3 key takeaways from Noem’s first oversight hearing since Minneapolis death

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced increased scrutiny and at least three calls for her resignation Tuesday from senators from both parties.

In her first testimony before Congress since federal immigration agents killed US citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year, the secretary was asked to answer for her leadership on a number of topics, particularly the Trump administration’s ramp-up of immigration enforcement.

In her opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Noem defended her department, which she said was under pressure due to the partial government shutdown.

“The recent Democrat-led DHS shutdown is reckless. It is unnecessary, and it undermines America’s national security,” she said.

The secretary did not acknowledge the shooting deaths of Renee Judd or Alex Peretti in her opening statement, but was repeatedly pressed by lawmakers to explain, retract or apologize for her response in the immediate aftermath of their deaths.

The Department of Homeland Security has drawn public outrage over its aggressive tactics and rising number of shooting deaths — including Judd and Pretty, who were killed weeks apart — at the hands of federal immigration agents. Bystander videos later disputed management’s accounts of these shootings and other violent encounters with agents.

Watch the clip in the player above.

During the hearing, Republicans largely blamed the previous administration for its “open border policies” and thanked Noem for her efforts. But she was not immune to questioning by GOP members over concerns such as the way the agency used administrative orders, a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded television ad campaign featuring the secretary herself, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s delayed response after powerful storms.

Here are three key takeaways from Tuesday’s session.

Noem has avoided walking back her statements regarding domestic terrorism

Watch the clip in the player above.

At the top of the hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s ranking member, asked Noem if she wanted to retract her previous statements suggesting that two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration agents were involved in “domestic terrorism.”

Noem said she got her information from agents on the ground.

“It was a chaotic scene,” she said.

But senators on both sides wanted more information and admission that her description was wrong.

Watch the clip in the player above.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., read aloud a quote from an Axios story in which she blamed Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller for her remarks.

“No one heard me say that,” Noem said, adding that the story relied on anonymous sources.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Noem if she had anything to say to Peretti’s parents, who were appalled by the way their son was portrayed in the wake of his death.

“I wouldn’t call him a domestic terrorist,” Noem said. “I said it appears to be a domestic terrorism incident.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Noem’s claim “caused endless injury to the victims’ families on a God-knows-what basis.”

“How do you imagine you will gain the trust of the American people if you are spreading false information about the shooting of American citizens?” The senator added.

Watch the clip in the player above.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, asked if Noem wanted to apologize for her description of the victims.

Noem, as she has done throughout the hearing, offered her condolences but did not apologize. She promised to “work hard to provide everyone with factual information.”

Republican calls Noem’s leadership a “disaster”

Watch the clip in the player above.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-Texas, was more vocal than his Republican colleagues in criticizing Noem’s leadership as a “disaster,” especially regarding the Minneapolis operation.

“Why can’t we say we made a mistake?” – asked the senator, raising his voice.

“The fact that you cannot admit fault, which it appears – is under investigation – will prove that Miss Judd and Mr. Beatty probably should not have been shot in the face and back.”

“You’re not protecting law enforcement by not looking at the facts,” Tillis said, stressing that the FBI and all other law enforcement agencies in any jurisdiction should be allowed to investigate shootings involving her agency’s officers.

Tillis then cited Noem’s 2024 memoir “No Going Back” to make a broader point about her leadership abilities. In her book, Noem recounted how she killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, to show how willing she was to make “difficult, messy, ugly” decisions.

“You decided to kill this dog because you didn’t invest the proper time in training, and then you have the audacity to go to a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about hard choices,” the senator said.

Tillis then called for her resignation. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who succeeded Tillis, also said Noem should step down.

Noem says there are “no plans” for ICE agents at the ballot box, but he’s not ruling it out

Watch the clip in the player above.

With midterm primary voting taking place in a number of states on Tuesday, an election-related issue came up during the hearing: Will there be federal immigration agents stationed at polling sites?

In two separate moments, Noem told Democratic senators that there are “no plans” to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling sites during the November midterm elections.

“I’m glad to hear that, but would you rule it out?” said Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware. “Are you saying that won’t happen?”

Noem dodged the question and turned it back to the senator.

“Are you planning on illegal aliens voting in our elections, Senator?”

Noncitizen voting in statewide elections is extremely rare, according to all available data. It has been illegal in US federal elections for more than a century, and is a crime that can result in fines, imprisonment and deportation. However, President Donald Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that there are countless numbers of non-citizens who vote in US elections.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., twice addressed specific concerns about ICE agents monitoring voting. He asked whether Noem would put ICE agents on the ballot if Trump or Miller requested it, even knowing that would violate the law.

Noem turned to the same question she’d used before.

“Are you planning to send illegal aliens to vote?” I asked.