Trump reshuffles his Minnesota operation after backlash from second fatal shooting

The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend has Donald Trump “concerned” about the sustainability of his administration’s ongoing operations in Minneapolis, according to Trump administration officials and allies.

These individuals acknowledged to NBC News that they needed a strategic change amid the public outcry over Pretti’s killing, even though the White House is still very focused on its original immigration and fraud crackdown agenda.

Still, the changes made Monday are noticeable. Saturday’s shooting prompted a leadership shakeup, a reduction in officers in the city, a reset of the state’s top Democratic officials and an attempt to distance the president from some of the most extreme comments from some of his top advisers.

“The visuals didn’t play well. He understands television. … He saw it for himself,” said one Republican lawmaker who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, was fatally shot Saturday morning during a heated confrontation between federal agents and individuals protesting the federal government’s immigration crackdown in the city.

Multiple videos of the shooting and eyewitness accounts contradict the initial response from Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. They portrayed Pretti as someone who was “brandishing” a gun and attempting to “massacre law enforcement.” Senior White House official Stephen Miller said Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who attempted “to assassinate federal law enforcement.”

These initial statements, along with the conflicting video evidence, sparked significant backlash — including from many in the Republican Party — toward the administration, which was already dealing with the fallout from a previous ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis that killed Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen.

“I am deeply troubled by the shooting in Minneapolis involving federal agents. Our Constitution provides citizens with protection from the government. We have the right to freedom of speech, to peacefully assemble and to bear arms,” Senator Jerry Moran, Republican of Kan., said Monday.

“The president, I think, is obviously concerned about what he saw this weekend,” a Trump adviser said. “He has always been exceptionally good at reading public perception and understands that this has not been handled well.”

Trump himself posted on social media in the hours following the shooting that Pretti was a “shooter” who had a gun “loaded (with two extra magazines full) and ready to go!” »

The adviser said the goal of immigration control, which has always been a top priority of the administration, will not end, but that Pretti’s death is forcing them, for the first time, to rethink what that will look like in the future.

“Our supporters will continue to support crackdowns” on immigration, the person said. “But it is understood that this weekend changed some things.”

A person close to the White House said part of the perception problem the administration faces is the large number of agents they say are needed for this type of operation. More than 3,000 federal agents were sent to Minneapolis; they currently outnumber the Minneapolis police force five to one.

“The problem is that getting the criminals out requires a massive team of federal agents,” the person said. “So you see 10, 12, 60 people out to grab one guy. Then the crowd is incited and the rhetoric gets heated and people are whistling, and then you see the tear gas. And it’s like, ‘What do we do?’

“I think the public feels like we need to make sure what we’re doing is done well and with excellence and get back to [focusing on] the worst of the worst,” they added.

Trump has publicly expressed frustration with the way his administration is being portrayed on a number of issues. In a January 19 Truth Social article, he said there was “too much media attention on ICE” in Minnesota. The next day, in a rare appearance at the White House press conference, Trump also said: “Maybe my public relations is bad. I think we do a much better job than we’re capable of promoting. We don’t promote. … That’s one of the reasons I’m doing this press conference.”

Trump announced Monday morning that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to lead the administration’s efforts following the second fatal shooting in that city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He will replace Bovino, who has been the face of this law enforcement operation.

Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis on Tuesday, and the number of federal agents in that city is expected to be reduced, administration and law enforcement officials told NBC News. It was unclear how many federal agents would leave.

At a White House press briefing Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt distanced Trump from some of his top officials’ more extreme comments. When asked by a reporter whether he agreed that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” – a term used by Noem and Miller – Leavitt refused to back up their comments.

“I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way,” she said. “However, I heard the president say that he wanted to let the facts and the investigation unfold on their own.”

The decision to send Homan to Minneapolis is seen by some as a sign that Trump is pushing Noem aside, since Homan doesn’t report to him like Bovino does.

“I don’t know how else you can look at this,” said one person familiar with the matter. “This is a direct reflection of the White House’s displeasure with the reaction to all of this.”

Leavitt said Monday morning that Trump has “complete confidence in” Noem.

The Trump adviser said putting Homan in charge amounted to a reset following backlash over Noem and Bovino’s polarizing remarks.

“Tom Homan is helping with this,” the person said. “Not only is it a different voice, but it also understands the underlying mission, which has not changed. The efforts to eliminate illegal immigrants remain unchanged, but there has to be a different approach here. The video is hard to top.”

The person said the White House did not ask Noem to make her initial remarks about Pretti.

“I think she was doing some freelance work,” they said.

Homan’s elevation offered a lifeline to congressional Republicans, many of whom worry about the administration’s actions in Minneapolis and the impact they could have on the 2026 midterm elections as the public grows increasingly unhappy with federal agents’ sometimes violent tactics.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said it was a “positive development,” a sentiment echoed by several other congressional Republicans.

Underscoring the administration’s efforts to change its tone, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles spoke Saturday with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, according to a person familiar with the discussions inside the White House.

Trump and Walz have been at odds since the latter was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024. In recent weeks, Trump has accused Walz of “incitement of insurrection” and the Justice Department is investigating Walz and other Minnesota Democrats over how the state responded to the federal immigration crackdown.

On Monday, however, the president softened his tone.

Trump said he and Walz spoke on the phone and he struck a positive tone that would have been considered unthinkable just days ago.

“It was a very good call, and we actually seemed to be on the same page,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Walz’s office also called the call “productive” and said Trump agreed to talk with the Department of Homeland Security about allowing state officials to conduct their own independent investigations into the shootings and reducing the number of federal agents in his state.

Trump later said he also had a “very good phone conversation” with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, another Democrat who has been the subject of criticism from Trump.

As part of efforts to reframe Minnesota’s operation, the person close to the White House said new efforts would be made to root out fraud in the state.

Trump’s focus on Minnesota began when conservative influencers online discussed a year-old scandal centered on a scheme to defraud a pandemic-era program in Minnesota’s Somali community.

“The narrative has changed because when there is a shooting, it changes everything,” the Trump adviser said. “Trump is sending Homan to Minnesota in an effort to refocus on the fraud side.”

A first investigation began in 2022, under the administration of President Joe Biden. Since then, dozens of fraud-related charges have been filed and a growing number of convictions have been handed down. But after a surge of viral attention on right-wing social media in recent months, Trump has begun to focus significant attention and resources on the issue again.

There was also a notable change Monday by ICE in how it publicly frames the work of its agents in Minneapolis. The agency’s social media feed is usually filled with posts about the people it has arrested and ICE’s hardline approach to Minneapolis operations. But on Monday, he tried to present a softer side of ICE: He published a story showing city officers helping someone who was having trouble with their car in a parking lot.

“After discovering that his vehicle’s battery was dead, officers quickly offered to assist,” reads the message from the official ICE account. “Using jumper cables from their own vehicle and with the help of another community member, they managed to start the car, ensuring it could safely continue on its way.”