In possible thaw, Trump and Minnesota governor talk after fatal shooting
Law enforcement officers stand guard around a hotel where Greg Bovino, who has been removed from his role as the "commander at large" for the US Border Patrol, is reportedly staying, in Maple Grove, Minnesota, US, January 26, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz struck a conciliatory note after a private phone call on Monday, signalling an effort to defuse a crisis over a Trump-ordered deportation drive that has left two United States citizens dead in Minneapolis.
Trump also spoke by phone with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, and their subsequent remarks were upbeat, a sharp change from weeks of vitriolic public exchanges.
Another sign of a thaw came with confirmation from a senior Trump administration official that Gregory Bovino, a top US Border Patrol official who has drawn heavy criticism from Democrats and civil liberties groups, will leave Minnesota along with some of the agents deployed with him.
Read More: Minneapolis locals protest ‘inhumane’ US agents after second killing
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump’s designated border czar, Tom Homan, would replace Bovino in Minnesota, taking charge of what the administration has dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
Trump said earlier that Homan was being sent to Minnesota, adding that Homan had “not been involved” in the crackdown but “knows and likes many of the people there”.
Change in command
Later on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said Bovino had been stripped of his specially created title of “commander at large” of the Border Patrol and would return to his former job as chief patrol agent in the El Centro sector along the US-Mexico border. The source said Bovino would then soon retire.
Another source confirmed Bovino would return to the El Centro sector but gave no further details.
The Atlantic first reported Bovino’s demotion on Monday, citing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official and two other people with knowledge of the change. The publication also said Bovino was expected to retire.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed those reports, however, posting on X: “Chief Gregory Bovino has not been relieved of his duties.”
Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties. As @PressSec stated from the White House podium, @CMDROpAtLargeCA is a key part of the President’s team and a great American. https://t.co/qj3E9B8uzg
Fixture of deportation drive
Bovino has become a leading public face of Trump’s deportation crackdown, often seen leading heavily armed federal agents through city streets.
Also Read: Second Minneapolis death intensifies pressure on Trump
News of his removal, along with Trump’s phone calls with Walz and Frey, came two days after a 37-year-old ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis during a weekend confrontation between immigration officers and protesters.
The killing heightened tensions in Minnesota and sparked a major backlash after video footage went viral online, appearing to contradict the Trump administration’s account that Pretti precipitated the shooting.
Bovino characterised Pretti as the attacker, saying: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Trump and DHS officials have similarly blamed another local anti-ICE activist, Renee Good, 37, a mother of three, for her own death after a federal agent shot her in her car on Jan. 7.
Like Pretti, Good was a US citizen, and video footage of her killing appeared to contradict claims that she attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon.
In both cases, the US Justice Department has not opened investigations into the shootings, as is standard practice.
Minnesota authorities have accused the federal government of obstructing state investigators, prompting a court battle over the collection and preservation of evidence.
Telephone diplomacy
On Monday, both sides appeared to seek de-escalation.
Following his call with Walz, Trump said he was “on a similar wavelength” with the Democratic governor, weeks after ordering roughly 3,000 immigration agents to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area over state and local objections.
Walz’s office said the call was “productive”, adding that Trump would consider reducing the number of agents in the state and would direct DHS to allow Minnesota to conduct its own investigation into Pretti’s death.
Trump also reported progress after speaking with Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform that “lots of progress” had been made.
Frey said on X that Trump had agreed “the present situation can’t continue” and that it was understood some federal agents would begin leaving the Twin Cities on Tuesday.
Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go.
Public support for Trump’s immigration enforcement appeared to be weakening after the Pretti shooting, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Key Minnesota republican breaks with Trump
In another sign of softening support, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Madel dropped his bid on Monday, saying the deportation drive had gone too far and made the race unwinnable.
“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Madel said in a video statement.
I am ending my campaign for Minnesota Governor. I describe why in the below video. Please watch until the end. (It is 10 minutes, 52 seconds.)
Thank you,
Chris pic.twitter.com/2nfyAyTzNZDHS officials have described the Pretti incident as self-defence, saying agents fired after he approached them with a handgun. But video verified by Reuters shows Pretti holding a phone, not a gun, as agents wrestled him to the ground.
The footage shows officers removing a firearm from his waistband after he was subdued, moments before they fatally shot him. Pretti was a licenced gun owner.