Noem Visits Trump Amid Shooting Fallout: What Will Happen Next?!

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem found herself in the Oval Office on Monday, meeting with President Trump as the administration continues to deal with the fallout from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Sources close to the situation tell ABC News that the meeting signals a potential shift in how the White House is handling the situation, particularly regarding the federal agent operations that preceded the shooting.

Noem Visits Trump Amid Shooting Fallout: What Will...

The room was packed, apparently. Besides Noem, key players like her top advisor Corey Lewandowski, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and communications director Steven Cheung were all present, according to sources. Notably absent was Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who previously, and controversially, labeled Pretti a "domestic terrorist" without offering any supporting evidence. Seems someone is being sidelined, or maybe he just had a prior engagement. The *New York Times* originally broke the news of the meeting.

When pressed by ABC News' Mary Bruce about whether President Trump shared Miller's explosive characterization of Pretti, press secretary Leavitt seemed to distance the president from those remarks. "Look, as I've said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way," Leavitt said during Monday's press briefing. "However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself." A very careful answer, to say the least. It seems like the administration is trying to walk a very fine line here.

While sources suggest Noem is expected to remain in her position, there's a palpable sense that her focus might be shifting. A key move in all of this is the dispatching of Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, to Minnesota. This move effectively bypasses the typical chain of command, where Noem and Customs and Border Protection commander Greg Bovino had been overseeing ICE operations. Bovino, I’m told, is now heading back to El Centro, California. Talk about a shakeup. The implications are pretty clear.

Adding another layer to the intrigue is the strained relationship between Noem and Homan, which reportedly predates the Minneapolis shooting. Despite this, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that Noem is “very happy” Homan will be overseeing the actions in Minneapolis. "Secretary Noem will continue to oversee the Department of Homeland Security, and she is very happy that Tom Homan...will be overseeing Minneapolis,” she said on Fox News Tuesday morning. Hmmm, that sounds…carefully worded. Almost *too* happy, if you ask me. Political spin is thick in the air here.

President Trump himself, as he left for an economic speech in Iowa on Tuesday, told reporters that Noem wouldn't be stepping down. "I think she's done a very good job. The border is totally secure," Trump asserted. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described his Tuesday meeting with Homan as "productive," stating on X that he made it clear to Homan that "Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws." Noem and Lewandowski, meanwhile, have consistently pushed for a much more aggressive immigration policy, adding another layer of complexity to this already tangled web.