Washington — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats will move to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if she is not fired, marking a shift in how party leadership is handling the effort to confront the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” the New York Democrat said in a statement. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
The statement was released with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California.
Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois introduced an impeachment resolution on Jan. 14, a week after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. The impeachment effort has picked up steam since Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 160 of the 213 House Democrats had signed on to the resolution to impeach Noem, according to Kelly’s office.
A simple majority is needed for impeachment, meaning at least three House Republicans would need to vote with all Democrats to approve any articles of impeachment, which is highly unlikely. Even if the effort made it out of the House, it would face steep odds in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed to convict and remove an official from office.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday called on the panel’s Republican chairman to “immediately commence” impeachment proceedings to remove Noem from her position.
If GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio refuses to do so, Raskin said he would work with the top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and House Homeland Security Committee “to immediately launch a complete oversight and impeachment inquiry into all potential constitutional crimes committed by Secretary Noem related to these homicides as well as to other episodes of bureaucratic lawlessness and corruption that may involve treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The threat of impeachment comes as the Department of Homeland Security faces bipartisan backlash over its handling of and response to Pretti’s killing.
In their joint statement, Democratic leaders said “dramatic changes” to the department are needed.
“Federal agents who have broken the law must be criminally prosecuted. The paramilitary tactics must cease and desist. Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not kill them in cold blood,” they said.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have vowed to block a funding package, which includes Homeland Security funding, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
President Trump told reporters Tuesday that Noem is “doing a very good job” and is not stepping down. CBS News reported earlier that Noem is facing internal scrutiny within the administration but is expected to keep her job, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Noem was at the White House on Monday and faced questions about how DHS handled the Pretti shooting and its response, sources said. Her focus is expected to shift from immigration enforcement operations in the interior of the country to securing the southern border and other priorities.
