WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans spent a Wednesday oversight hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasting local governments for policies that limit immigration cooperation, while Democrats slammed her leadership of the department, saying it led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. 

House Republicans were more friendly to Noem than GOP senators who on Tuesday pressed, and at times yelled at, her for her quick judgment in labeling those killed in Minneapolis — Renee Good, a poet and mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse — as domestic terrorists. Senators were also critical of slow responses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

At the House Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio blamed the Biden administration for immigration policies Jordan said created a crisis and slammed local jurisdictions that decline to assist the federal government in immigration enforcement, often referred to as sanctuary cities. 

He referred to that as “the dumbest policy I have ever heard,” and vowed that Congress would ban it.

During the nearly six-hour hearing, Noem said she agreed, and supported Republicans’ efforts to move forward with legislation to prevent states and local governments from resisting immigration enforcement.

“Illegal aliens that come into this country know where they can go where elected officials will protect them,” she said.

Republicans also criticized Democrats for refusing to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2026 unless there are changes to immigration enforcement tactics. Democrats took a hard line on the issue following Pretti’s death in late January. 

The House Wednesday voted 211-209 to advance a DHS funding bill. A final vote is expected Thursday. 

‘Blankie’ left on jet

The top Democrat on the panel, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, took up a litany of issues with Noem, starting with a report from the Wall Street Journal that detailed how special government employee and top Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after Noem’s blanket was left behind on a prior flight. 

The pilot had to be rehired because no one else could fly the plane, according to the WSJ story. 

“Apparently when your special blanket, your blankie, was left on one of the government jets and not transported over to the new one, your special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, chivalrously stepped forward to fire the pilot — mid-air,” Raskin said. “But then he had to be rehired immediately because there was no one else who could fly the two of you on the rest of the journey home.”

Noem denied the story.

Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, pressed Noem about multiple media reports that she currently has a romantic relationship with Lewandowski and raised concerns about how much authority Lewandowski has at the agency.

“You go off and you attack conservative women, and you say that we’re either stupid or we’re sluts,” Noem said, but did not answer if she was having an affair. 

Moskowitz also said he got Noem a “new Coast Guard blankie” and held up a packaged blanket with the emblem of the Coast Guard.

FEMA problems

As in Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Noem was again grilled by a North Carolina lawmaker over delays in FEMA assistance, with Democratic Rep. Deborah K. Ross filling the role Wednesday.

Ross said that thousands of residents in western North Carolina are still waiting for Noem to approve additional FEMA funding that Congress provided in a separate disaster relief funding law after Hurricane Helene in 2024.  

“These delays in paying out this desperately needed recovery funds are simply unacceptable, and you heard that from my Republican senator, (Thom) Tillis, yesterday,” Ross said. 

Ross slammed Noem for instituting a policy to require any FEMA contract costing more than $100,000 to be approved by her first. 

Ross said that policy “has contributed to many of these delays, creating a bottleneck, blocking reimbursement for hundreds of millions of dollars of disaster funding that stand directly between North Carolinians and that relief.” 

Noem blamed former President Joe Biden for not sending disaster relief money to the state, saying he “failed North Carolina,” and that the state had received billions more under the Trump administration.

“Because we appropriated the money!” Ross shouted. 

In late December 2024, Congress passed a separate disaster relief package that Biden signed into law in the final month of his term.

Minneapolis questions

Noem was pressed by Raskin about referring to Good and Pretti, both 37 years old and shot and killed by federal immigration agents, as domestic terrorists. 

“I want to give you a chance before the entire country to correct your false and defamatory claim based on what you know today, Madam Secretary, were Renee Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists?” Raskin asked. 

Noem did not answer repeated questions from Raskin if she believed Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists, but said “what happened in Minnesota in those two incidents was an absolute tragedy.”

Julie Prokes hands out donated hand warmers and food for protesters and anyone else nearby in a parking lot at the Henry Whipple Federal Building Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Any supplies not needed for protesters, he gives to the veteran's shelter just behind him. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

About 20 protesters stood behind the barricades on Federal Drive heckling federal agents about American values as they exited the Whipple Federal Building gates and sped off Tuesday afternoon when a bald eagle flew over the road. 

The Whipple building, which sits near the airport south of Minneapolis, has seen weeks of sustained protest since it has become the base of federal operations in the area and the site where people arrested by immigration agents — both immigrants and activists — have been detained. 

People at the facility this week said the number of protesters has begun to decline — even before the Trump administration announced Wednesday it would be pulling 700 agents out of the state. Despite the lower energy, the group outside of Whipple still included people who had been at the scene every day for weeks, as well as those there for the first time. 

Natalie Paquet said she’s an independent voter who was attending a protest for the first time because of the “constant rage” she’s been feeling about the actions of federal agents in her community. 

“The absolute destruction, the ignoring of the Constitution,” she said, calling the federal forces secret police. “What country do we live in?” 

As agents in SUVs cycled in and out of the facility, protesters blew whistles and used megaphones to trash talk the agents about their education levels, sexual proclivities and morals. The agents, often ignoring the stop signs at the intersection, occasionally responded with waves and blown kisses from behind their masks. 

A common refrain from citizens behind the fencing was that the building is serving as a concentration camp. That status was connected more than once to the violent history at nearby Fort Snelling. 

“I came to see the horror for myself,” said an area resident who only gave name as Sam. 

The Star Tribune recently reported the conditions inside of the building have been deteriorating, with one woman saying she was shackled by her ankles in a bathroom with three men for 24 hours. 

Julie Prokes said that prior to the operation in Minnesota he’d only ever been to large scale protests like the No Kings marches last year. Now, he’s been posted up at a table across the street from Whipple distributing food and warm drinks for 12 days straight to protesters and people released from custody — often with inadequate clothes for the winter weather. 

Joking that the hot tomato soup someone had dropped off had become a cold gazpacho, Prokes said he’s never done this kind of organizing. 

“I’m just a normal person,” he said, adding that despite the bad reputation Whipple has gotten as the site of clashes between protesters and federal agents, it’s become a safe place for new people to come express their frustration with the federal presence. 

The protests at Whipple have also attracted people coming from out of state, including Cindy Leonard, who has been driving about 45 minutes to Whipple every day from Somerset, Wisconsin. 

“I feel like I need to be here showing strength in numbers,” said Leonard. “They are violating Amendments one and four — so far.” 

Leonard said she’s taking training to help with legal observation of ICE activities across the St. Croix River, but she’ll be coming to Whipple “until ICE is out.” 

Richie Mead said he’s been at Whipple every day for more than two weeks. Off for the winter from his Massachusetts flower farm, he said he’s in Minnesota “fighting fascism.” 

“There’s people caring for each other on this side of the fence,” he said before pointing to an SUV turning out of the gates. “There’s a city that hates them.” 

Tom Edwards, a West St. Paul resident, stood by one of the stop signs on Federal Drive shaking his cane at each passing SUV, yelling that the agents inside were “cowards.” In late December, Edwards was arrested for allegedly brandishing a firearm at ICE agents, though he disputes the federal narrative, saying he never pointed the legally owned gun at anyone. 

Retired from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Postal Service, Edwards said he continued to come out despite the scrutiny he’s been under because “you don’t get to steal people.” 

“You can’t stand by and watch,” he said. “This is the groundwork for fascism.”