Noem grilled by GOP senators as dog killing story returns during heated hearing

Interior Department Secretary Kristi Noem faced ire from Republican senators during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, including criticism of the Trump administration’s leadership during the wave of deportations.

One GOP senator compared past animal killings to decisions he made as DHS secretary.

Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., engaged in tense exchanges with Noem during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight hearing with lawmakers on Tuesday.

Tillis likened Noem’s decisions as a farmer and dog owner to the disastrous leadership Noem experienced during Trump’s border crackdown.

Kennedy sparred with Noem over her decision to designate Renee Good and Alex Pretti as domestic terrorists in the early days after they were killed and her reasoning for doing so.

“These are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. Not unlike what happened in Minneapolis,” Tillis said, comparing Noem’s time as a pet owner to her leadership as DHS Secretary.

Noem came under fire in the spring of 2024 when, in reporting based on an advanced copy of her memoir “No Turning Back,” she described an incident in which she killed her family dog, Cricket, and a separate incident in which she killed a goat. Noem declared that the dog had proven “untrainable” after several violent attacks and ultimately announced her decision to shoot the dog.

“I hated that dog,” Noem recalled, according to The Guardian and other media reports at the time that covered an advance copy of Noem’s book. “[Cricket was] It is dangerous to everyone it comes into contact with.

“It wasn’t a pleasant job,” Noem added, “but it had to be done. And when it was done, I realized another unpleasant job had to be done.” Noem later described slaughtering the goat, which she described as “disgusting and evil,” adding that the goat smelled of a “disgusting, musky odor” and complaining that it “liked to chase” her children.

News of Noem’s memoir prompted a group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill to launch a Dog Lovers Caucus, and the excerpt from Noem’s memoir sparked criticism of her from animal rights groups and other critics.

In his heated comments about Noem’s leadership, which included criticism of Noem’s approach to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), Thillis said: “You decided to kill that dog because you didn’t invest the proper time and training, and then you had the audacity to go into a book and say it was a leadership lesson about hard choices. It’s in your book. If we had time, we could play.”

“And you killed a goat because you said it was misbehaving. You’re a farmer. You don’t castrate a goat. They’re behaving badly. You probably should have done this sooner, but my point is, these are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. No different than what happened in Minneapolis.”

Kristi Noem attends South Dakota Buffalo Roundup in September 2023 (Fox News Digital)

In addition to going after Tillis, Noem also engaged in a bitter debate with GOP Sen. Kennedy, who signaled concerns about who she was taking direction from during her tenure running DHS.

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“When you say [what Renee Good and Alex Pretti engaged in] Kennedy told Noem, who told Noem that this was the first assessment that the duo’s actions “appeared” to be acts of domestic terrorism. Noem tried to say that the assessment came at a time when so much information was circulating about the Trump administration’s deportation efforts in Minneapolis, but Kennedy stood firm and continued her line of questioning.

“As I said earlier in this hearing…” Noem began before Kennedy cut her off.

“Did you say that? I think it was widely reported. Did you say that?” he asked.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pauses while speaking to members of the media on Capitol Hill. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Noem continued trying to justify the domestic terrorism label until Kennedy intervened.

“I think it’s safe to say you’ve faced some backlash on this,” Kennedy said, adding that he didn’t want to make a judgment on whether this was fair or not, but wanted to point it out.

“Yes,” Noem agreed, before Kennedy got to the root of her question.

“What caught my attention was that you held Mr. Stephen Miller responsible for these statements in the White House, correct?” he asked.

Noem has vehemently denied the accusation, saying the claim came from an anonymous source who cannot be trusted.

“Where you see this is a news article with anonymous sources, and anonymous sources say a lot of things, but I never said that,” Noem said.

Kennedy responded by saying that “in the recording, she said that ‘everything I did was under the instructions of the President and Stephen.'” Kennedy then gave the exact date when Noem made this statement.

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“Do you think it’s fair to blame Mr. Miller for your words?” Kennedy asked.

Noem again dismissed the question and continued to dispute the legitimacy of the claim that he made such statements, adding that she “did not blame” Miller for his decision to call Good and Pretti domestic terrorists.

“You are reading a newspaper article with anonymous sources,” he said.

“Do you deny that you said that?” Kennedy asked.

“Sir, I will not talk about this situation, which was relayed to unnamed sources,” Noem said again.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, offered to appear on CNN to discuss any issue. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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The report in question was a January article from Axios that said: “This episode shows the confusion shaking the administration in the wake of Saturday’s shooting death of Minnesota protester Alex Pretti. And it shows the influence of Miller, Trump’s closest and longest-serving political adviser, whose dominance of the White House far exceeds his title.”

“They’re quoting you on the record saying it was Stephen’s fault,” Kennedy replied, before the committee chairman said the senator’s term had expired.

Before another senator began speaking, Kennedy said, “Thank you.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on Noem’s harsh arguments during Tuesday’s hearing but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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