A small but growing number of Republicans are raising public concerns about the killing Saturday of a 37-year-old Minnesota man by federal agents.
Hours after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street, one House GOP chair called for the top ICE leader and other Trump administration officials to publicly answer lawmakers’ questions. GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina called for independent probes into the shooting, with Cassidy arguing the integrity of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are “at stake.”
Another House GOP chair appeared to suggest President Donald Trump should withdraw from Minneapolis and send the agents there to another city.
“If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and governor are going 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?” Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Sunday on Fox News, adding that he expected Minnesotans to “rebel against their leadership.”
However gentle and equivocal the pushback might be, it is growing increasingly conspicuous as congressional Republicans privately discuss how to respond to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign ahead of the midterm elections. Some Republicans have been privately warning administration officials and GOP leaders for months that the operation is not going over well in some pockets of the country.
“Many of us wonder if the administration has any clue as to how much this will hurt us legislatively and electorally this year,” said one House Republican granted anonymity to candidly discuss private reactions.
While some of those speaking out, like Tillis, are retiring or known to be at odds with Trump, not all fit that bill. Rep. Dusty Johnson, who called Sunday for “a thorough investigation” of the officer-involved shooting and for all parties to “deescalate,” is running in a June GOP primary to be South Dakota’s governor.
After House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) called Saturday for ICE, Border Patrol and other DHS officials to testify before his panel, Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) praised the move, saying it was important “the American people and Congress be given a better understanding of how immigration enforcement is being handled.”
Still, most Hill Republicans have not weighed in publicly or are backing the Trump administration, which was quick to argue Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” intent on massacring federal agents. Eyewitness video shows no evidence he drew his weapon or otherwise threatened agents with deadly force before he was shot.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that people are not allowed to carry a gun while committing another crime. “And interfering with law enforcement is a felony,” he added.
“Peaceful protesters don’t have 9mm weapons with two extra magazines,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said on Fox News, referring to the concealed handgun Pretti had a permit to carry.
The shooting and backlash from Democrats has upended a crucial government funding package that the Senate was expected to pass this week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday that Democrats won’t vote to advance the legislation so long as DHS funding is included, raising the likelihood of a partial shutdown at midnight Friday.
Amid the uncertainty, some Republicans have privately fretted about the lack of guidance coming from the Trump administration about the shooting. Four GOP lawmakers and several GOP aides noted they had received many more updates from the administration about the weekend’s major winter storm than the situation in Minneapolis or immigration enforcement operations generally.
Compounding the confusion, a DHS official sent an email alert with incorrect and contradictory information to congressional Republicans about three hours after the shooting Saturday, according to three people with direct knowledge of the message, which POLITICO obtained.
The email described “the incident this morning between US Border Patrol officers and an illegal alien with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, who was wanted for violent assault.” But it linked to a DHS social media post that said federal agents were pursuing “an illegal alien wanted for violent assault” and then an “individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” referring to Pretti, who was a U.S. citizen.
As Republicans wrangle with the shooting, Democrats are discussing internally how to mount a response — with senators strategizing over the funding bill and House leaders considering options including targeting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with sanctions.
There’s a growing demand in the caucus to impeach Noem, with one purple-district Democrat who voted for DHS funding last week, Rep. Laura Gillen of New York, publicly backing the move shortly after a Sunday morning caucus call.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, both former House Democrats, briefed the lawmakers on the private call.
Walz “sounded the alarm” over the “illegal” DHS activity in Minnesota, “and he urged everyone to unite and defend the integrity of the victims who are being smeared by the Trump administration,” said one House Democrat on the call who was granted anonymity because participants were encouraged not to leak its contents.
“This is dark, unthinkable stuff, but I’ve never seen Democrats more militantly united,” the lawmaker added.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
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