Senate Republicans demand Noem to resign, get fired following chaos in Minnesota
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A pair of Senate Republicans are demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem lose her job following a pair of deadly shootings during the agency’s immigration operations in Minnesota.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are no strangers to criticizing the Trump administration and have once again broken away from their party, calling for Noem to either step aside or be fired by President Donald Trump.
They join scores of Senate Democrats demanding DHS accountability for the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in the middle of immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minn. They also come as Senate Democrats threaten to shut down the government to kill the DHS funding bill.
DEMOCRATS PREPARE SENATE REPUBLICANS CLOSE-OFF TEST VOTES ON DHS FUNDING
As anger over ICE’s immigration operations ripples across Capitol Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., claimed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “needs to go.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
When pressed on whether Noem should resign, Murkowski noted that she voted for her confirmation last year.
“I think the President should look at who’s in office as Secretary of Homeland Security. I won’t be supporting him again, and I think it’s probably time for him to resign,” he said.
On Tuesday, Trump said Noem was doing a “very good job.” When asked if he would resign, he said “No.”
THUNE STEAMROLLS DEMS’ DHS REBELLION HAS FETTERMAN FLAWS, SCHUMER IS UNDER PRESSURE
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks at a press conference at the National Response Coordination Center at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
Tillis, who has made a habit of going after Trump officials over the past few months and accusing them of giving the president bad policy advice, was harsher in his assessment of Noem’s performance, extending that description to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who similarly accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist.
He claimed that “people like Noem squander” Trump’s ability to regulate policy and open the door to debate on immigration reform; This has been something both sides of the aisle have desired for some time.
“I don’t know if it’s been lost yet, but if it is a lost opportunity, I’m going to put that squarely on the shoulders of people like Noem and Stephen Miller,” Tillis said. “These two people told the president that the deceased was a terrorist before they even had any incident report. So this is amateur hour at its worst.”
DEMS’ DHS CLOSURE THREAT WILL HIT FEMA, TSA, IMMIGRATION FUNDS WILL REMAIN HEALTHY
Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, speaks with members of the media after the vote outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on Friday, October 3, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
When asked about Noem’s choice to label Pretti a domestic terrorist, Murkowski said the DHS chief “had an obligation to control these situations within her authority, and she did not do that.”
Murkowski argued that responsibility in this case extends to the highest level of leadership.
“I think you have a secretary who is supposed to be responsible for the chaos and some of the tragedies that we’re seeing right now,” Murkowski said.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
And Tillis said “100%” when asked if Noem should be removed from office, but did not support impeachment.
“I will not engage in the impeachment process,” Tillis said. “I think it should be an executive decision. It needs to go.”
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS.
