Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requested a two-hour meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office late Monday as the administration faced intensifying backlash over a deadly shooting in Minneapolis involving federal immigration agents.
The meeting came after President Trump announced that longtime border enforcement official Tom Homan would travel to Minneapolis to take charge of Department of Homeland Security efforts following the death of protester Alex Pretti during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents, according to the New York Times.
The closed-door discussion, which included several of the president’s top aides, reflected the administration’s effort to recalibrate its response as tensions mounted across the city and criticism grew over how the incident was initially described.
Noem came under fire after she labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” saying he had charged officers while brandishing a gun. However, multiple videos circulating online showed the ICU nurse holding a cellphone and attempting to flee from agents at the time of the encounter.
The administration has since faced pressure to clarify its messaging, particularly as images and video from the scene fueled protests and intensified scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics in Democrat-run cities already resistant to immigration crackdowns.
Earlier Monday, Trump said he was sending Homan — a well-known hardliner on border enforcement — to oversee the situation on the ground. The move sparked questions about whether the president was dissatisfied with Noem’s handling of the fallout.
Despite the speculation, Trump did not indicate that Noem’s job was in jeopardy during the meeting, sources told the outlet.
Separately, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and some of his agents were ordered Monday to begin pulling back from Minnesota, according to sources.
Bovino, like Noem, drew criticism for his initial assessment of the incident. He had said Pretti was brandishing a firearm and “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” a claim later challenged by video evidence.
Amid reports suggesting internal consequences, the Trump administration pushed back against claims that Bovino had been demoted.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X. She added that Bovino remains a “key part of the president’s team and a great American.”
