House Democratic leaders on Tuesday demanded that President Donald Trump fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or face impeachment proceedings against her.
The ultimatum came in a blistering statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., accusing the Trump administration of mishandling immigration enforcement and enabling excessive use of force.
"Taxpayer dollars are being weaponized by the Trump administration to kill American citizens, brutalize communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant families," the statement read, referring to the shooting deaths of two people during encounters tied to immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. "The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done."
The call for Noem's removal intensified following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday by a federal law enforcement officer. It was the second such fatal shooting in Minneapolis this month; Renee Nicole Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7 after authorities said she attempted to strike him with the vehicle she was driving.
"Republicans are planning to shut large parts of the government down on Friday so that the DHS killing spree unleashed in Minnesota can continue throughout America," the statement read. "That is immoral. Dramatic changes at the Department of Homeland Security are needed. Federal agents who have broken the law must be criminally prosecuted. The paramilitary tactics must cease and desist. Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not kill them in cold blood."
"The violence unleashed on the American people by the Department of Homeland Security must end forthwith. Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Trump held a nearly two-hour meeting with Noem on Monday night in the Oval Office following the announcement that Tom Homan, Trump's point man on border security and deportations, was tapped to take charge of immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that Noem would not resign.
"I think she's doing a very good job," he said in remarks that aired on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform. "The border is totally secure. … You know, people forget as soon as you accomplish something, it goes into history and nobody ever wants to talk about it. We had a border that caused all of this problem Biden caused, and the Democrats caused this problem.
"So, if you remember, we had a horrible border, the worst border we've ever had ever in history. People were flowing through by, we think, 25 million people, not to mention drugs and everything else. And that border is absolutely closed."
Even if Democrats follow through on the impeachment threat, the effort would largely be symbolic given their minority status in the House. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced three articles of impeachment against Noem on Jan. 14, citing obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing. The resolution had 140 Democratic co-sponsors as of Monday.
The Democrats' threat comes amid a broader fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security ahead of Friday's deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that Democrats are committed to fast-tracking five appropriations bills before the deadline but are unwilling to pass funding for DHS.
So far, Congress has approved six of the 12 annual appropriations bills. The House passed the remaining six last week in several batches, adopting a rule that bundled them into a single package and sent them to the Senate.
In addition to DHS, the package includes funding for Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, State and Foreign Operations, and financial services-related government operations.
Senate GOP leadership, however, plans to move forward with a six-bill funding package that includes DHS. Republicans and the White House have reached out to Senate Democrats on how to proceed, but a Senate Democratic leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Politico on Monday that Republicans have not proposed "realistic solutions."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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