After federal agents shot and killed an intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street in broad daylight, Vermont’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, had the kind of reaction one might ordinarily expect from a Democrat:
Enough. … It’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership. At worst, it’s a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans.
Scott added, “The president should pause these operations, de-escalate the situation, and reset the federal government’s focus on truly criminal illegal immigrants. In the absence of presidential action, Congress and the courts must step up to restore constitutionality.”
Some may see this and think Scott might not have much choice, since he’s a Republican governor in one of the nation’s bluest states. But the Vermonter wasn’t alone: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican in one of the nation’s reddest states, spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash and took a similar line.
“What we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability. Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now,” Stitt said on “State of the Union.” He added, “Americans are asking themselves, ‘What is the endgame? What is the solution?’ And we believe in federalism and state rights. And nobody likes feds coming into their state. And so what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.”
The Oklahoman added that he believes Donald Trump is “getting bad advice” on immigration policy from those around him.
The Stitt-led National Governors Association also released its own statement over the weekend, calling for federal officials to “consider a reset” on immigration enforcement strategy. In an apparent reference to the Pretti shooting, the NGA added, “We believe there are criminals in our country who must be held accountable, but moments like this demand thoughtful leadership, coordination, and clarity. Scenes of violence and chaos on our streets are unacceptable and do not reflect who we are.”
As for congressional Republicans, there was at least some pushback over the weekend to the latest developments, with Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina endorsing an independent investigation into the deadly shooting.
The White House might have hoped for a united partisan front in the wake of the Pretti shooting, but it’s instead confronting cracks in the GOP wall.
