US Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem seems on earlier than the beginning of a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to on oversight of the Division of Homeland Safety, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Photos
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., lashed out at Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, calling her management of the company a “catastrophe.”
“We’re an distinctive nation. And one of many causes we’re distinctive is we anticipate distinctive management. And you’ve got demonstrated something however that,” stated Tillis, who has beforehand referred to as on Noem to resign. He struck out at Noem for her dealing with of catastrophe response and the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, amongst different issues.
“What we have seen is harmless folks getting detained that turned out are Americans,” Tillis stated in a roughly 10-minute diatribe that included references to passages from her autobiography during which she describes killing a poorly behaved canine.
Noem was making her first look earlier than Congress because the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by the hands of federal brokers in the course of the Minnesota immigration crackdown. It’s the first of two this week, as she is because of testify earlier than the Home Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
She was met with hostility from Tillis, who’s retiring on the finish of his time period, and Democrats on the panel and skepticism even from another committee Republicans.
“Errors have been made,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, stated in his opening remarks. “Let’s make it clear. One loss of life is simply too many. However officers ought to by no means be threatened or harmed whereas imposing our legal guidelines,”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., questioned Noem on a $220 million taxpayer-funded advert marketing campaign, that included a profitable contract with a Republican consulting agency with ties to Noem and Division of Homeland Safety aides. These commercials characteristic Noem prominently, in a single case on horseback with Mount Rushmore within the background, and warn immigrants about coming into the nation unlawfully. She denied any position in selecting the agency and stated the advertisements have been “extraordinarily efficient.”
“Properly they had been efficient in your identify recognition,” Kennedy stated. “It troubles me. A fifth to 1 / 4 of a billion {dollars} of taxpayer cash after we’re scratching over each penny and we’re preventing over rescission packages. I simply can’t agree with.”
Noem’s look additionally coincided with an ongoing DHS shutdown. Funding for DHS lapsed final month, and Democrats have thus far refused to again an appropriations invoice over frustrations with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement techniques. DHS nonetheless has billions of {dollars} at its disposal to maintain some applications working because of final yr’s huge tax and spending invoice.
Some Republicans argued that in mild of the latest army motion in Iran, failing to fund DHS introduced a safety danger.
“Can we not perceive America’s underneath siege now, more likely to be attacked as a result of radical Islam is underneath siege and they are going to hit again, and we’re sitting right here one another and never funding DHS?” stated Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Democrats in Congress have been sharply essential of Noem’s management of DHS. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ailing., launched articles of impeachment for Noem in January after federal officers killed Good and Pretti.
“Below your management, the Homeland Safety Division has been devoid of any ethical compass or respect for the rule of legislation,” Senate Judiciary rating member Dick Durbin, D-Ailing., stated on the listening to. “With out hesitation or regret, DHS brokers have wreaked havoc in our cities … and acted with unspeakable cruelty towards kids, immigrant households and Americans.”
Family and friends members of people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention had been current on the listening to. They held indicators and shouted in Noem’s route as she took her seat in a Senate committee room.
Two protesters interrupted testimony and had been forcibly faraway from the room.
Durbin and others members additionally took difficulty with Noem’s dealing with of the Pretti capturing in Minnesota. Within the fast aftermath, Noem stated Pretti, a Minneapolis intensive care unit nurse, “dedicated an act of home terrorism,” then walked the declare again after video of the incident emerged.
“Do you retract these statements figuring out these people as home terrorists?” Durbin requested.
“When we have now these conditions occur, we at all times provide condolences to these households, and I provide mine as nicely. These are tragic conditions,” Noem stated.
Given the broad use of ICE and DHS brokers all through the nation, many Democrats have expressed anxiousness that federal officers might be deployed to polling locations for midterm elections this November, as some White Home allies, like Steve Bannon, have urged.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., requested Noem whether or not she would “rule out the deployment of ICE or CBP to polling locations this November?”
“There aren’t any plans to have ICE officers at our polling places,” Noem stated. She didn’t explicitly rule it out.
