Moderate Sen. Jacky Rosen urges Noem's impeachment as Dem fury grows over Minneapolis shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying that she believes Noem is attempting to "mislead the American public” about the fatal shooting of a 37 year-old protester in Minneapolis.

The call from Rosen, a moderate from Nevada who was part of the group that helped Republicans end the 43-day government shutdown last year, comes amid a growing fury from congressional Democrats who have also vowed to block funding for the Homeland Security Department. A House resolution to launch impeachment proceedings against Noem has the support of more than 100 Democrats, but few Senate Democrats have so far weighed in.

“Kristi Noem has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year — and the abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff,” Rosen said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Rosen said Noem's conduct is “deeply shameful” and she "must be impeached and removed from office immediately.”

Impeachment proceedings are unlikely in the GOP-controlled Congress, but mounting Democratic outrage over the violence in the streets of Minneapolis is certain to disrupt Senate Republican leaders’ hopes this week to quickly approve a wide-ranging spending bill and avoid a partial government shutdown on Jan. 30.

And while some moderate Democrats have been wary over the last year of criticizing the Trump administration on border and immigration issues, the fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti on Saturday and Renee Good on Jan. 7 have transformed the debate, even among moderates like Rosen.

The senator's call for impeachment followed Noem’s quick defense, without a full investigation, of the fatal shooting of Pretti by a Border Patrol agent. Videos of the scene reviewed by The Associated Press appear to contradict statements by the Trump administration that the shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti as he “approached” them with a gun. Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but he appears to be seen with only a phone in his hand in the videos.

During the scuffle, agents discovered that he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire with several shots, including into his back. Officials did not say if Pretti brandished the weapon.

Noem said Pretti showed up to “impede a law enforcement operation.”

“This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” Noem said Sunday.

In her call for Noem's impeachment, Rosen cited other issues beyond the current ICE operations. She said Noem has also “violated the public trust by wasting millions in taxpayer dollars” on self promotion and cited reports that the Coast Guard purchased her two luxury jets worth $172 million.

Rosen’s statement follows that of Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who is one of the more left-leaning members of the Senate Democratic caucus. Markey said last week that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Noem, “who is right now actually orchestrating on the streets of our country this almost vigilantism on the part of ICE agents terrorizing cities all across the country.”

And while other senators stopped short of calling for Noem's impeachment, several moderate Democrats who joined Rosen in voting to reopen the government last year said they would vote against Homeland Security funding this week even if it meant a government shutdown.

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said that DHS is “brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants." Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said that “we are not living in normal times.”

As administration officials immediately defended the shooting, several Republicans have called for a thorough investigation, including Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Calls for Noem’s impeachment also grew louder in the House as the Democratic caucus had a phone call with Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz and the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison, both former congressmen, according to a person familiar with the private call who requested anonymity to discuss it.

Most of the House Democratic lawmakers who spoke during the meeting called for Noem's impeachment, said another person familiar with the call who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.

New York Rep. Laura Gillen, a Democrat who was one of only seven House Democrats who voted to fund the Homeland Security Department last week, said Sunday that “there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately.”

“She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result,” Gillen said in a post on X.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — Israel said Sunday its military was conducting a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire.

The statement came as Israel’s Cabinet met to discuss the possibility of opening Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and a day after top U.S. envoys met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about next steps.

The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to moving ahead with opening the Rafah crossing, which would signal the U.S.-brokered ceasefire's second phase.

Late Sunday, Netanyahu's office in a statement said that once this search operation is "exhausted and in accordance with the agreement with the United States, Israel will open the Rafah crossing.”

The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, has been a central part of the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. Before Sunday, the previous hostage was recovered in early December.

While Israel has carried out search efforts before for Gvili, more detail than usual was released about this one. Israel’s military said it was searching a cemetery in northern Gaza near the Yellow Line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory.

Separately, an Israeli military official said Gvili may have been buried in the Shujaiyya–Daraj Tuffah area, and that rabbis and dental experts were on the ground with specialized search teams. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an operation still under way.

Gvili’s family has urged Netanyahu’s government not to enter the ceasefire’s second phase until his remains are returned.

But pressure has been building, and the Trump administration has already declared in recent days that the second phase is under way.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas in a statement Sunday said it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains, and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.

The shuttered headquarters of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in east Jerusalem was set ablaze overnight, days after Israeli bulldozers demolished parts of the compound.

It was not known who started the fire. Israeli settlers were observed at night looting the main building for furniture, said Roland Friedrich, the agency’s West Bank director. He said multiple holes were cut in the fence.

Israel’s fire department said it sent teams to prevent the blaze from spreading. In May 2024, UNRWA said it was closing its compound after settlers set fires to its fence.

Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of the agency, also known as UNRWA, told The Associated Press the incident was the “latest attack on the U.N. in the ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestine refugees.”

UNRWA’s mandate is to provide aid and services to some 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. But its operations were curtailed last year when Israel’s Knesset passed legislation severing ties and banning it from functioning in what it defines as Israel, including east Jerusalem.

Israel has long railed against the agency, accusing it of being infiltrated by Hamas and alleging that some of its employees were involved in the 2023 attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza. UNRWA leaders have said they took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack, and have denied allegations that the agency tolerates or collaborates with Hamas.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Associated Press writer Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed.

People hold signs with a photo of Ran Gvili, who was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and whose body has been held in Gaza ever since, during a rally calling for his return in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)