Democratic lawmakers file articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem | Kristi Noem
Democratic representative Robin Kelly on Wednesday formally filed articles of impeachment against Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week.
“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham and communities east, north, south, east and west,” Kelly said at a news conference Wednesday. “He needs to be held accountable for his actions”
The new move comes as national outrage mounts over the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good behind the wheel of her car on a residential street by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a high-octane law enforcement deployment in cities and towns across the country.
Kelly, an Illinois Democrat, said he has filed three articles of impeachment against Noem — obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust and violation of interests — and has the support of 70 members of Congress.
While Noem and the Trump administration characterized the incident as an act of “domestic terrorism” carried out by a “professional agitator,” video evidence and local officials have harshly challenged that narrative. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the attack a reckless use of force and demanded the agency leave the city. As tensions between officers and residents grew, the administration responded by sending in more federal agents.
“How foolish at a serious time. With ICE officers facing a 1,300% increase in attacks against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising than on cleaning up the crime-ridden Chicago area,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “We hope that he will take his job seriously to protect the American people, which is what this Department has done under Secretary Noem.”
In response to Noem’s comments, Kelly said: “You violated your oath of office and there will be consequences.”
Late last year, Rep. Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, moved to impeach Noem amid a crackdown on immigrants in Chicago.
They accuse the secretary of deliberately obstructing congressional oversight by withholding appropriated funds and repeatedly blocking lawmakers from entering DHS facilities. It also alleges violations of public trust through “unjust arrests” and the use of “violence against U.S. citizens and legal persons.” It also accuses Noem of “improperly” using taxpayer money to fund an ad campaign for ICE recruiting and awarding the $200 million recruiting contract to a firm run by a top DHS official and the husband of her chief spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin.
Despite growing anger among Democrats over the administration’s violent enforcement tactics, the party remains at odds over how to respond. Democratic leaders in the House did not approve of Kelly’s impeachment effort; This effort is unlikely to succeed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Other Democrats have called for using the government’s upcoming funding deadline to rein in ICE and cut funding to the agency. Kelly, who is entering the Democratic Party primary to replace retiring Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, is positioning himself more aggressively than the leadership on this issue.
“We haven’t ruled anything out and we haven’t ruled out anything. Everything is on the table in terms of full and total accountability,” Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Monday. Jeffries added that Noem is “totally unqualified” and “should be run out of town as soon as possible,” but questioned whether impeachment is “the best way to achieve that goal.”
In 2024, House Republicans broke precedent by firing Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, pushing charges that even some in their own party warned were political in nature. The Senate rejected the charges on the grounds that they “did not allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor.”
Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House of Representatives to approve charges, while a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required to convict and remove an official from office.
