Kristi Noem found herself iced by one of her own goons when the man she appointed to head Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive refused to defend her during a congressional hearing.
The Homeland Security secretary has been under fire from all sides after the decision to deploy thousands of federal immigration agents to Minneapolis led to mass demonstrations and the deaths of two American protesters, Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
But Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined repeated opportunities to stand up for his boss in testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday.
Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was shot multiple times after intervening to assist a woman who had been shoved to the ground by federal immigration agents. His death came three weeks after Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent as she tried to drive away from a protest.
Officials, including Noem, immediately characterized both Pretti and Good as having posed a violent threat to federal agents, claims that have been disputed by video evidence and witness accounts.
Noem is now facing mounting calls to step down, with nearly 150 lawmakers backing an effort to impeach her.
During Tuesday’s congressional hearing, Lyons was asked if Noem should resign from her post over the killings, but refused to offer any comment.
“The American people are angry, and they’re demanding accountability and justice from those giving the orders,” Rep. Tim Kennedy told Lyons. “Mr. Lyons, yes or no. Do you believe that Secretary Noem should resign?”
“I’m not going to comment on that, sir,” Lyons responded.
“So you’re going to look the families of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in the eye and tell them Secretary Noem should keep her job after their loved ones were killed?” Kennedy said.
“Sir, the loss of any life is unacceptable,” Lyons said, before adding that he would not comment on ongoing investigations into the deaths.
Lyons was also asked by Rep. Eric Swalwell to “apologize to Renee Good for being called a domestic terrorist by the president and his leadership.”
“No, sir,” Lyons replied.
“Is she a domestic terrorist?” Swalwell asked. Lyons refused to answer again.
Despite the calls for senior administration officials to resign, Trump has publicly defended Noem. “I think she’s doing a very good job,” he told reporters after Pretti’s death. “The border is totally secure.”
However, the DHS chief been increasingly sidelined from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts since the shootings, with Trump assigning his “border czar” Tom Homan to oversee the federal operation in the Twin Cities instead.
Rather than continuing under Noem’s command, Homan has taken the lead on the ground, steering a shift toward what he describes as more targeted tactics and negotiated coordination with state and local officials—a response to the intense criticism of the hyper-aggressive enforcement strategy previously associated with Noem’s approach.
Polls have shown Americans turning sharply against Noem.
A Quinnipiac poll conducted last month showed that more than half of respondents (58 percent) said they want Noem to be removed from her position. Only 34 percent said they wanted her to remain.
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