House Democrats are ramping up pressure on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, with leadership vowing to pursue impeachment proceedings unless President Donald Trump removes her.
The pledge from Democratic leadership comes as Democrats on the Committee on Homeland Security are weighing opening an investigation into Noem and her leadership after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis by immigration enforcement personnel.
“The violence unleashed on the American people by the Department of Homeland Security must end forthwith,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.”
House Democratic leadership has previously remained wary of impeachment efforts, particularly those against Trump, noting that they would be wasting energy given the hurdles in both chambers of Congress.
Along with Jeffries’s support for Noem’s impeachment, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats are weighing the option of opening an investigation into Noem when the lower chamber returns next week from a district work period, despite not having the power to subpoena in the minority, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
If Democrats were to open an investigation, members could not force witnesses to sit for interviews, provide documents, or sit for testimony in front of lawmakers. While they cannot force information or testimonies, they can conduct their own investigation through whistleblower outreach, staff reports, and releasing findings to generate media pressure.
The fatal shootings of Pretti and Good have sparked a nationwide debate over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, with Democrats vocally denouncing Noem and calling for her removal.
“The tragic killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal, paramilitary agents in Minneapolis make clear that Noem has violated the public trust by directing federal agents to make widespread warrantless arrests, forgo due process, and use violence against American citizens,” Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Her removal from office is both urgent and necessary.”
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are demanding changes to the DHS’s operations in exchange for their votes to pass a tranche of government funding bills ahead of the Friday deadline.
Regardless of pushback from Democrats, Trump has continued to back Noem in the face of scrutiny.
“I think she’s doing a very good job, the border is totally secure, you know, you forget, we had a border that I had inherited where millions of people were coming through, now we have a border where no one is coming through,” Trump said Tuesday.
An investigation would lay the groundwork for a push to impeach her. Earlier this month, House Democrats introduced three articles of impeachment against the secretary, despite a trial and conviction being unlikely due to Republicans holding the majority in both chambers of Congress and the White House.
The articles, led by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), include obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing. The resolution has more than 110 co-sponsors as of Tuesday afternoon.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST KRISTI NOEM
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) announced the committee will hear testimonies from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, and Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow on Feb. 10, following a request after Pretti’s death.
“Transparency and communication are needed to turn the temperature down,” Garbarino said in a statement Tuesday. “Thank you to Secretary Noem and the Department of Homeland Security for making these witnesses available, and I look forward to receiving their testimony.”
ILHAN OMAR TO HOLD TOWN HALL IN MINNEAPOLIS
Noem is expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, but there are no plans for Noem to testify in the lower chamber yet.
The Washington Examiner reached out to House Homeland Security Committee Republicans and Democrats for comment.