Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing mounting calls for her removal or removal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A wide range of voices have reached the same conclusion: Kristi Noem must go.

From Democratic Party leaders to the nation’s leading advocacy organizations and even the most centrist lawmakers in Congress, calls are growing for the Homeland Security secretary to step down after two people were shot to death in Minneapolis protesting deportation policy. At a crucial moment in her term, only a few Republicans came to Noem’s defense.

Read more: The response to Preeti’s killing highlights the challenges the Trump administration faces with confidence and credibility

“The country is disgusted by what DHS has done,” top House Democrats Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.

“Kristi Noem must be impeached immediately, or we will begin impeachment proceedings in the House,” the Democrats said.

Republicans and Democrats are calling for Noem to step down

What began as sharp criticism of the Homeland Security secretary, and a long-shot move by Democratic lawmakers to sign impeachment legislation in the Republican-controlled House, has turned into an inflection point for Noem, who had been the prominent face of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement system.

Noem’s reckless leadership style and her statements in the wake of the shooting deaths of Alex Peretti and Renee Judd — in which she suggested Peretti “attacked” officers and portrayed the events leading up to Judd’s shooting as an “act of domestic terrorism” — are seen as causing irreparable harm, with events on the ground casting doubt on her account. Her alliance with Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who was recalled from the Minnesota operation Monday when border czar Tom Homan took the lead, has left her isolated on Capitol Hill.

He watches: Minneapolis residents remain skeptical after immigration enforcement leadership change

“What she did in Minnesota should be a disqualification. She should be out of work,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-Minnesota.

“I think the president needs to look at who serves as Secretary of Homeland Security,” said Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. “Maybe it’s time for her to step down.”

Trump stands by Noem and praises her work

President Donald Trump defended Noem on Wednesday at several points, strongly suggesting that her job did not appear to be in immediate jeopardy.

When reporters asked him as he left the White House on Tuesday for a trip to Iowa whether Noem would step down, Trump’s one-word answer: “No.”

When the president was later asked during an interview on Fox News whether he trusted Noem, he said: “I do.”

He watches: How has the White House’s tone evolved on the Minnesota shootings?

“Who closed the border? She did it, with Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they closed the border. The border was a tremendous success,” Trump said.

As Democrats in Congress threaten to shut down the government as they demand restrictions on Trump’s mass deportation agenda, Noem’s future at the department faces serious questions and concerns.

The Republican leadership of the House and Senate committees that oversee Homeland Security demanded that department officials appear before their committees to respond to operations that stunned the nation with their sheer force — including images of children, including a 5-year-old, being pulled from their families.

“This is clearly an inflection point and an opportunity to really evaluate the policies and procedures and how they are implemented and put into place,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, where Noem was a state representative and governor before joining the administration.

He watches: The law professor says the Minnesota standoffs mirror how the Civil War began

Asked about his confidence in Noem’s leadership, Thune said: “This is the decision the president must make.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Noem a “liar” and said she should be fired.

Conflict over funding

Assistant Secretary of State Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the Department of Homeland Security enforces the laws of Congress, and if lawmakers don’t like those laws, they must change them.

“Too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who enforce our laws,” McLaughlin said. “It is time to focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department does every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership.”

Read more: The Department of Homeland Security tells Congress that two federal officers opened fire during the standoff that led to the death of Alex Peretti

Congress’ ability to restrict Homeland Security funding is limited, largely because the GOP majority has already doubled the department’s funding under Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts.

Instead, Democrats are seeking to impose restrictions on Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as part of a routine annual funding package for Interior, Defense, Health and other departments. Without action this week, those agencies are headed toward closure.

To be sure, DHS still has powerful advocates in Congress.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus said Tuesday in a letter to Trump that he should invoke the Insurrection Act, if necessary, to suppress protests. The group said it would be “prepared to take all necessary steps” to keep money flowing for Trump’s immigration enforcement and removal operations.

He watches: The former CBP chief says the Border Patrol is “untrained and unskilled” in urban policing

During her year-long tenure, Noem at times clashed with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as Republicans and Democrats sought greater oversight and accountability over the department’s spending and operations.

Noem has remained out of the spotlight since the Saturday press conference following Peretti’s death, although she did appear Sunday on Fox News. In that interview, she doubled down on her criticism of Minnesota officials, but also expressed sympathy for Peretti’s family.

“It saddens me to think about what his family is going through, but it also saddens me what happens to these law enforcement officers every day on the streets with the violence they face,” she said.

Impeachments, once rare, are now more common

Impeachment, once a widespread tool against administration officials, has become increasingly common.

Two years ago, the Republican-led House of Representatives fired another Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, in protest of the then-Biden administration’s border security and immigration policies that allowed millions of migrants and asylum seekers to enter the United States. The Senate rejected these charges.

He watches: Democrats pledge to defund Department of Homeland Security after shooting in Minnesota

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that if the panel’s Republican chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, does not launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump, he will.

Raskin said he would work with top Democrats on the Homeland Security and Oversight committees to launch an immediate impeachment inquiry into the Minnesota deaths and other “lawlessness and corruption that may include treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

More than 160 House Democrats signed the impeachment resolution of Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana, Kevin Freking and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this story.