For weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her team has treated the growing backlash around her department as noise — dismissible, and ultimately harmless.
But what started as scattered outrage has hardened into something more organized, more persistent, and far harder for Noem to shrug away. The criticism hasn’t faded. It hasn’t fractured.
By mid-January, it took on a form Noem could no longer wave off. Democratic lawmakers formally introduced articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security secretary — and within days, the effort surged to 100 House co-sponsors, nearly half of the Democratic caucus.
The resolution, led by Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois, accuses Noem of obstruction of Congress, abuse of public trust, and self-dealing tied to her oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.
What her press office initially dismissed as “silly” has now become a documented, on-the-record rebuke with triple-digit backing — a symbolic threshold Democrats say will shadow Noem long after the measure stalls procedurally.
The effort gained momentum after the January 7 killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good, who was shot by ICE agent Jonathan E. Ross.
The shooting ignited outrage across Minnesota and beyond, especially after Noem and other Trump administration officials publicly described Good as a “domestic terrorist” before investigators had finished reviewing the evidence.
On Saturday, another incident grabbed headlines. Federal immigration agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis during heightened tensions over aggressive enforcement operations, though key details about how the confrontation began remain unclear.
Video circulating online shows multiple federal officers struggling with the man on a city sidewalk before gunfire broke out and the individual was left motionless on the pavement. The first reports from the scene claim the man was armed with a handgun, but a New York Times analysis claimed the man identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, was holding a phone, not a gun. Local officials confirmed the man’s death amid continuing protests.
Meanwhile, Kelly has framed the impeachment push as a response not only to Good’s death, but to what she describes as a broader pattern of lawlessness under Noem’s watch. “Secretary Kristi Noem is an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy, and I am impeaching her,” Kelly said in a press release announcing the resolution.
Her office said the articles allege that Noem “abused her office for personal benefit and steered federal dollars to associates,” “willfully obstructed Congressional oversight and withheld Congressionally appropriated funds in violation of her constitutional oath and federal law,” and “compromised public safety, violated due process of American citizens, and directed unconstitutional actions.”
Other Democrats quickly followed Kelly’s lead. Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he would back the effort, joined soon after by Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari as a co-sponsor. Rep. Delia Ramirez, also of Illinois, had already demanded in December that Noem resign or face impeachment, urging House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin to investigate DHS leadership.
Outside Washington, anger spilled across social media and into the streets. Protests against ICE and the Trump administration spread through Minnesota and other states. Online commenters blended outrage with dark humor, reviving familiar chants and insults once aimed at other Trump officials.
“Bondi is next,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “Remember how Trump loved to say … Lock her up!!!!” A number of responses went straight for the jugular: “Time for jail Kristi you will look beautiful in that orange jumpsuit.”
Noem has long been derided by critics as “ICE Barbie,” a nickname that resurfaced with new intensity this week. Commenters piled on, saying, “Barbie is much better looking and hasn’t had the plastic surgery that Noem has!” and “I never had a Barbie so ugly in my life!! She’s ugly inside and out!! Vote her out!!”
One commenter urged restraint of a different kind: “Stop calling her Barbie it’s an insult to Barbie.”
The Department of Homeland Security has brushed off the impeachment drive. A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek, “How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district.”
The statement added, “We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”
Republican leaders have shown no interest in advancing the resolution. Any impeachment would require a simple majority in the GOP-controlled House but a two-thirds vote in the Republican-led Senate.
Even supporters concede it is unlikely to succeed. Scott Lucas, a professor of international politics at University College Dublin, said, “The idea that Noem could be impeached and convicted doesn’t fly because the Republicans will protect her,” while calling the effort “an important symbolic move” to demand accountability.
That symbolism may still carry consequences. A Quinnipiac poll conducted Jan. 8–12 found that just 36 percent of Americans approve of Noem’s job performance, while 52 percent disapprove, according to The Hill.
Support among Republicans remains strong, but independents and Democrats overwhelmingly view her unfavorably, and opinions of ICE have worsened since Good’s death.
For Democrats, the impeachment push is less about removal than pressure. With midterm elections looming and protests ongoing, lawmakers appear intent on making Noem’s tenure a constant political liability — one that follows her far beyond the resolution to oust her.
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