President Donald Trump is scrambling to clean up a mess he now sees federal agents made in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of another U.S. citizen Saturday, according to report.
The president is "sounding a rhetorical retreat" from the state, according to Axios, after an agent shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti – which was captured on multiple videos that contradicted administration claims that he was a lethal threat to agent s — and sources explained his uncharacteristic decision to de-escalate the chaotic immigration crackdown.
"It's f---ed, and POTUS knew he needed to unf--k it," an administration adviser told Axios.
Trump sent his "border czar" Tom Homan to Minneapolis, essentially sidelining Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, to oversee the operation, and DHS then announced that highly visible Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino would leave the state and return to his old position in El Centro, California.
"He's a cowboy, and it was a mess," said a source familiar with the operations. "It was only escalation, and no one was going to back down. Homan going is a good thing. Someone needed to step in."
A confidante who spoke with Trump told Axios the president spent Sunday griping about his administration's bungled response to Pretti's killing, especially news conferences by Noem and Bovino where they appeared "callous" to his death, and the president wanted to get the operation back under control as Senate Democrats threaten to shut down the government over the violent crackdown.
"So it's Tom Homan to the rescue," the confidante said.
Homan, a career immigration official who served under Barack Obama and during Trump's first term, is expected to meet with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and the president struck a newly cooperative tone after his own conversations with those Democratic elected officials.
A source familiar with his plans said Homan will oversee operational decisions and media presence, and an administration official said he's likely to push more targeted immigration enforcement and less confrontation tactics than Bovino following the killings of Pretti and 37-year-old Renee Good.
"[He] understands the silos that every single person has to operate in," said a second source familiar with DHS operations, pointing to Homan's experience as a police officer and as an agent with Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump is looking for a "peace-with-honor withdrawal," according to Axios, that does not make the Minnesota surge look like defeat, so the administration is asking Minnesota law enforcement to help with crowd control so agents can make immigration arrests without interference from organized protests.
"We can't lose Minneapolis because if we do, we lose Chicago and Los Angeles," said an administration adviser. "We're not going to let the people who lost the presidential election over immigration dictate to us on immigration."
