Democrats grow louder on calls for Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment

WASHINGTON — Eight additional Democrats signed on to an impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti, bringing the total number of co-sponsors to 120, according to a spokesperson for the office of Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois.

Kelly’s impeachment resolution against Noem had garnered 100 co-sponsors as of Jan. 20, according to a press release, but the number spiked in recent days amid outcry over immigration enforcement practices as thousands of federal officers were deployed to Minnesota in what the administration has dubbed Operation Metro Surge.

“IMPEACH KRISTI NOEM,” the Democratic Party said on X Sunday.

The latest calls for Noem’s impeachment come as the Department of Homeland Security faces a fresh wave of scrutiny in the aftermath of two killings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said late last week that he would support efforts to impeach Noem. After Pretti was killed, Thompson said in a statement, “The House must immediately take steps to impeach Kristi Noem.”

Pretti’s killing “is sick and should shock all Americans,” he said in the statement.

“It is also more of the purposeful chaos and violence that Trump and Kristi Noem welcome and are responsible for,” he continued. “Trump and Noem have blood on their hands.”

Reached for comment, spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that DHS enforces Congress’ laws, adding, “If certain members don’t like those laws, changing them is literally their job.”

McLaughlin pointed to ICE officers facing assaults and criticized politicians who she said “would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws,” going on to criticize former President Joe Biden’s immigration record.

“It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership,” McLaughlin said.

Several other Democrats called for Noem to resign.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida posted on X that Noem must resign, saying that the department “is telling us not to trust our own eyes.”

“They can’t be trusted to investigate these killings,” she said.

Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Peter Welch of Vermont were among the lawmakers who previously called on Noem to resign, and they reiterated their calls after Pretti’s killing.

“The President needs to remove these federal agents from our cities now,” Bennet said in a post to X. “Kristi Noem must resign and the dehumanizing policies must end immediately.”

Welch, meanwhile, referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as “an agency that has become a paramilitary force terrorizing American communities.”

On Sunday, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., posted on X that 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.”

“Kristi Noem and her department’s latest attempt to mislead the American public regarding the brutal and unjustified killing of Alex Pretti is deeply shameful, and she must be impeached and removed from office immediately,” Rosen said.

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., posted to social media Sunday that “Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately.”

“Under her leadership, ICE has targeted U.S. citizens and children and killed Americans,” Gillen said. “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.”

Other Democrats who have called for Noem’s resignation include Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California, and Reps. Marc Veasey of Texas and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

After Pretti was killed, Noem alleged he had approached Border Patrol agents with a handgun and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. However, eyewitness videos do not appear to show Pretti holding a gun in the moments before his death. Local officials have said that he had a permit to carry a gun.

Earlier this month, Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed in her car by a federal officer.

Shortly after her death, Noem claimed that Good tried to “kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism.” Cellphone videos, though, cast doubts on Noem’s explanation, and witnesses said they believed Good was trying to drive away from the officers.

Several Democratic senators also announced that they would not vote for an appropriations bill that included funding for DHS. If the bill does not pass the Senate by the end of the month, the government could face a partial shutdown.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Adam Schiff of California said in interviews on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that they would be among the Democrats who would vote against an appropriations bill that included funds for DHS.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Saturday statement that “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”