Top Democrats issued a clear message to Donald Trump this week: either he fires Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, or they will impeach her.
The ultimatum came after a majority of the House Democratic caucus signed on to articles of impeachment introduced earlier this month in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both US citizens fatally shot by federal agents during the increasingly violent immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota’s largest city.
“The violence unleashed on the American people by the Department of Homeland Security must end forthwith. Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” said Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, along with his two deputies, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, in a joint statement.
Trump appeared to back Noem earlier in the day, telling reporters at the White House: “I think she’s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure.”
It’s no longer just Democrats – Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis on Tuesday said Noem should resign from her post.
Top Democrats give Trump ultimatum on Kristi Noem
Top House Democrats on Tuesday told Donald Trump to fire Kristi Noem or they would launch impeachment proceedings against the homeland security secretary, in response to the weekend killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
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Border patrol commander to leave Minneapolis after shooting of Alex Pretti
Gregory Bovino, the border patrol commander who has become the public face of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, is expected to leave the city on Tuesday as the Trump administration reshuffles the leadership of its immigration enforcement operation and scales back federal presence after a second fatal shooting by officers.
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US announces multi-day aerial military drills in the Middle East amid Iran tensions
The display of US air power was announced as the White House has suggested it could launch new strikes on Iran after the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, which has left thousands dead and many more in detention with their fates uncertain.
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Minnesota raids continue as DHS report indicates two agents fired at Alex Pretti
The report emerged as Donald Trump signals he may begin reducing the surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the state.
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‘Abdication’: Trump formally takes US out of Paris climate agreement for a second time
The United States has officially exited the Paris climate agreement for the second time, cementing Trump’s renewed break with the primary global venue to address global heating.
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Families of two men killed in Trump’s military boat strikes sue US government
Civil rights attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the United States government on Tuesday on behalf of the families of two men from a small fishing village in Trinidad who were killed in a US military airstrike on a small boat in the Caribbean Sea on 14 October.
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Uproar in Italy over ICE security role at Winter Olympics
Two small opposition parties of the European parliament – the Green and Left Alliance (AVS) and Azione – have started petitions calling on the Italian government and the Olympic organising committee to prevent the ICE agents’ entry and involvement in the security operations. “ICE is the militia that shoots people on the streets of Minneapolis and takes children away from their families,” AVS said.
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Girl, five, deported to Honduras despite being US citizen, becomes latest victim of Trump crackdown
Five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos misses her cousins, classmates and kindergarten teachers in Austin, Texas. Despite being a US citizen, she was deported on 11 January alongside her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, to Honduras, a country Génesis had never known.
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What else happened today:
National Transportation Safety Board members were deeply troubled on Tuesday over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk collided a year ago, killing 67 people near Washington DC.
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a five-year-old Minnesota boy and his father cannot be immediately deported, one week after their arrest sparked international outrage.
A shooting involving a border patrol agent near the US-Mexico border in Arizona has left an accused smuggler in critical condition, local authorities said Tuesday.
Alex Vindman, who became a key player along with his twin brother in Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced on Tuesday that he is running for the US Senate as a Democrat in Florida.
A unit of US immigration and customs enforcement agents (ICE) will have a security role in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Italy, sparking uproar and petitions against the deployment.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Monday 26 January.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
