Trump breaks with DHS as outrage grows over execution-style killing of ICU nurse
A protester holds a placard against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), at the scene where federal agents fatally shot a man while trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans

President Donald Trump is quietly distancing himself from the Department of Homeland Security as scrutiny mounts over the execution-style killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti and officials’ combative response afterward. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump declined to back DHS claims that Pretti was solely at fault, saying only that the shooting is “under review,” even as he offered mixed signals about Pretti’s lawful gun possession. Behind the scenes, conservative pundit Erick Erickson reports that Trump is increasingly frustrated with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino for clinging to a discredited narrative that paints Pretti as the aggressor, fueling internal tensions and exposing cracks in the administration’s handling of the deadly incident.

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Trump breaks with DHS as outrage grows over execution-style killing of ICU nurse Trump breaks with DHS as outrage grows over execution-style killing of ICU nurse