WATCH: Tillis blasts Noem for past animal killings, compares to 'bad decisions' in Minneapolis

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her leadership decisions in the immigration enforcement ramp-up in Minneapolis in an oversight hearing Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tillis said the lack of accountability over the Department of Homeland Security's actions, including the agency's response to the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents, did not protect law enforcement.

“We've got to make it clear when they make a mistake, then they get corrected for it,” Tillis said of agents. “But you don't walk away from it and you've done it too many times.”

Tillis, who called for the DHS head's resignation elsewhere in his allotted time, cited Noem’s 2024 memoir in which she recounted killing her 14-month-old dog and likened it to a tough leadership decision.

“You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it's a leadership lesson about tough choices,” Tillis said.

Noem’s agency has been roiled by turmoil and public outcry in recent months. The shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis prompted weeks of protests in the Twin Cities area. Trump officials, including Noem, accused the victims of committing acts of “domestic terrorism.”

But bystander videos challenged the administration’s narrative of the high-profile deaths. Greater scrutiny by Democrats into the aggressive tactics deployed by DHS to carry out Trump's mass deportation agenda led to a lapse in the agency’s funding and partial government shutdown.

Congressional lawmakers have yet to reach a deal to fund the department, though there are areas of bipartisan agreement, such as requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras.

Noem will also field questions Wednesday from the House Judiciary Committee.

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