Trump Administration Live Updates: Noem Says ‘Hundreds More’ Agents Will Be Sent to Minnesota Over ‘Corruption’
Where Things Stand
"Minneapolis crackdown: The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, told Fox News on Sunday that “hundreds more” federal agents were being dispatched to Minneapolis, citing a yearslong federal investigation into social program fraud in the state. The mission, she said, was meant to uncover “true corruption.” The new deployment, to be carried out Sunday and Monday, comes after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman there last week. In a heated exchange on CNN, Ms. Noem again claimed that the woman, Renee Good, had attempted to “run over” agents. Her statements conflict with a New York Times video analysis.
Iran tensions: President Trump has been briefed on options for military strikes in Iran after he threatened to attack the country for repressing protesters, according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The officials said he was seriously considering authorizing a strike over the Iranian regime’s response to demonstrations set off by economic grievances. Read more ›
Immigration ruling: A federal judge on Saturday paused a Trump administration policy halting a program that allowed migrants from some Central and South American countries to reunite with family members in the United States while awaiting visas. Read more ›
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said she will send “hundreds more” federal agents to Minneapolis “today and tomorrow” to support the work of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. Noem made the remarks in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, days after an ICE agent shot and killed a protestor, Renee Good, in the city. Noem cited a major welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota that rocked the state as the reason for the surge in federal law enforcement in the liberal city, characterizing the deployment as a mission “to uncover the true corruption and theft that has happened.”
In a heated exchange on CNN, the homeland security secretary Kristi Noem defended her previous remark that Renee Good, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, had engaged in “an act of domestic terrorism” and that Good had attempted to “run over” agents with a vehicle. Noem claimed everything she said “has been proven to be factual,” but her statements conflict with The New York Times video analysis of the killing, which appears to show that Good was turning away from the federal officer as he opened fire.
Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said he was wary of President Trump’s threats to attack Iran, arguing that American intervention might do more harm than good in the country. “I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with freedom movements around the world,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”
Paul, who joined Democrats to support a resolution aimed at curbing Trump’s use of military force in Venezuela, was also critical of the president’s threats without consulting Congress. “We don’t just let presidents bomb countries when they feel like it,” he said.
Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota, accused the Trump administration of “attempting to cover up” the events that led to the shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis.
“They are blocking state investigators from participating in any way in this investigation,” Smith said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. She added that she believed the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, rushed to a narrative vilifying Good, even as videos contradicted federal officials’ characterization of the shooting.
A federal judge on Saturday paused a Trump administration policy halting an immigration program that allowed migrants from some Central and South American countries to reunite with their family members in the United States while awaiting visas.
In a five-page order, Judge Indira Talwani of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts granted a 14-day stay of the Trump administration’s decision last month to cancel the immigration program, known as the Family Reunification Parole Program, while legal challenges continue.
President Trump has been briefed in recent days on new options for military strikes in Iran as he considers following through on his threat to attack the country for cracking down on protesters, according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, but the officials said he was seriously considering authorizing a strike in response to the Iranian regime’s efforts to suppress demonstrations set off by widespread economic grievances. The president has been presented with a range of options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations.
The United States carried out major airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria on Saturday, following up on even larger retaliatory attacks last month to avenge the deaths of two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter killed in a terrorist attack in the country.
About 20 Air Force attack planes, including F-15Es, A-10s and AC-130J gunships, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones and Jordanian F-16 fighter jets fired more than 90 bombs and missiles toward at least 35 targets on Saturday, according to Capt. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the military’s Central Command.
News Analysis
The Trump administration blocked Minnesota officials from investigating the death of the woman shot on Wednesday by a federal agent, then quietly offered this explanation: Local investigators simply could not be trusted to conduct a fair inquiry.
The investigation into the killing of Renee Nicole Good, 37, federal officials said, would be the exclusive province of the F.B.I., which is overseen by a director, Kash Patel, who has described President Trump as an unerring boss, and even a king."
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