As the public started to learn about the news out of Minneapolis, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed an unarmed woman, the Trump administration wasted little time in settling on a narrative: The victim, a 37-year-old mom named Renee Nicole Good, was the villain of the story.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wasn’t alone in the rhetorical push, but she took a leadership role in the propaganda campaign. Talking to reporters at an event in Texas, the South Dakota Republican insisted that the ICE officer was responding to “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Noem later floated a weird conspiracy theory, arguing that there’s some kind of “coordinated” effort underway in which “people are being trained” to use vehicles as weapons.
The DHS secretary likely knew local officials were already discrediting her claims as she made them. Similarly, Noem probably realized the video evidence of what transpired left little doubt that her and the Trump administration’s twisted version of events was false.
But the secretary had a counternarrative to sell, which she pushed without regard for accuracy, decency or concern for her vanishing credibility.
This did not go unnoticed on Capitol Hill. NOTUS reported:
Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly announced on Wednesday plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, following a deadly shooting involving immigration officers in Minneapolis earlier in the day.
“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,” Kelly said in a press release. “It’s one thing to be incompetent and dangerous, but it’s impeachable to break the rule of law,” the Illinois Democrat added. “I told my constituents and Chicagoans that I would fight against Secretary Noem’s agenda. This is me fighting back.”
It’s not yet clear whether the effort (which has not yet been formally introduced) will have co-sponsors, but it’s a safe bet that other House Democrats will be interested in the resolution.
For most of American history, only one Cabinet secretary was ever impeached: In 1876, the House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap — after he left office — over alleged bribes. (He was later acquitted by senators.) Almost two years ago, Belknap got a little company: Republicans impeached then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, despite having uncovered literally no evidence of the DHS secretary committing anything that would merit impeachment. Will Noem join the tiny club? Probably not anytime soon: The House Republican majority in the lower chamber is tiny and shrinking, but it exists, and GOP leaders will ignore the Democratic effort to hold her accountable. But if there’s a Democratic majority in the House next year and Noem hasn’t yet resigned, no one should be surprised if the issue returns to the fore.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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