Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing skepticism over Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s handling of the Trump administration’s response to an Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shooting a woman Noem has said was committing an “act of domestic terrorism.”
Noem’s hasty characterization of the shooting as an entirely justified use of federal force against a woman who “weaponized” her vehicle has raised questions on Capitol Hill and differed in tone from other senior administration officials.
“It was very unusual to have a senior law enforcement official to draw a conclusion about an event where the scene was still being processed,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said of Noem’s conclusion that the shooting was in response to a domestic terrorism incident.
“I believe that she gave the president advice — and I hope she’s right. But generally speaking, law enforcement would recognize that a life was lost, that families are changed forever, the shooter’s life will change forever, we’re collecting video, we’re trying to assess the situation,” Tillis said.
“That didn’t happen,” he added. “Either Secretary Noem has a lot of information that she will share with us in the coming days that formed a basis for advising the president, or she communicated too soon.”
Other senior Trump administration officials, notably border czar Tom Homan, have had a more measured response to the shooting — stopping well short of labeling Renee Nicole Macklin Good’s actions domestic terrorism.
Homan said he wanted the investigation “play out” before drawing conclusions.
“It’d be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation,” he told “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil. “Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation.”
The jarring video of the shooting of Macklin Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, as she tried to evade ICE officers in her Honda Pilot has sparked protests around the country.
President Trump initially told a group of New York Times reporters that Macklin Good was at fault because she tried to “run over” the ICE officer, calling it a “vicious situation.”
But then the president appeared to soften his view after watching a slow-motion video of the incident in the Oval Office.
“Well … I — the way I look at it … ” Trump told the Times reporters before shifting away from his earlier rhetoric.
“It’s a terrible scene,” he said. “I think it’s horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.”
Public officials in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), have slammed the Department of Homeland Security’s justification for the shooting as “propaganda” and “positively ridiculous.”
They are pushing for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the shooting to determine if it was justified or was a crime.
Walz said Thursday that the Trump administration has blocked the state criminal agency from investigating and urged officials to allow state investigators access to evidence.
Some Republicans are challenging Noem’s claims that Minnesota state investigators “don’t have any jurisdiction” over the shooting, something that state officials also dispute.
Tillis said local investigators should be part of the investigation into the shooting of Macklin Good, a U.S. citizen.
“I think you have to have local authorities, because at the end of the day, you got to calm the nerves of the local community,” he said.
Tillis said he has a “huge problem” with “sanctuary cities” such as San Francisco and Chicago refusing to cooperate with federal authorities on the enforcement of immigration law. He argued state and federal law enforcement officials should cooperate with each other no matter which side requests help.
“This would be in the reverse,” he said. “I really give the [local] police chief a lot of credit for saying what a great relationship he has with FBI and federal resources who are typically on the ground. Any time that you separate them, then you are diminishing the goodness they achieve together.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she’s concerned about reports that the Department of Homeland Security is shutting the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension out from the investigation.
“I did find that a little confusing and concerning. It seems like the state authorities are being iced out of it — no pun intended — which just seems unusual,” Murkowski.
Murkowski in a post on social media called for a “thorough and objective investigation.”
“The videos I’ve seen from Minneapolis yesterday are deeply disturbing. As we mourn this loss of life, we need a thorough and objective investigation into how and why this happened — which will require full cooperation from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, along with local authorities,” she said.
“We need to ensure ICE officers have the necessary training to safely — and with empathy and respect for human life — carry out these activities,” she said.
Murkowksi in an interview with The Hill called on federal and state officials to try to ease the tensions that are only becoming more inflamed by political jousting.
She said the “amped up” environment reminds her of the nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
“People are so agitated about things. It kind of takes you back to the George Floyd days and how things just built and built and built. We don’t need a replay of that,” she said.
Murkowski called on public officials to “de-escalate some of the rhetoric around there.”
“When you have it appear that, ‘Well, this is only going to be a federal investigation and no state involved,’ it just allows for suspicions that are unnecessary,” she said.
Walz questioned whether an investigation led by Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel will produce a “fair outcome.”
“It feels now that Minnesota has been taken out of the investigation, it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome,” he said.
The Hill reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Several other Republicans have called for a full investigation of the shooting and have declined to comment until more information is shared with the public.
“I think there needs to be an investigation, and I think they’re doing that,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said. “Anytime there’s a death, there needs to be an investigation.”
Ernst said she’s “fully in support” of operations to deport immigrants in the country illegally but called the shooting “unfortunate and tragic.”
The Iowa senator noted there have been “escalating levels of threats against ICE officers,” which has inflamed tensions between law enforcement officers and local communities.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said it’s “clear” that “there’s going to be an investigation.”
“I’m sure there will be several,” he said. “I’m sorry it happened, but I’m not going to jump to conclusion about the facts. I’m going to withhold judgment until I know what the facts are.”
Noem announced the FBI will conduct the investigation, but Democrats on Capitol Hill are asking whether the Trump administration will handle it impartially.
“There’s a sense of outrage, and particularly that’s fueled when you see the president and the others in the administration basically deny — like, ‘don’t believe your lying eyes about what you saw in these eyewitness videos,’” said Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat.
Smith said the refusal of Noem and the FBI to allow the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to participate in the investigation of the incident “deeply concerning.”
“This is deeply concerning, because yesterday they said it would be a joint investigation led by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is the state investigative unit, and the FBI and now they’re backtracking from that,” she said.
“They’re blocking the BCA from participating in the investigation, which is unacceptable. Clearly people are not going to accept a [Department of Justice]-led investigation when the folks in the administration have made it clear that they’ve already [decided] what happened here,” Smith said.