Oust Kristi Noem, say Padilla and Schiff. But that's going to be tough to do

WASHINGTON — Sen. Alex Padilla wants Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem impeached. Sen. Adam Schiff wants her to resign.

Neither is a good bet to happen at the moment, but the two California Democrats have joined a growing chorus of senators seeking to oust her.

“Let’s face it: There is no trust, and can be no trust, in the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security. Kristi Noem is using the most incendiary language, which is just egging on these kinds of acts of violence,” Schiff, D-Calif., said.

Padilla, D-Calif., appeared at a Democratic Capitol news conference Wednesday with a passionate plea for calm.

“This is not a political, even a policy, disagreement over immigration. It’s about the responsibility of the federal government and everyone representing federal departments and agencies to operate lawfully,” he said. Padilla is the top Democrat on the Senate’s border security and immigration subcommittee.

Here’s the Noem critics’ problem: President Donald Trump says she’s doing a good job, even following the furor regarding her comments after federal agents shot and killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti Saturday in Minneapolis.

Noem has stoked controversy almost from the day she took office a year ago. Schiff called for her resignation in June, after Padilla was forcibly removed from a Noem press conference when he attempted to ask her a question.

Noem has come under renewed fire since the Pretti shooting, after she said Pretti attacked the officers and carried a weapon.

“Violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and to perpetuate violence. That is the definition of domestic terrorism,” Noem said.

Tuesday, reports said that two federal agents fired weapons during the Pretti shooting, according to a government account of the incident. It did not mention Pretti using or reaching for his gun.

Democrats want Noem out

Democratic leaders across the country, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, called for Noem’s resignation. At the Capitol, Senate Democrats united against legislation to fund DHS. If they can’t reach agreement with Republicans by the time funding for DHS and other agencies expire Friday night, those agencies will shut down.

The formal way to topple Noem is for the House to first impeach her, which is possible on a majority vote, and then for the Senate to convict.

Both efforts would require the help of Republicans. The GOP has a 218 to 213 majority in the House, where 156 Democrats, including 31 from California, are co-sponsors of a formal effort to impeach Noem.

Even if that succeeds, odds are currently slim that she can be pushed out by the Senate. It would take a two-thirds vote to convict, and Republicans control 53 seats. So far, only two, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have said they want Noem out.

Impeachments of cabinet officers are extremely rare. Two years ago, the Republican-led House narrowly impeached Biden administration Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to comply with federal immigration law. That was the first impeachment of a cabinet officer since 1876.

Mayorkas remained in office, as the Senate did not hold a trial. The effort ended on a procedural vote, saying his action did not meet the “high crimes and misdemeanor” test.

It’s historically difficult for senators to say before a trial they would convict. As Schiff has pointed out, they’re jurors.

That’s why he’s calling for resignation at this point.

“Kristi Noem should never have been confirmed, and the country is paying the price for her malevolence and incompetence,” Schiff tweeted. “She must answer for DHS’s violent and illegal policies and practices. Which have already claimed too many lives.”

‘Today we say no more’

Padilla expressed his outrage at DHS at the Wednesday news conference.

“Today we say, ‘No more,’ ” he said. “No more killing of United States citizens who are out protesting peacefully or monitoring this activity.”

He said immigration enforcement was “out of control and seems to be empowered by this administration to act with impunity.”

Most Republicans are sticking with Noem so far, while urging calm and learning more about what happened last week.

“The shooting in Minneapolis this weekend is a tragedy. At moments like this, we must focus on de-escalation and avoid rushing to conclusions,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, said Wednesday.

He said he was eager to see “the full results of a thorough and transparent investigation to learn all the facts. In the meantime, leaders in sanctuary states need to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, as policies that obstruct lawful enforcement create a hostile and dangerous environment for everyone involved.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was asked at his Capitol news conference Wednesday if he had confidence in Noem.

“You guys ask these questions a lot about different members of the president’s team, and I have the same answer, and that is these people serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said.

“It’s important that the president have confidence in his team,” Thune said, “and so, I will allow the president to make determinations about the people that serve on his team.”

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