Democrats have called for the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying she has created a confrontational “culture” that has led to growing clashes between immigration authorities and the public that culminated in last week’s shooting death of a woman in Minnesota and two people wounded in Oregon.
The lawmakers said they would like to see Ms. Noem resign or be fired by President Trump, but they’re willing to attempt impeachment if they must.
The calls aren’t new: At Ms. Noem’s last appearance at a House hearing in December several Democrats personally told her to resign. But the calls have ramped up after Wednesday’s fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, followed a day later by the shooting of two people in Oregon by a Border Patrol agent.
Hours after the Minneapolis shooting, Rep. Robin Kelly announced that she would file articles of impeachment accusing Ms. Noem of obstruction of justice, violation of the public trust and self-dealing.
Others said they would support those kinds of efforts but urged Ms. Noem to resign first.
“The killing of Renee Good is not simply the result of one officer’s actions,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, Illinois Democrat. “As secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem is responsible for setting the standards and oversight that govern ICE operations. She has abjectly failed in that responsibility.”
SEE ALSO: Noem stands by ‘terrorist’ label of ICE shooting victim, tells leaders to ‘turn down their rhetoric’
Rep. John Larsen, Connecticut Democrat, said Ms. Noem needed to resign after “lying” to Americans by labeling Ms. Good a domestic terrorist.
The Department of Homeland Security quickly rejected the calls for Ms. Noem to go.
“How silly during a serious time,” the department said in a statement, slamming Ms. Kelly’s impeachment plans.
“As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district,” the department said. “We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this department is doing under Secretary Noem.”
As the minority in the House, the Democrats are unlikely to see their impeachment effort gain much traction. But it could become a campaign issue ahead of November’s midterm elections, and should Democrats regain control of the chamber, it could become a reality.
Ms. Noem, a former member of the U.S. House and later South Dakota governor, has been a very visible face for the administration’s immigration efforts. She has made a point of swooping in to hot spots to tout Mr. Trump’s goals and her department’s progress toward them.
SEE ALSO: ICE adopts new policy limiting congressional visits to detention facilities
She was in Minneapolis on Tuesday, a day before the shooting, to talk about the surge of immigration officers. She was then in Brownsville, Texas, on the day of the shooting to announce new action on border barriers and flew back to Minneapolis to hold a press conference that evening.
On Thursday she was in New York City to highlight immigration enforcement there.
In a YouGov poll in September, Ms. Noem ranked near the bottom among top Trump aides with a 33% approval rating, 10 percentage points lower than her disapproval number.
That was on par with Vice President J.D. Vance and better than Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but trailed the secretaries of transportation, Treasury and state.
At the border stop on Wednesday, Ms. Noem was asked what is the hardest part of her job.
“Nothing’s hard about this job,” she said. “My favorite thing to do is solve problems and meet challenges.”
“I absolutely love it,” she added.
The Homeland Security secretary’s position is perhaps the toughest job in any administration.
In the first Trump term, the president booted Kirstjen Nielsen amid frustration with her handling of the job, then later saw federal judges rule illegal his appointment of Chad Wolf to be acting secretary.
President Joseph R. Biden’s pick, Alejandro Mayorkas, became the first sitting Cabinet official in history to be impeached in 2024 over GOP frustrations with the unprecedented border chaos. The Senate, then under control of Democrats, dismissed the impeachment without holding a trial.
Ms. Kelly’s articles of impeachment will accuse Ms. Noem of obstructing congressional oversight and illegally withholding money allocated by Congress; violating the public trust by directing “unconstitutional actions”; and self-dealing for having “steered federal dollars to associates.”
