Tuesday | 27th January 2026
President Donald Trump on Monday showed his first concrete signs of retreat since surging federal immigration agents into Minnesota late last year, moving to replace the official overseeing the crackdown on the ground and signaling a newfound willingness to engage with the state’s Democratic leadership. The shift followed weeks of escalating unrest and came as the White House scrambled to contain political fallout from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti — an ICU nurse whose death has become a flashpoint in the national debate over the administration’s immigration tactics.
But while the personnel changes and conciliatory outreach marked a notable pivot in tone, they fell short of a full reset. Even as the administration moderated its rhetoric and acknowledged missteps, it continued to deflect blame onto local officials and protesters, raising doubts among critics and allies alike about how much would actually change on the ground.
The most immediate test of that question could come as soon as Tuesday. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino and several of his agents are now expected to leave Minneapolis within days, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, after Trump dispatched longtime immigration hardliner Tom Homan to take control of the enforcement operation that has roiled the city. Bovino’s sidelining could signal a move away from the aggressive, highly visible tactics he encouraged — tactics that fueled daily confrontations with demonstrators and unsettled even some inside the administration.
The leadership change was greeted with relief by some officials at the Department of Homeland Security, who privately questioned Bovino’s judgment and saw Homan as a steadier, more experienced operator after decades in federal law enforcement. The decision also won praise from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, several of whom had grown alarmed that the operation was spiraling into a political liability.
Behind the scenes, frustration had been building inside the White House even before Pretti’s killing on Saturday, according to a person familiar with internal conversations. Trump and his advisers had become increasingly unhappy with how the administration’s immigration push was being portrayed publicly — a narrative dominated by chaotic street scenes, clashes with protesters, and allegations of excessive force rather than by the fraud investigation that originally prompted the federal surge into Minnesota.
That dissatisfaction turned into urgency after Pretti was shot and killed, setting off protests, drawing national scrutiny, and forcing senior officials to walk back early claims that cast the nurse as a violent aggressor or even a “domestic terrorist.” The rush to assign blame before all the facts were known, some allies warned, risked permanently undermining the administration’s credibility.
On Monday, Trump personally stepped in, speaking with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and setting aside — at least temporarily — his long-running feud with the Democrat to discuss improved coordination and the possibility of pulling some federal agents out of the state.
“It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, striking a markedly different tone toward a governor he had recently dismissed as “corrupt” and “grossly incompetent.”
Later that day, Trump also spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, describing the conversation as “very good” and adding that “lots of progress is being made!” The outreach marked the first time the White House publicly acknowledged concerns about an operation that had produced nightly unrest and alarmed even some of Trump’s closest allies.
“You’re going to have mistakes, you’re going to have messiness,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports tighter immigration controls. “But I think [Homeland Security] probably hasn’t handled it as well as it could have — especially the rush to characterize Pretti as the aggressor. That’s the kind of thing you say when you have the actual evidence.”
In the days since Pretti’s death, Republican lawmakers and conservative allies have voiced objections both publicly and in private, according to people familiar with the conversations. Many warned that the deepening crisis threatened not only Trump’s broader immigration agenda but also the party’s political standing heading into a volatile election cycle.
Beyond fears of further violence, Republicans worried the enforcement push was backfiring politically — overshadowing GOP attempts to spotlight the alleged fraud scandal in Minnesota and complicating Trump’s ability to advance the rest of his agenda. Senate Democrats have since threatened to block a Department of Homeland Security funding bill, raising the specter of another government shutdown just days away.
Several GOP lawmakers, including staunch Trump allies, have now called for investigations into the shooting, with some urging congressional hearings.
“Politicians, protesters, and law enforcement all have an obligation to deescalate the situation in Minnesota,” Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota wrote on X. “As with any officer-involved shooting, this demands a thorough investigation.”
Administration officials on Monday also softened their public posture, retreating from initial assertions that Pretti posed an immediate threat — though they continued to argue he had helped create the circumstances that led to his death.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Trump himself had never labeled Pretti a domestic terrorist, even as she declined to explain why other senior officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, had publicly done so. She emphasized that multiple federal agencies were now investigating the shooting.
Still, Leavitt laid responsibility at the feet of Democratic leaders and protesters, arguing they fostered a “hostile environment” that contributed to Pretti’s killing and to the earlier shooting of Renee Good.
“This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota,” Leavitt said, naming Walz and Frey directly.
The administration’s effort to temper its rhetoric while avoiding direct culpability highlighted the tightrope it now faces: managing a volatile situation that threatens to overwhelm Trump’s immigration agenda and erode his standing on an issue once seen as a political strength.
Recent polling has shown rising public disapproval of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its on-the-ground tactics — even among voters who initially supported Trump’s border security push. That sentiment hardened further after Good’s shooting, which drew widespread attention and skepticism. A CNN poll published earlier this month found that 56% of respondents viewed the shooting as “inappropriate,” compared with just 26% who said it was “appropriate.”
Within Trump’s inner circle and among GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, Homan’s appointment is widely seen as an attempt to stabilize an operation that had become counterproductive under Noem and Bovino.
“This is a positive development — one that I hope leads to turning down the temperature and restoring order in Minnesota,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X.
Homan, a veteran ICE official, is known for his hard-line views on illegal immigration. But allies note that unlike Bovino’s sweeping operations, which frequently put agents in direct conflict with protesters, Homan has historically favored more targeted enforcement aimed at minimizing public blowback.
He is expected to meet with both Walz and Frey upon arriving in Minnesota, though it remains unclear what tangible changes will follow. The White House has made clear it wants greater cooperation from state and local officials on deportations, while Walz and Frey insist such cooperation is already taking place.
For now, allies say Homan’s most urgent task will be to cool tensions that have been building for weeks — and that now threaten to turn national opinion decisively against Trump’s deportation campaign.
“Every day is Election Day, in a sense,” Krikorian said. “You can’t just say we won on this platform and now we can do whatever we want for the next two years. If people don’t like it, you’ve got to keep persuading them.