Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has seen a dramatic loss of confidence amid her agency’s deportation crackdown in Minnesota.
The latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, taken on Monday, finds that Noem has a paltry 33 percent approval rating.
Her disapproval rating has risen dramatically to 41 percent compared to 37 percent in December, per the last Daily Mail/ JL Partners survey.
Noem measured a 37 percent approval last month, meaning her support has fallen following the shooting of two anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis.
Spelling even more bad news for the secretary are the number of voters who say she should be removed from her post.
Nearly half of survey respondents, 46 percent, believe that Noem should be impeached.
Further, 42 percent say President Donald Trump should fire her. The poll was conducted on January 26 and included over 1,000 registered voters. The margin of error is 3.1 percent.
Impeachment gamble
Democrats in Congress have already begun circulating an impeachment resolution against Noem with more than 120 signatures.
However, given the Republican control of both the House and the Senate, the liberal-led gambit seems unlikely to succeed.
Dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown, ICE and CBP has increased since a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care unit nurse for the Department of Veterans, on Saturday.
Departing the White House for a rally in Iowa on Tuesday afternoon, Trump told reporters that despite the controversy surrounding Noem, he is still happy with her performance and the secretary won’t be stepping down.
Gruesome videos of his killing quickly went viral on social media, and many angles show that Pretti, who was armed with a handgun and magazines of ammunition, was disarmed by over half a dozen agents before he was shot around 10 times in the back.
Noem was quick to label Pretti a domestic terrorist, a title that Trump himself has not said, indicating his hesitance to support the secretary’s account of the nurse’s death.
A clash of philosophies
Since the shooting, the president announced that Border Czar Tom Homan will take operational control of deportations in Minnesota.
Homan and Noem have reportedly not spoken much since they both joined the president’s team, and sources have told the Daily Mail that their relationship – or rivalry – is tenuous.
The border czar, who has been in law enforcement since the 1980s, has preferred a crackdown on criminal illegal aliens.
Noem, by contrast, wants to pump overall deportation numbers and is said to be focusing on deporting anyone in the US illegally.
Her approach, bolstered by her deputy and rumored lover, Cory Lewandowski, has put Noem at odds with Homan, ICE acting Director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott, sources have told the Daily Mail.
The schism has ruffled Republican feathers.
According to the January survey, almost one in four Republicans, 23 percent, view ICE unfavorably.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter of GOP voters surveyed, 27 percent, were in favor of disbanding ICE altogether.
Additionally, close to one in five Republicans, 19 percent, say that ICE and CBP raids in major US cities should end, while 71 percent want them to continue, according to the poll.
An unexpected off-ramp
Only 43 percent of Republicans say that Pretti’s killing was justified, while 35 percent were unsure and 22 percent said the shooting was unjustified.
GOP lawmakers have also expressed reticence about the deportation operations in Minnesota.
Chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, suggested that Trump remove federal law enforcement from the state during a Sunday interview.
‘If the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way, and there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all of these illegals,’ Comer said.
On Monday, Trump had phone calls with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey – both of whom have offered sharp criticisms of the president.
In a dramatic reversal of the dueling sides’ hostile tones, Trump posted on social media after the call with Walz, saying the two were on the ‘same wavelength.’
After his call with Frey, Trump posted on social media that ‘lots of progress is being made!’
The warm regards have come after bitter online feuds between the Minnesota Democrats and the Republican president, who suggested recently that both Walz and Frey were supporting an insurrection in the state.
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Report: Noem given new role by Trump after another shooting
Donald Trump reined in Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after an icy White House meeting overseen by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following another deadly shooting involving an immigration agent in Minnesota.
The internal scrutiny of Noem intensified after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, an incident she characterized as an act of domestic terrorism despite widespread questions about how federal agents handled incident.
The President hit Noem with questions regarding her handling of the shooting and initial response during their late-night meeting, according to reports.
Noem’s adviser and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski was at her side during the Oval Office gathering.
By the end of the night, Noem was ordered to shift her focus away from interior immigration enforcement operations and instead concentrate on securing the southern border.
Meanwhile, Noem’s longtime rival, White House Border Czar Tom Homan, is expected to take over command of the Minneapolis crackdown.
Although Trump did limit Noem’s authority, she is expected to keep her job as the president’s top immigration officer – for now.
Noem’s law enforcement ally on the ground, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, was also withdrawn along with scores of his agents.
Initially, Noem and Lewandowski elevated Bovino to oversee high-profile immigration raids in U.S. urban centers including Los Angeles, Chicago and, most recently, Minneapolis.
Continue reading on Noem’s new roll here:
Report: Kristi Noem had a meeting with trump amid fallout from Pretti shooting
Kristi Noem held a two-hour meeting with Donald Trump Monday night amid fallout from the shooting of Alex Pretti as Democrats called for her to resign.
Noem was joined by aide Corey Lewandowski in the Oval Office after Trump sent Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis in a major shakeup, according to The New York Times.
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Communications Director Steven Cheung were also in attendance at The White House.
Trump sent Homan to the embattled city after removing Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino amid unrest over the shootings of both Pretti and Renee Good.
The Secretary of Homeland Security requested the meeting with Trump after her vehement defense of the border agent who shot Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
On Sunday, Noem referred to Pretti as a ‘domestic terrorist’ – something that Trump appeared to disagree with.
‘I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,’ Trump told the Wall Street Journal.
During a press briefing Monday, Leavitt said she had ‘not heard the president characterize’ Pretti as a domestic terrorist.
Meanwhile on CapitolHill, House Democrats launched an investigation into Noem, while 140 members of the party have co-sponsored an impeachment resolution.
Democrats have come out swinging for Noem, as a large majority – 145 of 213 – of their House delegation now co-sponsors a bill that would see her impeached.
The impeachment bill alleges that Noem has been self-dealing, obstructed Congress and violated public trust.
A spokesperson for DHS told Axios that the efforts were ‘silly’ and Democrats should focus on fixing crime problems in their districts.
The minority party will also launch an investigation into Noem’s work at DHS without any assistance from Republicans, The Washington Post reported.
Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly called on the House to impeach Noem and demanded she resign.
Republican Rand Paul has also called multiple top immigration officials to testify at a February 12 hearing.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons have had their presence requested.
Meanwhile, Noem will testify before the Senate on March 3 as part of regular oversight, Politico reported.
Click here on more of Noem and trump’s meeting:
