The White House is in crisis mode over the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot by federal immigration officers. After the first two days since Saturday's killing, President Trump appears to be sidelining the heads of his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
First, there's Greg Bovino, who has been the public face of the Trump administration's immigration efforts in U.S. cities: Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. Border Patrol, has been removed from his position following Pretti's killing. Bovino will return to California to his former job and is expected to retire soon, according to The Atlantic. He's expected to leave Minnesota today, along with some agents.
Then, there's Kristi Noem: The Homeland Security secretary rushed to declare Pretti a "domestic terrorist" before many details were known, asserting that the ICU nurse "attacked" federal law enforcement while "brandishing" a gun. However, bystander videos quickly contradicted her declaration.
Noem and her close adviser Corey Lewandowski met with Trump and top aides at the White House on Monday evening for nearly two hours, according to The New York Times, which reported that Noem requested the meeting.
Call in Homan: While Trump reportedly did not suggest he would fire Noem during their meeting, he sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to run operations and publicly noted that Homan will report directly to him. Read more on Homan
^ Tidbit — Where Trump might have gotten that idea: CNN's Brian Stelter noted that "Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade suggested sending Homan to Minnesota three times on-air on Monday morning. Just 20 minutes later, Trump announced that he would send Homan to Minnesota. Was Trump watching Fox?
Trump also spoke directly with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), noting the two are on a "similar wavelength." This is particularly notable given the president's frequent targeting of the Democratic governor.
Keep an eye out for what happens to Lewandowski. He is technically a temporary government employee. Axios reports that he effectively operates as Noem's chief of staff and has a lot of influence and power at DHS.
What about Stephen Miller?: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made a point to distance Trump from comments Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller made over the weekend. Miller referred to Pretti as a "would-be assassin" who "tried to murder federal law enforcement."
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