U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, speaks during Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, 2026. Tillis is among lawmakers who have criticized Noem’s handling of immigration enforcement. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee delivered unusually blunt criticism of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during Tuesday’s tense five-hour hearing, with North Carolina’s Thom Tillis threatening to obstruct the chamber’s proceedings unless Noem answered questions from his office about immigration enforcement.
Tillis even returned to a book written by Noem, in which she detailed the shooting of a dog and a goat, comparing her actions in the case to jumping to conclusions about the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis.
The oversight hearing was Noem’s first appearance on Capitol Hill since a months-long surge in immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, during which her department’s agents killed two citizens, a surge that was later scaled back amid a national outcry.
Tillis, a Republican who is retiring rather than seek re-election this year, focused his criticism on Noem’s handling of immigration, while other members of the Republican Party expressed separate concerns. Sometimes he raised his voice.
“We expect exceptional leadership and you have shown something else,” Tillis said. “What we saw was a disaster under your leadership. We witnessed the detention of innocent people who turned out to be American citizens.”
He chastised Noem for not owning up to the mistake of calling Renee Good, a poet and mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, domestic terrorists. Both Good and Pretti died in January after being shot by federal immigration agents.
Tillis called on Noem to resign and threatened that if he did not answer numerous questions from his office, block nominations that fall to the floor and did not establish a quorum in the Senate committees. Tillis’ absence from committee meetings could halt the work of these panels, holding up nominations and bills along party lines.
Democrats on the panel questioned Noem about the Minneapolis operation, racial profiling by immigration officials that led to arrests of U.S. citizens, and whether immigration agents will be present at polling places during the midterm elections.
Noem largely stood by her decisions, and when senators intimidated her over her immigration agent’s aggressive tactics, she turned to the families behind her, known as Angel Families, whose loved ones were killed by an immigrant in the country without legal authorization.
“Those poor angel families behind me will never have children again. That’s one of my daily motivations,” Noem said.
Republicans John Kennedy of Louisiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri questioned Noem about the $220 million advertising contract and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s leisurely response to reimbursement and disaster aid.
Dog and goat
Tillis didn’t ask Noem any questions. Instead, he spent the full 10 minutes of question time saying he was doing a “performance review,” during which he expressed numerous frustrations.
He criticized her approach to the Minnesota operation.
“The fact that you are unable to admit that you made a mistake in what appears to be an ongoing investigation will prove that Miss Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and back,” Tillis said.
After Pretti’s death, President Donald Trump directed Tom Homan, the White House border czar who reports directly to the president and operates outside the DHS chain of command, to take over operations in Minneapolis.
Tillis told Noem that he had read her a book detailing her shooting A 14-month-old dog named Cricket for bad behavior. She also revealed that she killed a goat for similar reasons.
“You decided to kill this dog because you didn’t invest the proper time and training, and then you have the audacity to write a book and say it’s a leadership lesson on hard choices,” Tillis said.
He also quarreled with a goat.
“If you don’t neuter a goat, they behave badly,” he said.
Research shows that neutering a goat can lead to lower testosterone levels and tranquil down an aggressive goat.
“My point is these are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, similar to what happened in Minneapolis,” he said, referring to Noem’s quickness to label Pretti and Good as domestic terrorists.
Slow FEMA relief
Tillis pointed out that Noem’s policy at FEMA that he must personally approve any contract worth more than $100,000 has led to a delay in his state, which is still dealing with Hurricane Helene in 2024.
“This is what incompetent FEMA leadership looks like,” he said. “People in western North Carolina are suffering from the most significant storm they have ever experienced.”
Tillis said Noem “has failed at FEMA” and that he believes she violates the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which he said “expressly prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from limiting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency’s mission.”
Hawley also raised the issue with FEMA.
He said that after multiple deadly tornadoes in his state, FEMA helped fund debris cleanup. Local officials estimate that about 10,000 homes are eligible for debris removal assistance, but “some conditions placed by FEMA on the funds mean that only (100) or 200 homes of those 10,000 can actually access FEMA debris removal funds.”
Noem said she would work with his office to resolve the issue.
Advertising contract
Kennedy questioned Noem about her decision to award a no-bid contract for her $220 million advertising campaign. ProPublica investigation found that Noem awarded the contract to the husband of former DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
“Listen, we all have friends who are qualified, I don’t question that,” Kennedy said. “It bothers me… a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money when we’re scratching every penny and arguing about waiver packages, I just can’t agree with that.”
Noem said she had no role in approving the deal.
“Today they should live”
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar sharply criticized Noem for her aggressive actions to enforce immigration laws in her state.
“Two of my constituents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed,” she said. “They should be alive today.”
Klobuchar asked Noem how many federal immigration officials were still in Minneapolis. The Trump administration deployed more than 2,000 agents, dwarfing the city’s local police force of about 600 officers.
Noem said there are still about 650 immigration agents in the city.
Klobuchar told Noem that she had spoken to Pretti’s parents.
“When I talked to Alex’s parents, they told me that calling him a domestic terrorist… (was) one of the most hurtful things they could imagine you saying about their son,” Klobuchar said.
She asked Noem if he wanted to apologize to Pretti’s parents for calling him a domestic terrorist.
“I didn’t call him a domestic terrorist, I said it looked like an incident of domestic terrorism,” Noem said.
Shutdown and questions about Iran
Tuesday was the 17th day of the partial DHS closure. Senate Democrats forced a statehouse shutdown after the Good and Pretti shootings.
The department is also currently dealing with additional cybersecurity and counterterrorism threats after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Iran.
Although Congress has not passed a bill to fund DHS in fiscal year 2026, the department has a separate funding stream — from the tax cuts and spending package passed by Republicans last year — to continue immigration enforcement. Almost the entire department is considered vital, so its employees continue to work, some without pay.
Within days of the Trump administration’s decision launch an attack on Iransenators pressed Noem on what safety preparations the agency is making in lithe of the suspension.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed concern about potential terrorism related to the war in Iran. He asked Noem how it screens immigrants and intercepts potential acts of terrorism.
Noem blamed the Biden administration for terrorism concerns and said the agency was re-verifying all Afghan refugees and allies who fled to the U.S. after the Biden administration’s confused withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We are re-examining some of the people and some of the programs that we may have concerns about, we are reviewing social media, and we are also conducting interviews that are necessary for some of our programs that the Biden administration has abused and distorted during its time,” Noem said.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked Noem whether she thought the threat level to the United States was higher or lower when it came to terrorism from Iran.
Noem said everything was ready.
Graham he was vocal in his quest to overthrow the current Iranian government.
“We are engaged in military action against the mothership of terrorism, Iran, which I hope will sink soon,” Graham said.
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the top Republican on the DHS appropriations panel, asked Noem what the consequences of closing her agency would be.
Britt expressed concern about the shooting in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, which is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.
“We continue to do this work and will continue to do so every day, but we need funding to ensure that all of our law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to bring them to justice,” Noem said.
Elections
Ahead of November’s midterm elections, Democrats expressed concerns that the administration would send immigration officials to polling places.
Noem said Tuesday that the election process is up to the states, but he gave a noncommittal answer when asked to rule out sending DHS agents to monitor polling places.
Sen. Chris Coons asked Noem whether he would issue an executive order prohibiting ICE agents from being at polling places.
Noem did not answer the Delaware Democrat’s question, but asked: “Do you plan to have illegal aliens vote in our elections?”
It is already illegal for a non-citizen to vote in a federal election, and it rarely happens.
Trump is urging Congress to pass a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
