{"id":1485773,"date":"2026-03-05T08:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1485773"},"modified":"2026-03-05T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:18:05","slug":"noem-defends-homeland-security-department-in-post-shooting-appearances-before-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1485773","title":{"rendered":"Noem defends Homeland Security Department in post-shooting appearances before Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrapped up two days of scrutiny in Congress on Wednesday, appearing for the first time in front of lawmakers since the shooting deaths of two protesters<\/a> in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

Noem came under blistering criticism from Democrats \u2014 and a few Republicans \u2014 over allegations that under her authority, immigration officers have abused the rights<\/a> of immigrants and American citizens and used excessive force. She was also slammed over how her department is spending the billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress and accused of dodging accountability.<\/p>\n

Noem, the secretary leading President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown<\/a>, argues she has strengthened the nation’s security by stemming migration from the southern border. She said immigration enforcement officers are following the law in the face of violent protesters. Most Republicans backed her stance, portraying Noem as a leader out to rectify immigration left unchecked by President Joe Biden’s administration.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at some highlights from her testimony.<\/p>\n

Repeated Democratic attacks about immigration enforcement<\/h4>\n

During both days of testimony, Noem was repeatedly made to answer for her characterization of the two killed protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as armed agitators. Bystanders’ video and accounts have contradicted Noem\u2019s depiction of events.<\/p>\n

The top Democrat on the House committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, pushed Noem about her comments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou told a lie about them. You said they were domestic terrorists,\u201d Raskin said.<\/p>\n

Other Democrats questioned why DHS officers used force to yank people out of vehicles or why they\u2019d pulled an American citizen from his Minneapolis home in his pajamas.<\/p>\n

Noem also faced criticism from some Republicans, including most notably retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis<\/a> of North Carolina, who on Tuesday called her leadership a \u201cdisaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the two days, Noem pushed back on the allegations, saying that Democrats didn\u2019t have their facts correct and defended how her officers operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do targeted enforcement based on intelligence and go after the worst of the worst,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

Speaking Tuesday of her comments after the shootings, Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed \u201cviolent protesters\u201d for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers question whether Noem is obstructing watchdog investigations<\/h4>\n

In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said DHS leadership has \u201csystematically obstructed\u201d the office’s work in 11 instances, including one criminal investigation with a \u201cnexus\u201d to the department.<\/p>\n

Cuffari said that his department was not allowed to access databases or take other steps that were necessary for their investigations.<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia asked Noem about the letter, saying that her department had a \u201cpattern of obstructing investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noem denied the accusation and said Cuffari hadn\u2019t outlined what information he wanted and the timeline for his request.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants unfettered access to every single thing in the department. And that\u2019s not the process,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

DHS under scrutiny over spending<\/h4>\n

Noem’s department was infused with $170 billion, money granted by Congress that has since sparked questions over where and how it is being spent.<\/p>\n

The secretary on Wednesday was asked about her department\u2019s decision to carry out a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.<\/p>\n

Democrats questioned whether the contracts went through a competitive bidding process and whether Noem\u2019s associates unfairly benefited from the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re using millions of dollars of taxpayer money in this way,\u201d said Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, who called it fraud. \u201cUltimately I think there\u2019s going to be accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noem said the spending was carried out lawfully.<\/p>\n

The top Democrat on the committee also hammered Noem over her department\u2019s purchase of luxury jets.<\/p>\n

Noem defends use of administrative warrants<\/h4>\n

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that federal officers were asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter a suspect’s home without a judge’s warrant<\/a> \u2014 something legal experts say infringes on constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Noem on both days said the warrants were appropriate and legal. She said their use in forcible entry was limited, saying that they were only used 28 times under her authority, without saying where they were used.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do use it, but it\u2019s very rare when we do,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

But the warrants’ use received pushback even from Republicans. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said he\u2019s a \u201cstrong proponent of the Fourth Amendment, and I think it would be helpful if we stuck to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questions about top Noem adviser’s role<\/h4>\n

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat from California, asked Noem about her relationship with Corey Lewandowski<\/a>, a special government employee who is one of the secretary’s top advisers.<\/p>\n

Lewandowski was Trump\u2019s first campaign manager in 2016 and was long one of his most vocal supporters. He later became a key Noem supporter, helping her gain access to the former president\u2019s political orbit.<\/p>\n

When Noem took the position at DHS, Lewandowski<\/a> became a special government employee \u2014 a position that is supposed to limit the number of days that he\u2019s allowed to work at the department. But he\u2019s been a constant presence at Noem’s side, raising questions about how many days he’s actually working and about the nature of the pair’s relationship.<\/p>\n

Kamlager-Dove said Lewandowski wields \u201cunchecked\u201d and \u201cunconfirmed\u201d power and asked whether Noem and Lewandowski were having an affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt any time during your tenure as director of the Department of Homeland Security have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?\u201d said Kamlager-Dove.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Chairman, I am shocked that we are going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,\u201d Noem said. She denied the allegations, calling the questioning offensive and said Lewandowski does not have decision-making authority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrapped up two days of scrutiny in Congress on Wednesday, appearing for the first time in front of lawmakers since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. Noem came under blistering criticism from Democrats \u2014 and a few Republicans … Continue reading Noem defends Homeland Security Department in post-shooting appearances before Congress<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2851],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1485773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state-news-archive"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 10:18:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1485773"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1486020,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485773\/revisions\/1486020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1485773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1485773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1485773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}