The latest shooting in Minnesota has created a rather significant problem for the Trump administration.
Earlier today, we discussed how there is some turmoil developing within DHS, as some officials are unhappy with how DHS Secretary Noem is handling the PR for these attacks.
Now, we are starting to see some rather prominent Republicans, as well as the usual suspects, break away and recommend that ICE leave Minnesota.
One of the first Republicans to break with the administration over the shooting was Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
He stated, “The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.”
He continued, “There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”
Keep in mind, his comments came at the same time that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blasted Alex Pretti, the man who had been shot and killed, as well as stating that it would be DHS leading this investigation, not local authorities.
Then the usual players started to step in, such as Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
She stated that this shooting “should raise serious questions within the administration about the adequacy of immigration-enforcement training and the instructions officers are given on carrying out their mission.”
She then added that immigration officers don’t “have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.”
Murkowski was essentially pushing the same talking points we have been hearing from Democrats.
Murkowski was not surprised, and Cassidy has been lining himself up as a Trump critic for some time. But the really big bombshell hit when Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who has had Trump’s back on virtually everything, suggested it may be time for ICE to leave the state. On Sunday, while doing the media circuit, he stated:
“If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more, you know, innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide, ‘Do we want to continue to have all of these illegals? Are we going to allow our governor, attorney general and mayor to get away with this?’”
He put that as delicately as possible, trying to place the onus for the security issue on Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, but that is the first person of note to recommend that Trump leave the state and abandon the immigration effort there.
I truly wish I had a solution here, but from my perspective, Trump is in a no-win situation right now. If he leaves, we are likely to see pressure from other blue states to create the same situation as we saw in Minnesota. And if Trump stays, the temperature continues to rise, and we are likely to see more citizens or agents killed. Either way, it is a bad situation for this administration and the GOP in general.
