President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem isn't stepping down following two deadly shootings involving federal agents.
Trump expressed confidence in Noem’s leadership as she faces scrutiny and mounting pressure to resign over the shootings in Minneapolis in one month.
The president answered "no" when pressed on whether Noem would step down as she faces scrutiny over the shootings.
"I think she's doing a very good job," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "The border is totally secure. You forget, we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now, we have a border where no one is coming through."
37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a federal enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot on Jan. 24 by a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent.
When asked whether Pretti’s death was justified, Trump said there’s a “big investigation” into the shooting.
"I want to see the investigation,” Trump told reporters. I'm going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself."
The president added that he’s looking at the “whole situation,” expressing love for Pretti’s family and calling it a “sad situation.”
In the wake of the second shooting involving a federal agent, more Democratic members of Congress have called for Noem’s resignation.
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.) wrote on X: “Another U.S. citizen has been killed at the hands of ICE and there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately.”
Trump has since doubled down on the broader mission of his nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, including Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.
"We can't lose sight of the fact that we have to take murderers and drug lords and people from mental institutions that were dumped into our country through open borders of the Democrats,” Trump said.
Trump deployed his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to meet with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and oversee ICE operations.