Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is calling on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be “immediately fired” as the federal government approaches a possible partial shutdown over DHS funding, but Trump outright said “no” on Tuesday when asked about whether she will leave the role.
The moderate Pennsylvania Democrat could be a key swing vote as a second shutdown in just three months looms, and his post on X on Tuesday was meant to be a “direct appeal” to President Donald Trump.
“Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy,” Fetterman posted. “DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary.” Trump and Fetterman notably met at Mar-a-Lago early last year.
However, the departure of Noem does not seem likely based on public statements currently available, including from the president on Tuesday.
“I think she’s doing a very good job … the border is totally secure. You know, you forget, we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now, we have a border where no one is coming through,” Trump said on Tuesday before leaving to speak at an event in Iowa.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the secretary “still has the utmost confidence and trust.”
It’s unclear if it could become a point of leverage for Democrats in the government funding fight, but many Democrats have indicated they want to see changes beyond just leadership. Meanwhile, House Democratic leadership is asking for Noem to “be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives” – a move that could face difficulty with a Republican-majority Congress. The Republican-majority congress successfully impeached then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024 as the southern border crisis raged on.
Most of the funding for major immigration goals of the Trump administration, such as increasing the number of ICE officers, was already signed by the president last year with the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Over the weekend, DHS and the White House pointed out to The Daily Wire that other funding for emergency management and TSA would be impacted if DHS were not funded.
Democrats are calling for the DHS funding to be separated from other spending bills to minimize the impact of a shutdown, but top lawmakers like Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR) have said there will be “no mob veto.”
“If Senate Republicans refuse to strip out the DHS bill to put real constraints on ICE — and hold hostage the vast majority of government funding — then Republicans are complicit in the chaos and own the potential government shutdown,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) posted. “It’s time to stop ICE’s violence.”
The Daily Wire reported on Monday that there has been some internal debate over the best approach moving forward regarding mass deportations, as Trump sends White House Border Czar Tom Homan to meet with Minnesota Democratic leaders. Tensions hit a breaking point following the Border Patrol-involved shooting of Alex Pretti.
.png)
.png)
