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President Trump is keeping Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in her job — despite bipartisan calls for her ouster.
But, he also made clear Tuesday that new leadership is needed in the aftermath of the Minnesota shootings fallout.
“We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said of his deportation operation in Minneapolis after the shootings of a pair of 37-year old US citizens by federal agents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Noem, fighting for her political life, asked for an Oval Office meeting with the president on Monday evening after he dispatched border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to calm the situation on the ground after repeated clashes between anti-ICE agitators and federal agents.
Noem made her case with her top adviser and former trusted Trump campaign aide, Corey Lewandowski, at her side.
Trump focused on the optics following the latest death of Pretti, a 37-year-old VA nurse killed in an altercation with federal agents.
As Washington D.C. was pelted with seven inches of snow on Sunday, he was inside the White House, monitoring more video angles of the shooting and raising questions about Noem’s assessment, which she called “domestic terrorism.”
Trump wanted a change on the ground, pulling back Noem’s Border Patrol commander, Gregory Bovino, from the state, saying his hard-charging tactics may not have been “good here.”
Noem, however, made her case. Her meeting with the president lasted nearly two hours.
Also in the Monday night meeting was the communications team – press secretary Karoline Leavitt and communications director Steven Cheung – and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Notably missing was Stephen Miller, who drives immigration policy for the Trump administration.
Noem reportedly blames Miller for the stance that DHS took after Pretti’s death, saying it was his idea to label Pretti an “assassin.”
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” Noem told a person who then told her remarks to Axios.
Miller said he got his information from border patrol officers on the ground in Minnesota.
“The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground. Additionally, the White House provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors. We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” he told The Post in a statement.
Miller is usually the top voice in the room on immigration policy, even though Noem outranks him.
And while the White House distanced itself from the fiery rhetoric, the president made clear that Miller was going nowhere, taking him with him on Tuesday on his trip to Iowa.
The result is Noem keeping her job, but the former South Dakota governor is no longer the public face of the high-profile deportation assignment.
She’ll focus on other aspects of her department, which include the Federal Emergency Management Agency and sealing the border.
Trump had a one-word answer when asked if she’ll resign: “No.”
“She’s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure,” he said.
But the political headache is far from over, as Congress plans hearings and investigations – and even impeachment.
At least two Republican senators have called for Noem to step down.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is retiring, said: “I think she should go.”
“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job,” he said.
“It’s just amateurish.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska added: “I think it’s probably time for her to step down.”
Democrats are threatening a long-shot impeachment push if Noem doesn’t resign.
More than half of all Democrats in the House have signed an impeachment resolution pushed by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
And Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania known for his level-headedness and independent streak, called on Trump to fire her.
“Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy,” Fetterman said.
Trump expressed confidence that Homan, a longtime immigration official who also served in the Obama administration, can work with Democratic leaders who have opposed Trump’s deportation operation.
“He’s gotten along with governors and he gets along with mayors,” the president told Fox News’ Will Cain.
“Some people don’t. Some people just want to do their job and leave me alone, and that’s sort of okay too. That’s generally been okay.”
Trump signaled the situation in Minnesota had gotten too hot.
Trump said Bovino, the hard-charging border leader, is “very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy. And in some cases, that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Homan spent Tuesday on the ground in Minneapolis trying to tamp down the situation.
He met with Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, who vowed to keep the city’s sanctuary city status despite Trump’s threats to pull federal funding.
Trump said Homan’s work is “going well” but also made it clear he’ll be watching.
“I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation,” he said.
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He downplayed any talk that his moves in Minnesota were indicative of a bigger staff change.
“I do that all the time. I shake up teams,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s a pullback, it’s a little bit of a change.”
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