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A majority of voters say Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem should be removed from her job, according to a new national poll.
Fifty-eight percent of those questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey in the field from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 said it's time for Noem to go, with 34% saying she should remain on the job.
The survey was conducted amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and in the wake of two fatal shootings by federal agents of U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were opposing the administration's aggressive deportation efforts.
In the immediate aftermath of the second shooting last month of Alex Pretti, who at the time was legally armed with a handgun, Noem claimed Pretti was threatening federal agents and labeled his actions "domestic terrorism."
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But videos of the shooting depicted Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA Hospital, appearing to attend to a woman agents had knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten. On the ground, bystanders said he was brandishing a cell phone rather than his weapon, and an agent was seen pulling Pretti's gun from his waistband before other agents fired several shots and killed him.
The Trump administration has faced mounting criticism and political backlash, with some top Democrats in Congress and at least two Republican senators — Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — calling on Noem to be removed.
But Trump is standing by Noem, saying in a social media post last Friday that she "has done a really GREAT JOB!"
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Noem, in an interview last week on Fox News' "Hannity," argued that "radicals" are behind the calls for her to be fired.
"These radicals are attacking me, but I'm just doing my job. I'm following the law, enforcing the laws like President Trump promised that he would do to keep people safe in this country," she told Fox News' host Sean Hannity.
And taking aim at Democratic leaders in Minnesota, Noem charged Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital along the U.S.-Mexico border that "the way that it has been in Minneapolis is largely due to the rhetoric. And the actions of the leadership there because they won't partner with the federal government to enforce the law."
The Quinnipiac poll spotlights a massive partisan divide over Noem, with 91% of Democrats and 63% of Independents but just 17% of Republicans saying she should be removed as DHS secretary.
The Quinnipiac survey also indicates a drop in the president's approval of how he's handling the immigration issue.
Trump's approval on immigration stands at 38% in the Quinnipiac poll, down from 44% in mid-December, the last time they asked the question.
The latest Fox News national poll, conducted Jan. 23–26, indicates the president's approval on handling border security at 52%-47%, but his approval on immigration is underwater at 45%-55%.
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced it was removing 700 of the roughly 3,000 federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
And Trump, in an NBC News interview, said immigration agents should be using a "softer touch."
"I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch," Trump said. "But you still have to be tough."
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