White House insiders are privately panicking that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump officials are digging ICE into an inescapable hole.
Anonymous White House insiders whined to Politico that Noem and the administration’s smear campaign against Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother shot in her car on Wednesday by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, only serves to stoke American distrust in ICE, federal law enforcement, and the government.
On Wednesday, Ross shot Good in her Honda Pilot at a Minneapolis ICE protest as she tried to drive away from agents ordering her to clear her car from the road.
Minutes after the killing, cosplaying Noem, 54, gave a press conference in Brownsville, Texas, and said definitively that Good was a “domestic terrorist” who was trying to run over Ross with her car. She made the severe accusation while wearing a giant cowboy hat.
Noem’s quick-to-label stunt reportedly left White House insiders cringing.
“Do I think it’s domestic terrorism? Yeah, I do,” a person close to the White House told Politico. “But it might not have been wise to say that at the outset, how [Noem] said it.”
“I don’t know how we recover from this,” said one official, adding, “This is highly problematic and not a good look and not something our government should be remotely engaged in.”
Other Trump officials have followed suit, with Vice President JD Vance claiming Good was influenced by an unspecified “left-wing network” in a stunning press conference, while President Trump accused Good of “violently, willfully, and viciously” running over Ross, despite video evidence of Ross walking away under his own power after killing Good.
Video from the scene shows Good calmly speaking with ICE agents and attempting to turn away from Ross, positioned near her left front tire, before he opens fire. Her last words were “I’m not mad at you.” An ICE agent can be heard calling her a “f–king b—h” after the killing.
Even though the anonymous administration official told Politico agreed with Noem that the incident counted as “domestic terrorism,” they conceded that Noem was not “wise” to jump to such a conclusion before an investigation into the case had even begun.
Former ICE head John Sandweg, who led the agency for a year during the Obama administration, told the publication that Noem’s severe spin of Good’s killing undermined any eventual conclusions made from the investigation into the event, which the FBI is handling after the organization froze out local law enforcement.
“Whatever outcome this investigation produces, I don’t see how anyone’s gonna believe it when the secretary already is firmly — and doubled down on — a conclusion without knowing all the facts,” he said.
Good’s killing led to increased efforts to impeach Noem. Rep. Robin Kelly filed articles of impeachment against Noem, accusing her of obstructing Congress, compromising public safety, violating Americans’ due process, and abusing her office for personal benefit. Reps. Maxine Dexter, Emily Randall, and Yassamin Ansar have co-sponsored the bill.
The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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