Trump says Kristi Noem won’t resign after Minnesota shootings

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he still has confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and won’t ask her to step down from her position following his reshuffling of federal presence in Minnesota.

“I think she’s done a very good job. I think she’s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said Tuesday, Jan. 27 as he departed the White House to leave for Iowa to give a speech on the economy.

Noem has been ‌under increasing scrutiny following the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal authorities in Minneapolis. Trump on ‌Monday, Jan. 26 assigned Tom Homan, the White House ‌border czar, to lead immigration law enforcement operations in Minnesota. Noem and Gregory Bovino, the administration’s controversial Border Patrol Commander, previously led those efforts.

“No,” Trump said when asked by a reporter whether Noem will step down from her Cabinet position.

Trump and Noem met ​for two hours on Jan. 26 amid a growing backlash following ‌the Pretti shooting, the New York ⁠Times reported. Several Democratic members of Congress have called for Noem’s impeachment.

‘You can’t have guns,’ Trump says of Alex Pretti shooting

The shooting occurred less ‌than three weeks after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross from inside her vehicle that she was using to block ICE action in Minneapolis.

As he ‌departed the White House, Trump referred to the ongoing investigation into Pretti’s death when asked whether the latest shooting was justified.

“We’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation,” Trump said. “I’m going to be watching over it. I want a ‌very honorable and honest investigation. ​I have ‌to see it myself.”

Yet the president also objected to Pretti being armed as federal authorities confronted him.

“You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You can’t do that. It’s just a very unfortunate thing,” Trump said.

Although a gun ‌was found on Pretti, he did not brandish the weapon as federal authorities confronted him. Pretti legally obtained the gun.

Trump and Republicans have been strong advocates of Second Amendment rights, including the right ​to bear arms in public settings.

Joining Trump on his trip to Iowa was Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, who called Pretti a “would-be assassin” and a “domestic terrorist” shortly after the fatal shooting. Noem also referred to Pretti’s actions as domestic terrorism.

The White House on Monday ⁠sought to distance itself from those comments, declining to draw conclusions publicly until ​the investigation concludes.

“I’m looking at the whole situation,” Trump said. “I love everybody. I ⁠love all of our people. I love his family. And it’s a very sad situation.”