Knives Out: Noem at 54 Percent Chance to Exit, Trump Supporting DHS Secretary.....for Now

Written by :

t c jackson

Published on :

28 January, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump continues to defend his DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, but two Republican Senators have now come forward calling on Noem to resign while traders at the prediction market Kalshi now give her a 54% chance of exiting before July 31.

Noem is now at -125 to resign or be forced out at BetOnline.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis are the first GOP members of Congress to condemn the DHS Secretary following federal officers fatally shooting two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in so many weeks.

Border Patrol officers killed a VA intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday. Noem was quick to push the narrative of top Trump administration officials that Pretti was a violent “domestic terrorist” and would-be assassin. A series of videos emerging after the shooting showed otherwise.

Tillis, who is not running seeking another term in Congress, said some of Noem's actions reflected "amateurish assistant-manager-sort of thought processes," calling them "unacceptable" for someone in a Cabinet-level position.

"If I were in her position, I can't think of any point of pride over the last year," he said.

Murkowski, R-Alaska, who is not up for reelection until 2029, said Noem should not be running DHS.

“Yes, she should go,” Murkowski told NBC News.

Thom Tillis slams Stephen Miller and GOP mismanagement: "Never fails to live up to my expectations of incompetence." Even Trump allies are calling out the damage. #freecitizensnetwork #usnews pic.twitter.com/Lxs0hEckUQ
— Free Citizens (@free_citizens1) January 28, 2026

Trump says he plans to reshuffle his immigration operation amid the widespread backlash. The president has already sent border "czar" Tom Homan to Minnesota to manage Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations on the ground.

And now the blame game.

Top White House aide Stephen Miller said Tuesday that officials were evaluating why the Customs and Border Protection team in Minneapolis “may not have been following” proper protocol before the fatal shooting of Pretti.

In a statement to CNN, Miller said the White House had “provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”