‘We will have no other option’: Swing-district Democrat just broke with his party’s cautious approach after Minneapolis shooting, and he’s not alone

Centrist Democrats are now demanding the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The normally cautious members of the House Democratic caucus expressed their anger during a Sunday call. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a centrist from Florida, told his colleagues that if Secretary Noem doesn’t resign or isn’t quickly removed, “we will have no other option but to begin impeachment.”

This shows how upset the party has become. A series of violent incidents involving federal immigration officers, including this recent shooting, has pushed ideas that were once considered extreme into the mainstream. The Sunday morning emergency caucus call was scheduled suddenly after federal officers shot and killed Pretti, leading to widespread anger among Democratic lawmakers across the country.

According to Axios, the meeting focused on what was described as “the Trump administration’s lawless actions in Minnesota.” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison attended as special guests to inform House members. Walz praised representatives who had already traveled to Minneapolis and urged others to follow. He called the federal deployment an “illegal occupation.”

Impeachment support grows as vulnerable Democrats join the push

Attorney General Ellison is already fighting the administration in court. He secured a restraining order that forces the Department of Homeland Security to preserve evidence related to the Pretti shooting. Ellison also told members he’ll be before a federal judge on Monday to argue the case and possibly explore ways to sue the federal government over the incident.

Articles of impeachment against Noem, originally introduced by Rep. Robin Kelly, now have the support of 115 House Democrats. This is the most serious impeachment push of President Trump’s second term. Now, even the most at-risk Democrats are joining in.

Rep. Laura Gillen of New York, who is considered one of the most vulnerable swing-district members, announced her support for impeachment on Sunday. Many lawmakers are now considering drastic measures to stop ICE operations following the incident.

Gillen was one of seven centrist Democrats who voted to fund DHS just last week, so her change in position shows how seriously the party is taking this issue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged members not to leak details of the heated conversation. Jeffries acknowledged that they are currently engaged in four separate battles around immigration enforcement: legislative, appropriations, legal, and moral.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark pointed out that if their demands for changes to the DHS funding bill are met in the Senate, the House would be forced to vote on the bill again. Support for impeachment has grown steadily among House Democrats in the weeks since the Renee Good shooting. The tensions within the party mirror other recent controversies, including when a Democrat governor criticized Kamala Harris’s memoir as misleading.

Democrats are increasingly traveling to Minnesota to show support. Even a congressional candidate in Manhattan said he plans to make the trip to support local protests. If the administration doesn’t make major changes quickly, House Democrats appear ready to move forward with impeachment.