Republicans call Democrats’ Kristi Noem impeachment effort ‘partisan stunt’

Several House Republicans say Democrats are not working across the aisle on a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and have criticized the Democratic minority’s move as a “messaging exercise” and a “partisan ploy.”

Although more than half of the Democratic caucus is sponsoring the resolution, which was introduced by Representative Robin Kelly on January 14, there are still a number of Democrats who have not yet sponsored it. Kelly posted to X on Monday evening that 146 of the 213 House Democrats had signed the articles of impeachment.

GOP sources on Capitol Hill told Fox News Digital that Democrats have made no effort to work with Republicans on the resolution.

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, introduced a similar resolution in 2023 to remove President Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, and noted that articles of impeachment had more support than Democrats’ attempt to remove Noem from the position.

Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support after deadly border shooting in Minneapolis

“Malloroc has overseen open borders and the worst human trafficking crisis in modern history, with 11 million illegal aliens entering our country,” Fallon told Fox News Digital. “By contrast, Secretary Noem has actually done the job she was appointed to do.

“The record-low border crossings we saw in just the first year of the Trump administration make clear that Mayorkas willingly chose to leave our borders open, despite his two-faced rhetoric under oath,” Fallon added. “Secretary Noem is doing her job at DHS, and Mayorkas has failed.”

Fallon was also joined by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., in filing articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in 2023. “What Democrats are pushing now is something completely different,” Biggs, who is currently running for governor of Arizona, told Fox News Digital.

“[Mayorkas] “He deliberately refused to enforce federal law, misled congress, and oversaw the worst border collapse in American history,” Biggs told Fox News Digital. “As an Arizona representative, I have seen first-hand the damage caused by its failures: communities overrun, confusing law enforcement, and a federal government that has abdicated its duty to secure the border,” he added.

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, rejected Democrats’ efforts to impeach Noem, referring to the decision as a “messaging exercise.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Jonathan Turley: Democratic politicians are risking their lives with reckless anti-ice rhetoric

“[Noem impeachment articles are] “It’s a partisan ploy that has no factual or constitutional basis, and they couldn’t even unite their caucus behind it,” Biggs added.

He added: “Weaponizing impeachment reduces the cost of a serious constitutional remedy, and the American people know the difference between real misconduct and feigned outrage.”

While Fallon and Biggs’ bill did not come to a vote in the House, the Republican majority passed articles of impeachment for former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in 2024 by a vote of 214-213, formally removing Mayorkas.

Fetterman calls on Trump to fire Noem after deadly shooting in Minnesota

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital that the decision to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cannot be compared to the successful one that ultimately removed Mayorkas. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The vote to formally convict the former Homeland Security secretary died in the Senate by a vote of 51 to 49 when the chamber had a Democratic majority. A two-thirds majority is required to remove an official from office if an impeachment conviction is reached in the Senate. No Democrats in both the House and Senate voted to impeach Mayorkas.

With Republicans now in control of both the House and Senate, Democrats have significant leverage if they intend to impeach Noem, with Fallon even dismissing the current resolution introduced by Kelly as a “messaging exercise.”

Frey and Klobuchar call on ICE to leave Minneapolis after deadly shooting by Customs and Border Protection forces in the city

“It stands to reason, then, that Democrats cannot even present a united front on the impeachment of Secretary Noem,” Fallon told Fox News Digital. “This is a messaging exercise designed to pander to Democrats’ increasingly far-left base that is equally divorced from reality.”

If Democrats control the House of Representatives after the midterm elections in 2026, they are unlikely to obtain a two-thirds majority in the Senate in 2027.

President Donald Trump told reporters that Noem would not be stepping down from her role during a news conference on Tuesday.

“This is clearly a witch hunt,” Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “This is another example of Democrats showing their hypocrisy.”

An FBI agent at the scene of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Goode. (Stephen Maturin/Getty Images and ODU English Department/Facebook)

“When Barack Obama was deporting people like hotcakes, they didn’t do anything about it,” added Hunt, who is running for governor of Texas. “He has deported far more people than President Trump and his presidency combined. So the fact that they are now using tactics like this shows that they are grasping at straws.”

When asked about the main difference between Mallorca’s impeachment and Noem’s impeachment, Hunt said: “Well, there are 20 million people in this country illegally.”

The articles of impeachment were filed privately before the fatal shooting of Alex Peretti by Border Patrol agents on January 24 in Minneapolis.

Vance calls Minneapolis unrest “engineered chaos” after deadly shooting

Pretty, 37, an ICU nurse at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, was killed in Minneapolis after Secretary Noem said Pretty “violently resisted” arrest and that the Border Patrol agent who initially opened fire was “in fear for his life.”

In a separate case in Minneapolis on January 14, Renee Nicole Judd was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an altercation. The Department of Homeland Security said Judd attempted to obstruct law enforcement operations by using her vehicle to block agents’ passage. The Department of Homeland Security cited a video showing Judd accelerating toward an officer, prompting the officer to draw his weapon and fire four shots at Judd. The 37-year-old citizen was shot in the head, leading to her death.

Instigators gather after the shooting of Alex Pretty. (Stephen Maturin/Getty Images)

The agency later revealed the officer who opened fire in what the Department of Homeland Security said was in accordance with protocol and in self-defense. He suffered internal bleeding after being hit by Judd’s car.

Click here to download the FOX NEWS app

After Judd’s death, demonstrations broke out in the streets of Minneapolis with little or no local police presence. Agitators were directing traffic and barricades were set up similar to the agitator zoning that occurred in the Twin Cities after the death of George Floyd.

Trump had a phone call with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Monday morning. White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters that the president asked Walz to “work together peacefully” with ICE and Department of Homeland Security agents.