Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is calling on President Donald Trump to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, marking a rare public break from a Democrat who has often taken a more pragmatic approach toward the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
In a Tuesday post on X, Fetterman accused Noem of failing the department’s mission and urged the president to act. Tagging @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump, the Pennsylvania senator wrote, “I make a direct appeal to immediately fire @Sec_Noem.”
“Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,” Fetterman added.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who reaffirmed the administration’s support for Noem.
“Secretary Noem still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president of the United States,” Leavitt said. She added that Noem is “continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the whole entire country.”
Leavitt also noted that Noem remains responsible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the nation responds to severe winter weather. “Of course, Secretary Noem is also in charge of FEMA and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that,” she said.
Fetterman’s comments come as the Trump administration continues an aggressive federal crackdown on illegal immigration nationwide. Recent enforcement operations in Minneapolis have drawn attention following the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good, incidents that have fueled political controversy.
“Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive. My family grieves for theirs,” Fetterman said in a statement on Monday.
“The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end. It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit,” he continued.
Despite his criticism of the Minneapolis operation, Fetterman reiterated his long-stated support for border enforcement and deporting criminal migrants, while distancing himself from progressive calls to dismantle federal immigration agencies.
“As a very pro-immigration Democrat and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Management, I believe our nation deserves a secured border and that we should deport all criminal migrants. I also believe there needs to be a path to citizenship for those hardworking families who are here,” he said.
Fetterman also made clear that he opposes abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change,” he said.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions within the Democrat Party over immigration enforcement, even as the Trump administration maintains that its border and interior enforcement strategy remains firmly under control.
