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The fallout over the Minnesota immigration crackdown has reached the blame-game stage — and everyone involved is trying to pass the buck.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is claiming that her controversial decision to label the two Minneapolis residents killed by federal immigration agents as “domestic terrorists” came straight from Stephen Miller.
Deputy White House chief of staff Miller, meanwhile, suggested the Border Patrol agents involved in the killing of Alex Pretti were not following protocols.
He also blamed his own controversial statements on intel he got from Customs and Border Patrol brass on the ground in Minneapolis.
President Trump, meanwhile, is standing by his officials, and he blasted two Republican senators who called for Noem to lose her job. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to stoke the flames by calling for Miller’s firing.
The White House said the team is solid and on the same page.
“The President’s entire immigration enforcement team are on the same page. They are working together seamlessly to implement the President’s agenda, protect the American people, and deport criminal illegal aliens,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Post.
No one appears to be in imminent danger of losing their jobs, allies close to the White House say. However, it’s rare for this kind of internal conflict to become public in the second term.
“That’s why this instance is more interesting, because normally you don’t see people arguing with each other. There’s generally consensus, or generally everyone’s getting along with one another, until, you know, this incident,” David Urban, a former Trump campaign adviser, told The Post.
But the cleanup continues.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was in Minnesota on Wednesday to aid border czar Tom Homan in handling the situation on the ground. While Homan has met with state leaders, Bondi was there to defend federal agents and arrest protesters.
“Federal agents have arrested 16 Minnesota rioters for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents,” she announced on social media. “We expect more arrests to come.”
Two federal agents involved in the shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, have been placed on administrative leave while the matter is being investigated. Another agent, who was involved in the shooting of activist Renee Good earlier this month, is also on leave.
Miller admitted Tuesday night that the border agents involved in Pretti’s death may not have been following protocol.
“[T]he White House provided clear guidance to [the Department of Homeland Security] 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,” Miller told The Post in a statement.
“We are evaluating why the [Customs and Border Protection] team may not have been following that protocol.”
The Department of Homeland Security also blamed “chaos” on the ground.
“Initial statements were made after reports from CBP on the ground,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox’s Stuart Varney on Wednesday. “It was a very chaotic scene. We know that our ICE law enforcement are facing rampant threats against them.”
She added they needed to wait for the investigation to play out before they could say more.
Her comments come after Noem was said to blame Miller for the PR mess.
“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.
The Homeland Security secretary met with President Trump for two hours in the Oval Office on Monday night, just hours after he announced Homan was replacing her as the official handling the situation in Minnesota.
One senior administration official downplayed the seriousness of the meeting, saying Noem asked to stop by to speak to the president but ended up staying while other meetings and officials came in and out of the Oval Office.
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was in those meetings, including the one with Noem. Afterward, she had on a “poker” face, an administration official who saw her told The Post.
Trump has expressed confidence in Noem, saying “she’s doing a very good job” and specifically praising her work securing the border.
Miller, who has led the administration’s efforts to expel illegal immigrants, is seen as on safe ground.
“Stephen Miller is one of President Trump’s most trusted and longest-serving aides. The president loves Stephen,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Others agree.
“Anyone telling you that Stephen Miller’s status in the White House has diminished is obviously an ignorant tool, and their opinions and commentary should be immediately ignored moving forward,” Dan Bongino, the former FBI deputy and MAGA podcaster, wrote on social media.
“There’s ZERO chance that’s true.”
Democrats are trying to drag him into it. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called on Miller and Noem to be removed from office.
“Noem is incompetent and she must go,” he said in a statement. “And her boss Stephen Miller must be removed as well.”
Certain Republicans have questioned Noem’s abilities.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis called Tuesday for her to step down.
“I think that what she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying,” Tillis (R-NC) told reporters on Capitol Hill. “She should be out of a job. I mean, really, it’s just amateurish. It’s making the president look bad on policies that he won on.
Murkowski (R-Alaska) also said: “Yes, she should go.”
Both senators voted to confirm Noem as DHS chief on Jan. 25 of last year, but neither has to worry about the immediate political fallout of breaking with the White House. Tillis has announced he will not seek re-election to a third Senate term this year, while Murkowski is not due to run again until 2028.
Trump had a fiery response to the duo as he defended his team.
“Well, they’re both losers. You know, what can I tell you? They’re terrible senators. One is gone and the other should be gone,” he told ABC News.
“So what Murkowski says – she’s always against the Republicans anyway. And Tillis decided to drop out. So you know, he lost his voice once he did that.”
Tillis, for his part, shrugged off the president’s remarks.
“I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be homeland security secretary and senior adviser to the president,” he said.
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