Senate Republicans join Democrats in grilling Noem over ICE shooting deaths

WASHINGTON— Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived at a Senate oversight hearing on Tuesday ready to debate Democrats in her first Capitol Hill appearance since federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

But some of the harshest comments from the Judiciary Committee came from Republicans who questioned his leadership, criticized his spending practices and called for him to admit that he was wrong to call Pretti and Good “domestic terrorists.”

You. “We have seen a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster,” said Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “The truth is that you can’t even admit a mistake. It looks like an investigation will prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and back.”

Tillis didn’t question Noem much on the details; instead he opted to deliver the Secretary of Homeland Security’s intense, high-volume “performance evaluation.” He accused Noem and Trump adviser Stephen Miller of prioritizing deportation quotas over investigating “bad” ICE agents involved in the Minnesota shootings.

“We will not go after the people who caused this damage at the expense of removing the numbers that Stephen Miller wants out of the White House,” he said. “We just want numbers. We want 1,000 a day, 6,000 a day, 9,000 a day. Because numbers matter, right? No, it doesn’t matter. Quality matters.”

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also brought up Pretti and Good: “Have you determined whether there is any basis for the sensational claim that these two victims were involved in domestic terrorism, a claim that turned out to be completely false?” he asked.

Noem used the hearing to defend a series of decisions that are now under bipartisan review. He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face “serious and growing threats” because of what he called “deliberate mischaracterization” of their work.

He called the deaths in Minneapolis “tragic circumstances” and said the phrase “domestic terrorists” was based on initial information he received from agents in the city. “It was a chaotic scene,” Noem said. He did not apologize for using the phrase or say it was wrong.

Noem stood behind President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and said ICE was focusing on the “worst of the worst.” Last reporting A study by the Cato Institute found that only 5% of ICE detainees were convicted of violent crimes and three-quarters had no criminal convictions.

The hearing comes amid a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that was triggered last month when Senate Democrats blocked funding over a dispute over immigration enforcement. As tensions escalate in Iran, lawmakers are increasingly concerned about the security risks of leaving the department without funding.

In her opening statement, Noem called the shutdown “reckless” and “unnecessary” and accused Democrats of compromising the U.S. security posture.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) specifically asked about a $200 million advertising campaign featuring Noem promoting immigration enforcement that was awarded to a firm run by a friend. Such expenses “bother me,” he said, adding, “I do not agree with this, Mr. Minister. My research shows that you did not put this job out to tender.”

Noem argued that Trump directed the messaging strategy and that it was “extremely effective” in deterring illegal immigration. He said he “had nothing to do with selecting these contractors.”

The back-and-forth escalated as Kennedy smeared Noem for calling Good and Pretti domestic terrorists.

“What caught my attention was that you held Mr. Stephen Miller responsible for these statements,” Kennedy said, referring to a quote. action report I quote Noem.

He dodged questioning, saying the sources Axios used in the report were “anonymous” and, by his logic, unreliable.

“This wasn’t anonymous. It was you,” Kennedy said. “They quote you on the record saying it was Stephen.”

The secretary was asked several times throughout the hearing about her purchase of two luxury Gulfstream G700 jets from taxpayer funds at a total cost of $200 million.

Reportedly designed by New York designer Peter Marino, the planes feature private bedroom suites with queen beds, bathrooms with stand-up showers and electric bidets, and a lounge with a wet bar and wine cooler, according to images obtained by NBC.

Noem argued that the purchases were authorized by Congress for executive travel and deportation operations.

In another rebuttal, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons pressed Noem on comments she made in November that she planned to station ICE officers at polling places to “make sure the right people vote and elect the right leaders.” He said his department had no such plan but was incapable of ignoring it.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has endorsed investigations into the ICE shootings, but his statements were largely designed to cast Noem in a positive light.

“I want to make sure that it was a bad shooting as it’s been documented and that people pay for it. But I’m not going to apologize to anyone in this room to try to clean up the mess that Biden started and that you amplified,” he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, accused Noem of presiding over “thuggish” and “illegal” enforcement tactics and demanded independent investigations into multiple incidents across the US

Accusing Noem of routinely making false statements about ICE shootings of victims while obstructing state, local and independent investigations, Schiff cited an episode in which immigration agents shot U.S. citizen and Chicago resident Marimar Martinez. A federal judge in November expressed concern that agents mishandled or destroyed key physical evidence in the case.

“Our internal investigations follow the same policies as always,” Noem responded.

“Will you take some responsibility?” said Schiff. “How is the public supposed to believe anything your agency says or finds?”

More than 180 lawmakers co-sponsored articles of impeachment against Noem. Tillis and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski last month called for Noem to resign or be impeached by Congress.

On Tuesday, Tillis told the committee his responses amounted to stonewalling. “This is a failure of leadership and that is why I have requested your resignation,” he said.