Sen. John Fetterman called on President Donald Trump to immediately fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by DHS officers in Minneapolis.
The move marks a remarkable shift for Fetterman, who considers himself a border hawk and who was one of seven Senate Democrats to support Noem’s confirmation a year ago.
“President Trump: I make a direct appeal to immediately fire Secretary Noem. Americans have died,” Fetterman wrote in a publicly released statement. “She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy.”
Fetterman’s public rebuke of Noem comes as the Trump administration wrestles with mounting outcry from both sides of the aisle over Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement effort involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers in Minnesota. The operation has drawn widespread condemnation since DHS officers shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
In his Tuesday statement, Fetterman also warned against repeating “the mistake President Biden made” by retaining an ineffective DHS leader during crises. During the Biden administration, House Republicans advanced articles of impeachment in 2024 against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, alleging that he failed to enforce immigration laws and breached the public’s trust. The articles died in the Senate.
Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, stressed that the operation in Minneapolis “should stand down and immediately end,” adding that it has become a “dangerous urban theatre.” Despite his grievances, Fetterman also said in a social media post that he won’t vote to partially shut down the government over the Minneapolis shootings, breaking from the majority of Senate Democrats.
Immediately after the killing of Pretti, Democrats publicly opposed any bill that would fund ICE without new restrictions. The opposition from lawmakers sharply increases the odds of a partial government shutdown just days before the Jan. 30 deadline.
Dozens of House Democrats had already backed impeaching Noem earlier this month. Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, issued a statement Tuesday threatening impeachment proceedings if Noem is not fired.
“The time is now to hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable for their behavior. They are conducting themselves like a paramilitary organization,” Jeffries told MS NOW. “They are violently targeting American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families, and it’s unacceptable. It’s unconscionable and it’s un-American.”
The White House so far has reaffirmed Trump’s support for Noem, even as the administration seeks to manage the fallout. Asked by reporters Tuesday if Noem will step down, Trump replied, “No,” later adding that he thinks “she’s doing a very good job.”
Mychael Schnell and Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.