The Department of Homeland Security is coming under unprecedented scrutiny from Congress in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, with Democratic attacks more strident and Republican defenses more muted than ever before.
Why it matters: The growing tension could result in a government shutdown, politically charged hearings and even an impeachment vote.
- More and more Democrats are signing onto Rep. Robin Kelly's (D-Ill.) articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, with Kelly's office telling Axios they expect a surge in co-sponsors in the coming day.
- Senate Democrats are threatening to allow a partial government shutdown next week unless a DHS funding bill is altered with language reining in the agency.
- And Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked the heads of ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to testify to his panel.
Driving the news: While many Republican leaders and loyal Trump allies leapt to DHS' defense in the wake of the shooting, a noticeably large group of GOP lawmakers offered more equivocal statements than in the aftermath of the Renee Good shooting weeks earlier.
- Many centered their responses on calling for a full investigation, including Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Max Miller (R-Ohio) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
- The office of Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), a staunch conservative and Trump ally, said in a statement: "Leaders at every level must lower the temperature, enforce the law, and protect public safety. In the days ahead, we will work to ensure a full and transparent review of events."
- "Law enforcement should conduct an objective investigation and get the facts. We defend people's free speech and right to protest," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) in a statement to Axios, though he added that it is "not right to interfere or obstruct law enforcement in their official actions."
Zoom in: The responses of Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) to two different shootings in her home state offer a revealing picture of how the GOP's tone has shifted since the start of the year.
- After Renee Good was killed on Jan. 7, Fischbach called the incident a "targeted assault on ICE agents" in a post on X, writing, "I stand with the officer who acted in self-defense to save lives."
- On Sunday, she wrote after Pretti was killed: "I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in Minneapolis and fully support the ongoing investigation into this incident."
Between the lines: Some Republicans also broke with the administration for saying Pretti should not have had a gun on him.
- Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) write on X that "ICE should not leave Minnesota" but that "carrying a gun & magazines is not an invitation for cops to shoot you."
- "Fighting cops (esp. w/ a gun) might be," he added.
The other side: DHS still had a semblance of Democratic support on Capitol Hill before the shooting, but what little was left appears to have evaporated.
- Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), one of the seven swing-district centrists who voted to pass a DHS funding bill last week, signed on as a co-sponsor to Kelly's articles of impeachment.
- Even some support from senators began to trickle in on Sunday, with centrist Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) calling for Noem's impeachment.
- The articles of impeachment stood at Democratic 120 co-sponsors as of Sunday evening — well over half of the 213 Democrats in the House. Kelly can force them to a vote, though it is not clear if and when she plans to do that.
What to watch: The most immediate impact of the shooting will be in the Senate, where a package of six spending bills is now in significant peril.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said this weekend that Democrats won't vote for the DHS funding bill.
- The package would also fund a huge portion of the federal government beyond DHS, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Labor.
- Several of the Senate Democrats who voted to end the last government shutdown — including Rosen and Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) — have said they will oppose DHS funding.
