MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lawyer for the immigration officer who shot and killed Renee Good dropped out of the Minnesota governor race Monday, breaking with many fellow Republicans and calling President Donald Trump’s immigration operation in the state an “unmitigated disaster.”
Chris Madel's surprise move comes amid growing calls from Republicans to investigate federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Madel went a step further than most Republicans in his video, saying that while he supports the goal of deporting “the worst of the worst” from Minnesota, he thinks the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities has gone too far.
“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Madel said. “Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
Madel said that U.S. citizens, “particularly those of color, live in fear.”
“United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship," Madel said. "That’s wrong.”
Madel said he personally had heard from local Asian and Hispanic law enforcement officers who had been pulled over by ICE.
“I have read about and I have spoken to help countless United States citizens who have been detained in Minnesota due to the color of their skin,” Madel said.
He also said it was unconstitutional and wrong for federal officers to “raid homes” using a civil warrant, rather than one issued by a judge.
Madel was among a large group of candidates seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who dropped his reelection bid earlier this month. Other Republican candidates include MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, an election denier who is close to Trump; Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has filed paperwork to run, but has yet to publicly launch a campaign to succeed Walz.
Madel, in his Monday video posted on the social platform X, described himself as a “pragmatist,” and said national Republicans “have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota.”
Madel did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.
Madel, 59, was a political newcomer making his first run for public office. He got into the race on Dec. 1.
Madel brought 30 years of experience as an attorney to the race, including cases taking on corporate corruption. Madel also defended law enforcement officers, including the 2024 case of a Minnesota state trooper who fatally shot a Black man after a traffic stop. Prosecutors dropped charges against Trooper Ryan Londregan in the killing of Ricky Cobb II, saying the case would have been difficult to prove.
Madel often referenced that victory in his brief campaign for governor, including in his video dropping out.
Republicans were expecting the race for governor to be focused on Walz, who at the time was seeking a third term amid questions about how his administration handled welfare fraud. But the race shifted dramatically on Jan. 5 when Walz dropped out.
That same week, the Trump administration sent thousands of federal officers to Minnesota. ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Good in Minneapolis two days later on Jan. 7.
Madel agreed to offer pro bono legal advice to Ross, although no criminal charges or civil lawsuits have been filed. Madel said he was honored to help Ross, particularly during a gubernatorial campaign.
“Justice requires excellent legal representation,” Madel said.
Madel announced his decision ending his candidacy two days after a Border Patrol officer shot and killed Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel speaks at his office in Minneapolis on Dec. 1, 2025. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he is increasing tariffs on South Korean goods because the country’s legislature has yet to approve the trade framework announced last year.
Trump said on social media that import taxes would be raised on autos, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea with the rate on other goods going from 15% to 25%. The U.S. president previously imposed the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency and bypassing Congress, while South Korea needed legislative approval for the framework announced in July and affirmed during Trump's October visit to the country.
“Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”
The threat was a reminder that the tariff drama unleashed last year by Trump is likely to be repeated again and again this year. The global economy and U.S. voters might find the world's trade structure constantly being subject to disruption and new negotiations as Trump has already sought to levy tariffs in order to bend other nations to his will.
Trump has in the past tied his tariffs to commitments by South Korea to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy over several years, including efforts to revitalize American shipyards. But the Trump administration's relations with South Korea have at times been rocky with the raid last year by immigration officials at a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia in which 475 people were detained.
South Korea’s presidential office responded after a meeting of top South Korean officials that it will convey its commitment to implementing last year's deal to the U.S.
The presidential office said that South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-Kwan will travel to the U.S. for talks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, while Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will travel separately to meet with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Kim was on a visit to Canada.
South Korean lawmakers have submitted five bills on implementing South Korea's proposed $350 billion investment package to the National Assembly. The bills are currently before the assembly's finance committee.
Kim Hyun-jung, a spokesperson for South Korea's governing Democratic Party, said his party will coordinate with the government to organize swift debate and action on the bills.
Assembly officials said the five bills will likely be incorporated into a single proposed law, which will need approval from the finance and judiciary committees before it can go to a floor vote.
Trump's announcement of new tariffs fits a pattern in which Trump plans to continue to deploy tariffs, possibly to the detriment of relations with other countries.
Just last week, the president threatened tariffs on eight European nations unless the U.S. gained control of Greenland, only to pull back on his ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump on Saturday said he would put a 100% tax on goods from Canada if it followed through with plans to bolster trade with China.
Trump has bragged about his trade frameworks as drawing in new investment to the U.S., yet many of his heavily hyped deals have yet to be finalized. The European Parliament has yet to approve a trade deal pushed by Trump that would put a 15% tax on the majority of goods exported by the EU's 27 member states.
The United States is poised this year to renegotiate its amended 2020 trade pact with Canada and Mexico. There are also ongoing Section 232 investigations under the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, as well as an upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether Trump exceeded his authority by declaring tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea.
Vehicles for export are parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Vehicles for export are parked and shipping containers are seen at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Vehicles for export are parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung are seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving the World Economic Forum in Davos for Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
