President Trump bizarrely claimed his decision to pull Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino out of Minnesota is the kind of leadership shakeup he does “all the time.”
Bovino, 55, was removed from his position of Border Patrol “commander at large” on Monday, days after federal agents killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
Trump is sending White House Border Czar Tom Homan, 64, to Minneapolis in Bovino’s place.
“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
When pressed on Tuesday about his decision to axe Bovino, Trump, 79, said, “I do that all the time. I shake up teams.”
Trump, who was surrounded by supporters in an Iowa restaurant, added, “Everybody here, these are a lot of owners of farms and places, you shake up your team if they can’t do the crops fast enough.”
Trump’s first term as president was full of shakeups as the president warred with close allies including Michael Cohen, John McCain and Paul Ryan. However, in October last year, the administration swept through the senior leadership at ICE.
During Bovino’s oversight of immigration raids in Minneapolis, immigration officers killed Pretti and 37-year-old mother Renee Good, detained toddlers, and liberally gassed both Minnesota protesters and themselves.
The national outrage over ICE and Border Patrol’s activity in Minnesota has led to Trump’s record-low polling numbers.
Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers have pleaded with Trump to cool the temperature in Minnesota ahead of a Jan. 30 funding vote in Congress. Democrats have signaled they won’t support any funding package that includes more money for DHS and ICE.
In an attempt to quell the controversy, Trump spent Tuesday promising to “de-escalate” and insulting Bovino.
In an interview with Fox News host Will Cain hours after he said he wanted to “shake things up,” Trump said, “Bovino is very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of guy. Sometimes that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Appointing Homan also challenges the job security of embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem, who already faces impeachment threats and calls to resign from Democratic lawmakers, has clashed with Homan over their immigration enforcement philosophies. Homan has expressed a desire to go after the “worst of the worst” criminals in the U.S. illegally, while Noem has favored widespread, camera-ready roundups to boost numbers.
After Pretti’s death, Noem described the Veteran Affairs nurse as a “domestic terrorist.” Bongino claimed Pretti wanted to “massacre” law enforcement officers because he had a gun. However, videos of the killing show Pretti never unholstered his weapon, which he had a legal permit to carry.
The disconnect between the administration’s messaging and the video evidence of the shooting has reportedly led to tensions within the DHS and the Trump administration, where Noem is said to be on “thin ice.”
CNN reported that multiple DHS insiders were “furious” after watching bystander footage of the shooting, saying Noem’s public statements no longer match what Americans can see themselves.
But according to an Axios report, Noem reportedly passed the criticism up to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” she reportedly said regarding her statements after Pretti’s killing.
Trump denied that Noem’s job was in jeopardy on Tuesday.
When asked by a reporter if Noem would be stepping down, Trump tersely said “No” and walked away.
