A congressional push to impeach and oust Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is gathering steam after the killing of a Minneapolis mom of three by an ICE agent.
By Tuesday afternoon, 53 Democratic members of the House had signed on as co-sponsors on articles of impeachment against the former South Dakota governor, dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her habit of cosplaying as an immigration official, Axios reported.
The push comes after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Renee Nicole Good, 37, dead in the street last Wednesday. The administration’s disputed accounts of the incident and defense of Ross have failed to quell mounting outrage over both the killing and the large-scale immigration raids ICE had been dispatched to carry out in the city.
“Secretary Kristi Noem is an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy, and I am impeaching her for obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing,” Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois said as she announced the impeachment move last week.
Among other Democrats to have signed on in the days since are Gabe Vasquez and Angie Craig of Minnesota, Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Dave Min of California, and Massachusetts’ Seth Moulton.
Kelly further told Axios she expects several more members of the House to sign on once full details of the articles are revealed later on Wednesday.
Those are thought to include accusations related to members of Congress being denied access to ICE facilities for inspection, violations of due process and the constitutional rights of migrants amid ongoing detentions across the country, and self-dealing related to $220 million in Homeland Security contracts granted to the husband of a top DHS spokesperson.
“Sec. Noem has systematically violated Americans’ rights, directed masked agents to terrorize our communities, and obstructed Congress,” Vasquez told Axios. “She’s got to go.”
Rumors abounded late last year that Noem may have been facing dismissal from the Trump administration over what insiders have described as “chaos” at her department, owing in part to Noem’s tempestuous leadership style and that of her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, with whom she’s alleged to be in a romantic relationship.
Both officials are married, to other people.
Previous Democratic efforts, such as by Reps. Shri Thanedar, Al Green, and Haley Stevens, to impeach Donald Trump or members of his Cabinet have been laughed out of the House.
Given Noem is thought to have already been standing on shaky ground, the pace at which Kelly’s articles are now gathering momentum in Congress would appear to represent the most significant threat so far to her tenure as Homeland Security secretary.
But not all Democrats are on board. Axios reports that Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada has argued against forcing an impeachment vote against Noem, warning that a concerted attack on a top-ranking member of the Trump administration may not bode well for Democrats facing re-election in swing states at this year’s crucial midterm elections.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on this story. A spokesperson told Axios that “Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district.”
“We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem,” they added.
