The Washington Examiner reported prior to the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and DHS Special Government Employee Corey Lewandowski have allegedly waged a campaign to force Rodney Scott, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), to resign.
A source quoted in the Examiner article reportedly said, “Corey Lewandowski said that he wanted to make it as tough on these people as possible, their families, their children, everybody.”
Scott, a federal agent with 30 years of experience, has reportedly voiced concerns about the approach Noem and Lewandowski have taken in enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration policies. According to NBC, “Scott recently expressed concern to colleagues that Lewandowski is able to monitor his emails.”
In turn, Scott has DHS criticism over issues like office renovations, which some have hinted is an indirect way to attack him over his level of commitment to the expanded Border Patrol roll in domestic immigration sweeps.
Former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA) responded to the Examiner article on social media, writing: “Trump has let a thug like @CLewandowski_ run DHS even tho he’s been cutting corners as a Special Govt Employee. Lots to investigate about his role and how he and @KristiNoem are incompetently running this massive agency.”
[NOTE: Comstock offers no specifics concerning her charge that there is “lots to investigate.”]
Trump has let a thug like @CLewandowski_ run DHS even tho he’s been cutting corners as a Special Govt Employee. Lots to investigate about his role and how he and @KristiNoem are incompetently running this massive agency. https://t.co/kQy7sib7Kc
— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) January 26, 2026
Comstock has been highly critical of DHS agent protocol — masks, etc. — during its domestic deployments.
What if anti-ICE protesters show up with masks on (like ICE) and red MAGA hats while they film. Would ICE pull off their masks? Would they still get harassed, beat up or shot?
— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) January 25, 2026
[NOTE: Noem and Lewandowski reportedly met with the President at the White House for two hours on Monday in the aftermath of the Pretti killing, with other attendees including chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and communications director Steven Cheung, the personnel leading to speculation that the meeting was as much about messaging as about federal agent comportment.]
While numerous House Democrats are calling for the impeachment of Noem, and several Democratic senators have announced that they will not vote for the appropriations bill that includes an additional funding for DHS, Trump administration figures are also facing rare serious scrutiny from Republicans also.
Republican Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has called on the leadership at ICE, CBP, and USCIS — though not Noem, nor Lewandowski — to appear before the Homeland Security Committee at a February 12 hearing. And Senator Todd Young (R-IN) also raised questions about the killing of Pretti, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis, saying he supports a “full and transparent investigation into the tragic event in Minneapolis.”