Trump says homeland security chief won't step down
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem would remain in her job, despite a backlash over a fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
"No," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if Noem would step down after 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti was killed while protesting against immigration raids. "I think she's doing a very good job," added Trump, in his first on-camera comments since the shooting on Saturday.
The New York Times reported that Trump held an almost two-hour meeting on Monday evening with Noem, who has favoured aggressive immigration raids and described Pretti as a "domestic terrorist."
The Republican president has also dispatched his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, in a sign he may favour Homan's more targeted approach to the arrests of undocumented migrants over Noem's showy mass raids.
Trump, who was heading to Iowa to give a speech on the economy and affordability, continued his pivot from the White House's aggressive initial reaction to the shooting. "We're doing a big investigation... I'm going to be watching over it and I want to very honourable and honest investigation and I have to see it myself," Trump said.
Trump's comments look set to further inflame a debate about gun rights in the United States sparked by Pretti's death. His administration and law enforcement agencies under him have justified the fatal shooting on the grounds that Pretti had a handgun and accused him of acting violently when he became entangled with agents.
Some gun rights advocatesoften staunch supporters of the presidenthave raised concerns over the Trump administration's comments about Pretti.