https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-caves-to-top-republican-in-desperate-bid-to-save-her-job/

ICE Barbie Caves to Top Republican in Desperate Bid to Save Her Job

NOEM DELIVERY

Reporter

Updated Jan. 27 2026 3:08AM EST Published Jan. 26 2026 9:56PM EST

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has finally agreed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee as pressure intensifies following the brutal death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti at the hands of a federal agent.

Pretti, 37, was shot and killed in public by a masked federal agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 in the same area.

The DHS claimed the agent shot Pretti in self-defense. Noem said Pretti “had a weapon on him, and multiple—dozens—of rounds of ammunition; wishing to inflict harm on these officers, coming, brandishing like that.”

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem departs following a news conference in the National Response Coordination Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters on January 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Al Drago/Getty Images

Republicans, including Senate Chair Chuck Grassley, have been trying to get Noem to front the Judiciary Committee for months. While Noem’s testimony is not directly related to the incidents in Minneapolis, it seems the backlash to the brutal death of Pretti has expedited her appearance. It’s also likely the events will take center stage.

The 54-year-old has been under particular scrutiny after labelling Pretti and Good “domestic terrorists” after their deaths at the hands of federal agents, without providing evidence to support her claims. The Senate Judiciary Committee has the power to investigate federal officials and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DOJ, and DHS.

The conservative Washington Examiner reported on Monday that DHS’s Office of Legislative Affairs has agreed that Noem will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Grassley’s office confirmed to the Daily Beast on Monday that Noem is expected to testify on March 3 for one round of questioning, with each senator allotted 10 minutes for questions. The senator’s staff have “been in communication with DHS for months seeking to finalize a date” for the oversight hearing, Grassley’s office said.

Grassley, 92, said Noem previously wanted to limit her time under examination to just five minutes.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seen in the Senate subway on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

“She’s willing to come, but she wanted to limit it to one five-minute round, and we won’t stand for that,” Grassley told the Examiner earlier this month, noting Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel both signed off on 10 minutes of questioning.

The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is also a member of the committee, has called for an independent investigation into the death of Pretti. He placed a hold on confirming DHS nominees earlier this month, blaming Noem’s delay in her testimony.

The top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, hinted at reports that Noem’s job is not secure.

“Secretary Noem refused to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year and now tells us that she will be available in five weeks—should she still be DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary at that time,” Durbin said in a statement on his X account.

He added, “With all of the violence and deaths involving DHS, the Secretary is apparently in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis. And she expects us to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget in the meantime.”

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino speaks during a press conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on January 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Bill Melugin, congressional correspondent for Fox News, said in a post on X on Sunday that he had spoken to over half a dozen federal sources in immigration enforcement, including several in senior positions, about their disappointment with the handling of the fatal shooting by DHS.

Melugin said one of his sources claimed DHS’s response to the tragedy is “making the situation worse,” while another said “we are losing this war, we are losing the base and the narrative.”

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The Examiner reported on Monday that Noem’s offsider Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol’s commander of at-large operations, has been removed from his role overseeing ICE in Minneapolis after the death of Pretti.

He will return to heading Border Patrol operations in El Centro, California, from Tuesday.

The Daily Beast exclusively reported on Monday that Donald Trump sent his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis after his senior leadership team blamed Noem’s incompetence for the public backlash to a second U.S. citizen being killed by a federal agent this month.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on January 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Noem tried to control the narrative and put a spin on Homan being parachuted into Minneapolis to help control protests around ICE raids.

“This is good news for peace, safety, and accountability in Minneapolis. I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team,” Noem posted on X.

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An animated GIF of Kristi Noem, Donald Trump, and Greg Bovino is style of a Stalin photograph.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Homan was being deployed to Minneapolis merely as Noem was too busy with other duties.

“Secretary Noem still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president of the United States, and she is continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the entire country,” Leavitt said.

Cameron Adams

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https://newrepublic.com/post/205206/donald-trump-panics-supreme-court-tariff-ruling

WE’RE SCREWED”: Trump Panics Over Looming Supreme Court Tariff Ruling

Donald Trump warned what would happen if the Supreme Court overturns his tariffs.

Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court could undo the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in as few as two days—and Donald Trump is not taking the countdown well.

The nation’s highest judiciary did not issue its tariff ruling last week, as it widely had been expected to do. That surprised markets, forcing them into a holding pattern as the question of the legality of Trump’s tariffs—which were enacted through provisions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—remained in doubt.

It’s not clear when the Supreme Court will issue its ruling on the tariffs, but the decision could be released in the next wave of court judgments on Wednesday, a reality that has apparently spent the president spinning.

In a lengthy rant on Truth Social Monday, Trump claimed that the U.S. would have to “pay back … Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” to the countries and companies that pledged to invest in American factories and plants in order to avoid his tariffs if the Supreme Court determined his economic action was unlawful.

“When these Investments are added, we are talking about Trillions of Dollars!” Trump wrote. “It would be a complete mess, and almost impossible for our country to pay.”

He then tried to shift blame for the hastily constructed tariff plan—which was built on bad math—onto the judiciary. He claimed that the nine-justice bench would be at fault for the fallout of the plan rather than his office, which forced it through in April against the advice of at least two dozen Nobel Prize–winning economists.

“Anybody who says that it can be quickly and easily done would be making a false, inaccurate, or totally misunderstood answer to this very large and complex question,” Trump continued. “It may not be possible but, if it were, it would be Dollars that would be so large that it would take many years to figure out what number we are talking about and even, who, when, and where, to pay.

“Remember, when America shines brightly, the World shines brightly,” he concluded. “In other words, if the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!”

More about the tariffs:

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Trump Is on Revenge Path Now That James Comey Case Has Fallen Apart

Yet another prosecutor has been fired for refusing to go after the former FBI director.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images

The Department of Justice has fired the top prosecutor who refused to take up the mantle of President Donald Trump’s revenge case against James Comey.

Robert McBride, who had been serving as a top deputy at the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia under Lindsey Halligan, reportedly declined a request to manage the case against the former FBI director, multiple people told MS Now Monday.

In November, a judge found that Halligan, who had been personally installed by Trump despite lacking any prosecutorial experience, was improperly appointed. Her cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were tossed out.

As Halligan’s appointment fell under increased scrutiny, McBride took on a more prominent role in running the office, and in recent days, he was asked to take over the case against Comey. But he reportedly told top Justice officials that he already had enough on his plate.

One source familiar with McBride’s removal told MS Now that Halligan had learned that her deputy held private meetings with federal judges in the area without notifying her. The Trump administration believed the meetings undermined their work, and the attorney general and deputy attorney general supported his removal.

The Trump administration had forced out Halligan’s predecessor, Eric Siebert, after officials pressured him to seek an indictment for mortgage fraud charges against James. Siebert refused, resulting in his ouster.

In the Western District of Virginia, DOJ officials pressured U.S. Attorney Todd Gilbert to resign after he refused to sideline a high-ranking prosecutor who said there wasn’t sufficient evidence of criminal misconduct during the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

This story has been updated.

Mark Kelly Hits Defense Secretary Hegseth With Major Lawsuit

The Democratic senator is suing Hegseth over his attempts to censure him.

Getty Images (x2)

Senator Mark Kelly has decided enough is enough with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and filed a lawsuit against him in federal court Monday.

Kelly sued Hegseth, the Defense Department, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, and the U.S. Department of the Navy over Hegseth’s attempts to punish the Arizona senator. Hegseth has censured Kelly and moved to reduce his retirement grade and military pension after he appeared in a video message in November with other former service members in Congress advising military personnel to refuse to follow illegal orders from the Trump administration.

In his lawsuit, Kelly alleges that Hegseth and the others violated his First Amendment and due process rights, claiming that the Trump administration’s actions “trample on protections the Constitution singles out as essential to legislative independence.”

“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech. Allowing that unprecedented step here would invert the constitutional structure by subordinating the Legislative Branch to executive discipline and chilling congressional oversight of the armed forces,” the lawsuit states.

Kelly noted that after President Trump accused him of committing treason and sedition, Hegseth immediately echoed those accusations and moved to punish Kelly without due process.

“The Constitution does not permit the government to announce the verdict in advance and then subject Senator Kelly or anyone else to a nominal process designed only to fulfill it,” Kelly said in the lawsuit.

Hegseth is attempting to punish a sitting member of the Senate for criticizing the president, which already goes against the Constitution and separation of powers, something Kelly highlighted in his lawsuit.

Will this lawsuit force Hegseth and Trump to see how absurd it is to punish members of Congress for their speech? At the very least, it may well embarrass the White House in federal court.

This story has been updated.

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Two GOP Senators Vow to Fight Trump’s Federal Reserve Takeover

Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and on the very independence of the central bank.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

At least two Republican senators plan to fight back after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the weekend, vowing to block all of President Trump’s nominations to the central bank.

Senator Lisa Murkowski said Monday on X, “After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion.

“If the Department of Justice believes an investigation into Chair Powell is warranted based on project cost overruns—which are not unusual—then Congress needs to investigate the Department of Justice. The stakes are too high to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer,” Murkowski added. “My colleague, Senator Tillis, is right in blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until this is resolved.”

Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee who will retire at the end of his term this year, has vowed to block all of the Trump administration’s Fed nominees until the Department of Justice backs off from its investigation into Powell and other Fed officials.

“It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question. I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved,” Tillis posted on X Sunday. The Senate Banking Committee has a narrow 13–11 advantage for Republicans, meaning that his opposition would stall any of Trump’s picks.

Powell sounded the alarm over the DOJ’s investigation into himself Sunday, saying that the independence of the financial body was at stake over “the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.” Now it seems that some Republicans agree. The question is whether Trump will back down or still try to strong-arm Powell and the Fed.

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Trump Refuses to Learn His Lesson on Letitia James

Maybe this time will be the charm for Donald Trump?

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The Trump administration is giving its investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James another shot.

The president shared a New York Post report to his Truth Social page Sunday night, effectively affirming that federal prosecutors are working toward more potential charges against James.

This case seemingly accuses James of alleged campaign misconduct over a total of $36,000 that her campaign paid to Iyesata Marsh, her longtime hairdresser, between 2018 and 2019. Roughly $22,000 of the payments were intended as payment for James’s use of Marsh’s studio as a late-stage campaign office in the last quarter of the year, according to a 2019 Wall Street Journal report.

The New York Times reported that prosecutors sought to speak with Marsh about the payments after she herself was indicted and charged with bank fraud and identity theft regarding the purchase of a Land Rover several years ago.

New York’s top cop has become one of the president’s chief legal adversaries since Donald Trump’s bank fraud case, when James successfully proved Trump was guilty of lying to banks. He was ordered to cough up nearly half a billion dollars in 2024—but has yet to do so.

In April, the Trump administration launched an investigation into James’s personal finances, accusing the attorney general of lying on her bank statements in order to obtain better mortgage rates. At the time, Trump referred to James as a “totally corrupt politician” and a “wacky crook,” and accused New York’s first Black woman in statewide office of being “racist.”

But that case completely fell apart in November, when a judge ruled that the administration had improperly appointed the lead attorney, Lindsey Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience at all. Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, was squeezed out of his position overseeing the legal matters of the Eastern District of Virginia after he revealed he couldn’t find incriminating evidence to substantiate Trump’s case against James.

The Justice Department has since tried—and failed—two more times to prosecute James. But Trump’s latest efforts may be a dud thanks to the loud mouths of some of his own staff: In December, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles fessed to Vanity Fair that the president’s flimsy charges against James were his “one retribution,” an admission that would give James’s legal defense plenty of reason to toss his cases against her for eternity.

Read more about Trump’s attempts to target James:

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“We Killed That Lesbian B*tch”: ICE Uses Renee Good’s Death as Threat

Protesters are recounting federal agents using Good’s death to warn them off.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Federal immigration officers have started using Renee Good’s death to threaten more U.S. citizens.

A video posted to Reddit showed a screaming ICE agent repeatedly threatening to kill a man who was sitting in his car, asking how he didn’t “learn from what just happened.”

In the two-minute clip, a masked agent wearing a Minnesota Timberwolves hat approached the vehicle already furious, while the driver rolled down his window. “Stop fucking following us, you are impeding operations, this is the United States federal government,” the officer shouted.

“I live over here, I got to get to my house,” the driver replied calmly.

“This is your warning, alright? Go home to your kids, go home to your kids. This is your last warning. I won’t arrest you,” the officer threatened, before stomping away.

When the driver tried to engage another agent on the other side of his car, the agent urged him not to “make a bad decision.”

“I’m not making any bad decision, I’m peaceful. I serve the Lord, not a draft-dodging coward,” the driver said.

“You’re not gonna like the outcome of this, sir. I guarantee you that,” the first officer said, circling back. “I guarantee you’re not gonna like the outcome. Go home to your children. It’s Sunday. It is Sunday. You did not learn from what just happened?”

“Learn what?” the driver asked, but the officer did not elaborate, and the group of federal agents appeared to leave without arresting anyone.

It seems clear, however, that the agent was referring to Renee Good, the U.S. citizen who was shot multiple times by an ICE agent last week after federal officers surrounded her vehicle. While the Trump administration initially justified the deadly use of force by claiming Good was a “domestic terrorist,” President Donald Trump most recently claimed her death was the result of being “disrespectful” of law enforcement.

It’s evident that the driver in the latest video hadn’t done anything illegal because none of the agents made the slightest effort to detain him. In fact, the officer seemed to suggest that even if he could, he wouldn’t actually arrest him—he would just kill him.

This isn’t the only time that ICE agents have apparently invoked Good’s killing.

Another protester, who identified themself as a former U.S. Marine, claimed in an interview posted on X that federal officers had mocked Good while violently arresting them. “They said, ‘Have you not learned? This is why we killed that lesbian bitch!’” the protester said.

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