Kristi Noem defends body cameras after Trump says ‘wasn’t my decision’

Secretary of State Kristi Noem stood by her decision to equip federal agents with body cameras after President Donald Trump said the move “was not [his] decision.”

During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the DHS secretary said body cameras would ensure “that people know the truth about a situation” and that agents and the American people wanted cameras on federal law enforcement officials.

“Our officers want [body cams] and people want that, they want relationships with their communities to know all the information that we need in these situations of conflict and violence,” Noem told Fox News Digital. “And we’ve seen that that can be very helpful in ensuring that people know the truth about a situation and that we can get help as quickly as possible.”

Noem pointed to a lack of resources to explain why agents weren’t wearing cameras before, and said many Border Patrol agents already actively use body cameras.

Neom told Fox that Border Patrol agents have already used body cameras as she expanded the requirements to all federal agents. (Preston Mizell/Fox News Digital)

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“The Department of Homeland Security already trains many federal agents, and different agencies already wear body cameras,” Noem told Fox. “CBP has many officers who already have body cameras on them.”

“The issue was having the resources to put them on every agent and every officer there. And then having the resources to do the analytics and storage of those videos and who can help us actually use them,” Noem added.

DHS announced Monday that federal law enforcement officers would be required to wear body cameras. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters shortly after the announcement, saying he supported the move and clarifying that the decision was solely up to Noem.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision was supported by President Donald Trump. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“It wasn’t my decision,” Trump said. “I would like you to know that I leave it to him. [Body cams] generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can’t lie about what’s going on. »

“If she wants to do that, I agree,” the president added.

Unrest surrounding federal law enforcement and ICE agents has ravaged the country in recent weeks after two individuals, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed on separate occasions by authorities in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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In Washington, the government shut down largely because of debates over DHS spending. The question of whether the agency should implement a body camera policy was a key point of contention between Republicans and Democrats, although the Republican Party ultimately united behind President Trump and passed legislation to end the shutdown Tuesday afternoon.

Agitators clashed with agents and independent journalists during protests in Minneapolis following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The roughly $1.2 trillion package included funding through Sept. 30 for 11 of the 12 appropriations bills, while DHS funding was only temporarily extended through Feb. 13 and negotiations over ICE policies continue.

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If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement by February 13, the government will enter an additional partial shutdown period.

Some far-left members of Congress have called for the complete eradication of ICE as an agency, while others have called for additional policy discussions regarding federal agents wearing masks, warrant requirements and random immigration checks.

Preston Mizell is a writer for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston