Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has agreed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee after mounting pressure tied to the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, a case that has ignited outrage and scrutiny across Washington and beyond.
Pretti, 37, was shot and killed in public by a masked federal agent in Minneapolis. Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 in the same area. DHS has said the agent who shot Pretti acted in self defense. Noem defended the agency’s position and claimed Pretti posed a threat. She said Pretti “had a weapon on him, and multiple dozens of rounds of ammunition; wishing to inflict harm on these officers, coming, brandishing like that.”
Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, have been pressing Noem to testify for months. While her appearance is not formally tied to the Minneapolis cases, the political backlash following Pretti’s death appears to have sped up the timeline. Many expect the shootings and DHS conduct to dominate the hearing.
Noem, 54, has faced growing criticism after she publicly labeled Pretti and Good “domestic terrorists” following their deaths, without providing evidence. The Senate Judiciary Committee oversees federal law enforcement agencies, including DHS, DOJ, and the FBI, and has the authority to investigate senior officials.
The conservative Washington Examiner reported Monday that DHS’s Office of Legislative Affairs agreed Noem would testify. Grassley’s office confirmed that Noem is expected to appear on March 3 for one round of questioning, with each senator receiving 10 minutes. Grassley’s staff said they have “been in communication with DHS for months seeking to finalize a date” for the oversight hearing.
Grassley, 92, said Noem previously wanted to limit her appearance to just five minutes. “She’s willing to come, but she wanted to limit it to one five minute round, and we won’t stand for that,” he told the Examiner earlier this month. He added that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had already agreed to the 10 minute format.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, also a member of the committee, has called for an independent investigation into Pretti’s death. Earlier this month he placed a hold on confirming DHS nominees, pointing to Noem’s delay in testifying. Senator Dick Durbin criticized the situation in a statement on X. “Secretary Noem refused to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year and now tells us that she will be available in five weeks should she still be DHS Secretary at that time,” he said.
Durbin added, “With all of the violence and deaths involving DHS, the Secretary is apparently in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis. And she expects us to rubber stamp her record breaking budget in the meantime.”
Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin said on X that he spoke with more than half a dozen federal sources in immigration enforcement who expressed disappointment with how DHS handled the fatal shooting. One source told him the agency’s response is “making the situation worse,” while another said “we are losing this war, we are losing the base and the narrative.”
The Examiner also reported that Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander overseeing at large operations and ICE efforts in Minneapolis, has been removed from that role following Pretti’s death. He is expected to return to leading Border Patrol operations in El Centro, California.
The Daily Beast reported that Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis after senior leaders blamed Noem’s handling of the situation for the intense public backlash over a second US citizen being killed by a federal agent this month. Noem tried to frame Homan’s arrival as a positive development. “This is good news for peace, safety, and accountability in Minneapolis. I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team,” she wrote on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on the idea that Homan was sent because of problems within DHS. “Secretary Noem still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president of the United States, and she is continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the entire country,” Leavitt said.