Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded a two-hour, late-night meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday after she was quietly pushed aside amid growing backlash over her handling of a deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
The tense sit-down came just hours after Trump announced that border czar Tom Homan would be sent to take control of Homeland Security operations in the city following the killing of protester Alex Pretti during a violent encounter with Border Patrol agents, according to The New York Times.
Noem has been under heavy fire since she rushed to label Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” claiming he charged at officers while pointing a gun. But multiple videos from the scene appear to contradict her account, showing the 37-year-old ICU nurse holding only a cellphone and trying to flee from agents.
White House Scrambles to Reset Strategy
The closed-door Oval Office meeting included several of Trump’s top aides and came as the administration scrambled to reset its strategy in Minneapolis, where tensions have continued to escalate since the shooting.
It also followed Trump’s public decision to dispatch Homan to oversee the federal response on the ground — a move that immediately raised questions about whether the president still trusted Noem to manage the crisis.
Sources told The Times that Trump did not indicate Noem’s job was in danger during the meeting, though her authority over the operation has clearly been curtailed.
Border Patrol Commander Also Pulled Back
In a related shake-up, Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino and several of his agents were ordered Monday to begin pulling back from Minnesota, according to sources.
Like Noem, Bovino — known for his aggressive, hard-line style of immigration enforcement — was sharply criticized for falsely claiming that Pretti had been armed and intended to “do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Despite the backlash, the Trump administration denied reports that Bovino had been demoted because of the Minneapolis fallout.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X. “He remains a key part of the president’s team and a great American.”
