Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, according to an aide for panel Chair Chuck Grassley, Politico reported Monday.
The hearing comes as DHS immigration enforcement operations face intensifying scrutiny after two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis this month: Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, Jonathan Ross, on January 7, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Saturday.
While Grassley—an Iowa Republican and U.S. Senate president pro tempore—has been in talks for weeks to schedule Noem’s appearance as part of the committee’s regular DHS oversight, the March hearing is expected to focus heavily on DHS immigration enforcement tactics in light of the two killings.
The Context
Noem’s scheduled testimony also arrives as Democrats have escalated efforts to impeach her. At least eight additional House Democrats signed on over the weekend as co-sponsors to an impeachment resolution following Pretti’s death.
The resolution, introduced by Democratic Representative Robin Kelly of Illinois after Good’s killing, now has at least 120 Democratic co-sponsors, though it faces steep odds in the Republican-controlled Congress.
The controversy has grown after Noem quickly defended the Saturday shooting before a full investigation was completed. Multiple videos filmed from different angles appear to conflict with statements by the Trump administration that the shots were fired “defensively” as Pretti “approached” agents with a gun. Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon but appears in the videos to be holding only a phone.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche broke with Noem’s characterization of the Pretti shooting during an appearance on Fox & Friends on Monday. He declined to back DHS’ assertion that the 37-year-old ICU nurse was engaged in domestic terrorism, emphasizing that the shooting remains under investigation.
Both shootings—alongside President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown—have prompted protests and condemnation, with local leaders and a growing number of Democratic lawmakers calling for federal officers to leave Minnesota.
What To Know
Good and Pretti were both 37-year-old U.S. citizens killed during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. During the confrontation involving Pretti, agents discovered he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire multiple times, including striking him in the back. Officials have not said whether Pretti brandished the weapon.
Some Republican senators, including Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, have called for a thorough investigation into the latest shooting. Other lawmakers have criticized early comments from senior administration officials that implied the victims were at fault rather than the officers involved.
Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada added her voice to impeachment calls on Monday, telling the Associated Press that she believes Noem is trying to “mislead the American public” about Pretti’s death. Rosen, a moderate who helped Republicans end the 43-day government shutdown last year, called Noem’s conduct “deeply shameful” and said she “must be impeached and removed from office immediately.”
Kelly’s impeachment resolution lays out three allegations against Noem: obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing. It accuses Noem of blocking congressional oversight of ICE and DHS facilities, directing ICE to “make widespread warrantless arrests, forgo due process, and use violence against United States citizens,” and using her position to steer federal funds toward friends’ businesses.
What People Are Saying
- Rosen, to the AP: “Kristi Noem has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year — and the abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff.”
- U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, Texas Democrat, to Newsweek on Thursday: “When you have people that are being killed in broad daylight, if your only excuse for not signing on is nothing’s gonna happen, then it almost gives a permission structure. It is almost complicit in these actions. We still have democracy, at least some portions of it at this point.”
- DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, to Newsweek on Monday: “While ICE officers are facing a staggering 1,300 percent spike in assaults, too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws and did nothing while Joe Biden facilitated an invasion of tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country. It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership.”
- Senator Ed Markey, on X Saturday: “Trump’s thugs just shot and killed a man in Minneapolis. Eyewitnesses are describing it as an execution. We cannot keep living like this and people can’t keep dying like this. Stop funding DHS. Impeach Kristi Noem. Hold these agents accountable.”
- U.S. Representative Laura Gillen, New York Democrat, on Sunday: “She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result.”
- U.S. Representative Angie Craig, Minnesota Democrat, previously to Newsweek: “DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is out of control and is not following the law. She’s not following the law. Her agents aren’t following the law as they are, you know, detaining immigrants in our community, detaining U.S. citizens in our community and not following the law in allowing duly elected members of Congress to perform our congressional oversight jobs here in Minnesota.”
What Happens Next
Noem’s March 3 appearance is expected to be contentious, with senators likely to press her on DHS enforcement tactics and the two Minneapolis shootings.
