 28, added. “Of course, Secretary Noem is also in charge of FEMA, and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that.”

The Trump administration’s aggressive push to escalate immigration enforcement has become increasingly controversial, especially after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal immigration officers during operations that critics say reflect excessive force and poor training.

Noem has only continued to cause outrage by labeling the shootings in Minneapolis as “domestic terrorism” and accusing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of inciting violence against federal officers.

“When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism,” Noem said during a news conference on Saturday, January 24. “This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism. That’s the facts.”