President Donald Trump was defiant when confronted about Republican senators calling for him to dismiss Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
His response came when ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott questioned the president about Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who have both demanded Noem's ouster in response to weeks of chaos and deadly crackdowns by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
"Well, they're both losers. You know, what can I tell you? They're terrible senators. One is gone and the other should be gone," said Trump. "In the meantime, I have a border that's perfect – the strongest, one of the strongest borders anywhere in the world. We went from the weakest border in the world to one of the strongest borders in the world. So what Murkowski says – she's always against the Republicans anyway. And Tillis decided to drop out. So you know, he lost his voice once he did that."
Tillis in particular has grown increasingly frustrated with DHS even before the Minneapolis crisis, slamming the agency's inability to properly deliver Federal Emergency Management Agency relief to his state.
He also put a block on all pending DHS nominees in the Senate until Noem agrees to testify to Congress about the fatal shootings by federal agents.
While Trump does not appear to have any intention of getting rid of Noem, or even to meaningfully investigate or rein in the abuses by federal agents, he has taken some steps in response to cratering public opinion of operations in Minneapolis, moving to reassign Border Patrol enforcer Greg Bovino back to his old position in California. The president has even conceded that Bovino was "pretty out there" in his tactics in a way that "maybe wasn't good."