‘Americans have died’: US Senator John Fetterman urges Trump to sack Kristi Noem amid Minneapolis situation

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Senator John Fetterman urged President Donald Trump to fire DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her of failing the department’s core mission amid controversial immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference in the National Response Coordination Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters on January 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Al Drago/Getty Images/AFP(Getty Images via AFP)

Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has called on President Donald Trump to immediately fire Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, amid the unfolding situation in Minneapolis.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Fetterman directly appealed to Trump, tagging both the @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump accounts.

“I make a direct appeal to immediately fire @Sec_Noem,” Fetterman wrote.

“Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,” he added.

White House backs Noem

The call came despite the White House publicly reaffirming its support for Noem.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the DHS chief continues to enjoy the president’s full confidence.

“Secretary Noem still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president of the United States,” Leavitt said.

She added that Noem is “continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that's taking place across the whole entire country,” while also leading FEMA’s response to a brutal winter storm that has impacted hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Minneapolis shootings spark backlash

Fetterman’s remarks followed controversy surrounding federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, after the fatal shootings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good earlier this month.

“Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive. My family grieves for theirs,” Fetterman said in a statement on Monday.

He described the federal operation in Minneapolis as dangerously out of control.

“The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end. It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit,” he said.

‘Pro-immigration Democrat’ stance

Fetterman sought to clarify his broader position on immigration, stressing that his criticism does not amount to opposition to enforcement itself.

“As a very pro-immigration Democrat and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Management, I believe our nation deserves a secured border and that we should deport all criminal migrants,” he said. “I also believe there needs to be a path to citizenship for those hardworking families who are here.”

However, the senator pushed back against calls from some quarters to dismantle immigration enforcement agencies.

“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE,” Fetterman said. “I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change.”

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