• ASSOCIATED PRESS, U.S. HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE, US NETWORK POOL

A growing number of voices, both Democrats and Republicans, have raised concerns about Kristi Noem’s leadership.

WASHINGTON β€” A groundswell of voices came to the same conclusion: Kristi Noem must go.

From Democratic Party leaders to the nation's leading advocacy organizations to even the most centrist lawmakers in Congress, the calls are mounting for the Homeland Security secretary to step aside after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportation policy. At a defining moment in her tenure, few Republicans are rising to Noem's defense.

"The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done," top House Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.

"Kristi Noem should be fired immediately," the Democrats said, "or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks Saturday during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington.

Republicans and Democrats call for Noem to step down

What started as sharp criticism of the Homeland Security secretary, and a longshot move by Democratic lawmakers signing on to impeachment legislation in the Republican-controlled House, morphed into an inflection point for Noem, one of the high-profile faces of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign.Β More than 160 House Democrats signed on to an impeachment resolution from Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.

Noem's remarks in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good β€” in which she suggested Pretti "attacked" officers and portrayed the events leading up to Good's shooting an "act of domestic terrorism" β€” were seen as causing irreparable damage, as events on the ground disputed her account. Her alliance with Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who was recalled from the Minnesota operation Monday as border czar Tom Homan took the lead, left her isolated on Capitol Hill.

"What she's done in Minnesota should be disqualifying,"Β said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.Β "She should be out of a job."Β 

"I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as a secretary of Homeland Security," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "It probably is time for her to step down."

Trump stands by Noem and praises her work

President Donald Trump defended Noem on Wednesday, strongly indicating her job does not appear to be in immediate jeopardy.

Asked by reporters at the White House on Tuesday whether Noem is going to step down, Trump said, "No."

Pressed later during an interview on Fox News if he had confidence in Noem, the president said, "I do."

"Who closed up the border? She did," Trump said, "with Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they've closed up the border. The border is a tremendous success."

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 panels to answer for the operations that stunned the nation with their sheer force β€” including images of young children being plucked from families.

"Obviously this is an inflection point and an opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and procedures and how they are being implemented and put into practice," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, where Noem was the state's House representative and governor before joining the administration.

Asked about his own confidence in Noem's leadership, Thune said, "That's the president's judgment call to make."

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Noem a "liar" and said she must be fired.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives at his office Tuesday as the Senate returns at the Capitol in Washington.

Fight over funding

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said DHS enforces the laws from Congress, and if lawmakers don't like those laws, they should change them.

"Too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws," McLaughlin said. "It's time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem's leadership."

The ability of Congress to restrict Homeland Security funding is limited, in large part because the GOP majority already essentially doubled department funding under Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts law.

Instead, Democrats seek to impose restraints on Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as part of a routine annual funding package for Homeland, Defense, Health and other departments. Without action this week, those agencies would head toward a shutdown.

On the job for a year, Noem clashed at times with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who sought greater oversight and accounting of the department's spending and operations. Still, Homeland Security has strong defenders in the Congress.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus in a letter Tuesday urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, if needed, to quell protests. The group said it would be "ready to take all steps necessary" to keep funds flowing for Trump's immigration enforcement and removal operations.

Noem kept a low profile since the Saturday news conference after Pretti's death, but in a Fox News interviewΒ Sunday,Β she doubled down on criticism of Minnesota officials, but also expressed compassion for Pretti's family.

"It grieves me to think about what his family is going through but it also grieves me what's happening to these law enforcement officers every day out in the streets with the violence they face," she said.

Related stories:

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.