Hakeem Jeffries Eviscerates ‘Totally Unqualified’ Kristi Noem As A ‘Disgrace’ After Trump Ousting | EUROtoday

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) chastised former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after President Donald Trump fired her final week following mounting disapproval over her management of the division, together with the dealing with of the administration’s deeply unpopular immigration crackdown.

Jeffries appeared Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the place he criticized Noem after moderator Kristen Welker requested if the change in management at DHS could lead on him and different Democrats to restart funding to the division, which has been in a partial shutdown since final month.

Talks have continued within the wake of Noem’s firing, and a few hope the change could assist in brokering a deal. But on Thursday, Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer mentioned in statements that they might preserve a unified blockade of funding for the company till extra adjustments, significantly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are made.

“What we want is a situation where ICE is actually conducting itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country as opposed to using taxpayer dollars to brutalize or, in some cases, kill American citizens and to violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” Jeffries mentioned Sunday.

Welker interjected whereas he was talking to ask if changing Noem is a “big enough step” for him to say sure to return funding to DHS.

“No, it’s certainly not. What we need is a change in policy, not simply a change in personnel,” he mentioned. “Now, Kristi Noem was a disgrace. She was totally unqualified.”

Calling Noem a “pathological liar,” he went on to sentence the previous secretary for her dealing with of the deaths of U.S. residents Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who have been killed by federal officers.

“She called American citizens domestic terrorists without any justification whatsoever. But we need dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational changes to get ICE under control,” Jeffries mentioned. “That’s what the American people want to see. That’s what we’re working hard to deliver.”

After the president axed Noem final week, making her the primary Cabinet secretary to depart her publish in Trump’s second time period, he mentioned he would nominate a loyal ally, first-term Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), to switch her.

Trump additionally mentioned Noem’s new place could be “special envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” which he described as a task that can lead “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”

Watch Jeffries’ look on “Meet the Press” beneath.