March 5, 2026

Noem Grilled by Both Parties Over $220M No-Bid Ad Deal, Two U.S. Citizens Killed in Minneapolis

Congress, Donald Trump, Federal Policy, government, Minnesota

Senate Judiciary · March 4, 2026

Senators Grill DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Over Minneapolis Killings, Ad Spending, and Executive Overreach

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced pointed questions from Democrats and a number of Republicans during a two-day appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early March 2026. Senators pressed her on her public descriptions of two U.S. citizens killed by DHS officers in Minneapolis, her agency’s use of administrative warrants to search private homes, the department’s expensive advertising campaign, and whether immigration officers could be deployed to polling places ahead of the midterm elections.

The hearing covered a broad set of contested issues. Noem and some Republican senators also criticized Democrats for a partial shutdown of DHS operations, while Noem noted the department had begun re-vetting some migrants following U.S. military strikes on Iran over the prior weekend — though she offered no specifics on any resulting security threats. What emerged from the hours of testimony was a detailed account of how DHS under Noem’s leadership has been operating — and where the lines of congressional oversight are now being drawn.

Key Numbers

The Hearing at a Glance

These are the figures senators cited directly from hearing testimony and official records.

$220M+

DHS advertising budget questioned by senators from both parties

U.S. citizens — Alex Pretti and Renee Good — killed by DHS officers in Minneapolis

$70M

Reported cost of the executive jet used by DHS — questioned at the hearing

$226K

Paid to a subcontractor’s company for 5 film shoots, 45 video ads & 6 radio ads

United States Capitol, Washington D.C. — venue of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on DHS oversight, March 3–4, 2026. | Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Events in Order

How the Story Unfolded — From Appointment to Testimony

Follow the sequence of events that led to the Senate hearing. Tap any card to read more detail.

Late 2024

Noem Confirmed as DHS Secretary

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was nominated and confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump’s second term, with a core mandate to expand immigration enforcement.

The administration described its deportation effort as the largest in U.S. history. Tom Homan was simultaneously named Border Czar to manage a backlog of over 2 million immigration cases.

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Early 2026

Renee Good Killed by DHS Officers in Minneapolis

Renee Good, a wife and mother of three, was shot and killed by DHS officers in Minneapolis. Senior DHS officials, including Noem, provided conflicting public accounts following the shooting.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is among the investigating agencies. The Department of Homeland Security faced pressure to reconcile inconsistent statements from its leadership.

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Weeks Later, Early 2026

Alex Pretti Shot and Killed by DHS Officers

Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by DHS officers in Minnesota. Noem stated publicly that the incident appeared to be an act of domestic terrorism and later claimed Pretti had “brandished” a firearm.

Video of the killing later contradicted Noem’s account. The footage showed Pretti’s handgun was not visible until officers had already placed their hands on him. The gun was taken off Pretti seconds before he was shot. See related: federal force and civil rights.

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February 2026

Acting ICE Director: No Evidence of Terrorism

The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told senators he saw no evidence to suggest the terrorism claims made about Pretti or Good were true.

This directly contradicted Noem’s public statements. The acting director’s testimony put DHS leadership at odds with its own enforcement agency on the characterisation of the Minneapolis killings.

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March 3–4, 2026

Two Days of Senate Judiciary Testimony

Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee over two days. Senators from both parties raised the Minneapolis killings, ad spending, the executive jet, and the possible deployment of immigration agents to polling places.

Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Kennedy were among the most critical. Tillis, who is not seeking re-election, called Noem’s leadership a “disaster” and asked her to resign. Kennedy questioned the $220M+ advertising spend and raised concerns about a contractor formed 11 days before it was selected. Related: GOP divisions and infighting.

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During the Hearing

Noem Declines to Retract “Domestic Terrorist” Labels

Despite direct and repeated requests from senators on both sides, Noem declined to retract her descriptions of Pretti and Good. She described her statements as based on “reports on the ground and agents who are there.”

Sen. Dick Durbin asked: “Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?” Noem responded: “I absolutely strive to provide factual information.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, responding to Noem’s sympathy for the Pretti family, said: “I think the parents saw what it was.” Related: citizen oversight in democratic politics.

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Also During the Hearing

Administrative Warrants, Polling Places, and the Executive Jet

Noem defended DHS’s use of administrative warrants — signed by immigration officials within the executive branch rather than by independent judges. On polling places, she said there were “no plans” to deploy ICE but declined to rule it out entirely when pressed.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse displayed an image of a bedroom inside the reported $70M executive jet. Noem said the picture was not accurate, the bedroom was being removed in a refurbishment, and she had used the jet once. She said: “The department has found that in purchasing our aircraft that we will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.” Federal contract data can be verified at USASpending.gov.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota — where DHS officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in early 2026

Minneapolis, Minnesota — where DHS officers fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents in early 2026. | Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Interactive Map

Where Key Events Took Place

Click each map marker for location-specific context. All three sites were central to the Senate hearing testimony.

Minneapolis — Incident Sites

Washington D.C. — Senate Judiciary Hearing

Washington D.C. — DHS Headquarters

On the Record

Direct Statements from the Hearing Transcript

These are verbatim quotes from senators and Secretary Noem, taken directly from Senate hearing testimony and official proceedings.

“

I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an instance of domestic terrorism.

— DHS Secretary Kristi Noem · Senate Judiciary Hearing, March 2026

“

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

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) · Senate Judiciary Hearing, March 2026

“

I want to see her succeed, but I’m not going to sit here and watch this kind of spending porn of a cabinet secretary putting herself on TV to the tune of $220-plus million dollars without saying something, and the advertisements are still running.

— Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) · Outside the hearing room, March 2026

“

We’re beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It’s the exact opposite. The way you’re going about deporting them is wrong.

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) · Senate Judiciary Hearing, March 2026

Original U.S. Bill of Rights — National Archives. The 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments were each cited during Senate questioning of DHS Secretary Noem. | Source: National Archives / Public Domain

Constitutional Context

Rights That Were Directly Raised at the Hearing

The senators’ questions were grounded in specific constitutional protections. Select each to see what the provision says — and how it connected to the hearing testimony.

Fourth Amendment — U.S. Constitution

Protection Against Unreasonable Searches of Private Homes

The Fourth Amendment requires the government to obtain judicial approval — from an independent judge or magistrate — before entering private homes. It was drafted specifically to prevent the executive branch from authorising its own searches.

At the hearing: Noem defended DHS’s use of administrative warrants signed by immigration officials inside the executive branch — without independent judicial review. Senators questioned whether this practice aligns with Fourth Amendment protections. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly interpreted this amendment as requiring neutral judicial oversight.

Fifth Amendment — U.S. Constitution

No Person Shall Be Deprived of Life or Liberty Without Due Process

The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. An accusation made by a government official — however senior — is not a legal determination of guilt.

At the hearing: Senators pressed Noem on publicly labelling Pretti and Good as linked to “domestic terrorism” before any charges, trial, or judicial finding. The acting ICE director had already told senators he saw no evidence to support those claims. The U.S. Department of Justice defines domestic terrorism under 18 U.S.C. § 2331, which requires evidence of specific intent.

Sixth Amendment — U.S. Constitution

Criminal Guilt Is Determined by a Jury — Not by Officials

The Sixth Amendment ensures that criminal guilt is determined in a fair trial before a jury. The U.S. constitutional structure deliberately distributes the powers to investigate, accuse, and determine guilt across separate institutions — law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts.

At the hearing: Critics argued that publicly labelling citizens “domestic terrorists” without charges, trial, or conviction bypassed this structure. The historical parallel drawn at the hearing was England’s Star Chamber — a body that combined investigative, accusatory, and punishing authority under the Crown, with no independent judicial check.

U.S. Supreme Court — Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)

Even in National Security Contexts, Citizens Have the Right to Contest Government Accusations

In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the government’s position that it could label an American citizen an “enemy combatant” based solely on an internal executive determination. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, writing for the plurality, held that a citizen must have “a meaningful opportunity to contest the factual basis” for the government’s accusation before a neutral decision-maker. The Constitution, she wrote, does not give the president a “blank check.”

Relevance: The principle from Hamdi applies directly here — the executive branch investigates and accuses, but does not pronounce final judgment. When officials treat their own public declarations as equivalent to legal verdicts, the constitutional framework designed to check government power begins to weaken. The government does not get to declare someone guilty simply by saying so.

DHS Spending Under the Microscope

Figures Raised by Senators at the Hearing

All dollar amounts cited below came directly from Senate testimony or official records. Federal contract data is publicly accessible at USASpending.gov. Oversight reports are maintained by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

DHS Expenditures Questioned at the March 2026 Senate Hearing

Figures in USD. Sources: Senate testimony record, March 2026 · USASpending.gov

Six Key Exchanges

What Senators Asked — and What Noem Said

The most consequential moments from the hearing, organised by exchange. Tap to read the full account of each confrontation.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) — The Apology That Never Came +

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Noem whether she had anything to say to Alex Pretti’s family after publicly describing their son using language linked to domestic terrorism. Noem responded: “I can’t even imagine what they have gone through in the loss of their son.” She declined a second time when pressed to apologise or retract her statements. Klobuchar replied: “I think the parents saw what it was.” Noem had made her initial statement at a press conference in the aftermath of Pretti’s killing, when she said: “When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism.” Pretti was an intensive care nurse. Related context: Trump’s border enforcement policies.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — “Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” +

Sen. Dick Durbin asked Noem directly: “Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?” Noem responded that both situations were “tragic” and that her office was “relying on reports on the ground and agents who are there.” Durbin followed up: “Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Noem replied: “I absolutely strive to provide factual information.” The exchange illustrated the central tension of the hearing — whether preliminary field reports, rather than a court-tested record, are sufficient grounds for a public terrorism label applied to U.S. citizens. Related: free speech and government accountability.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) — The $220M Ad Campaign and a Contractor Formed 11 Days Earlier +

Republican Sen. John Kennedy confronted Noem about DHS’s advertising campaign, which prominently featured Noem herself. Kennedy said his research showed the contracts were “not bid out” and that in one case DHS chose a company formed just “11 days before you picked them.” Noem said she had nothing “to do with picking those contractors” and that the president had “tasked me with getting the message out to the country” on deportation efforts. Kennedy responded: “Look, we all have friends who are qualified. I’m not quibbling with that,” but added the $220 million price tag “troubles me” when Congress “is scratching for every penny.” After the hearing, the subcontractor — the Strategy Group, run by Ben Yoho, husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin — stated on social media it received $226,137.17 for 5 film shoots, 45 video advertisements, and 6 radio advertisements via subcontract with Safe America. Verify: USASpending.gov.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — Called Her Leadership a “Disaster” and Asked Her to Resign +

Tillis, who is not seeking re-election, delivered the most sustained criticism of the hearing. He accused Noem’s office of withholding information on immigration enforcement in North Carolina, stalling FEMA aid, and arresting innocent American citizens. He directly invoked Noem’s memoir, in which she recounted killing her 14-month-old dog Cricket and a family goat. “You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices,” Tillis said. On immigration: “We’re beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It’s the exact opposite. The way you’re going about deporting them is wrong.” On accountability: “Law enforcement needs to learn that you don’t protect them by not looking at the facts.” Related: Republican divisions in Congress and Senate Judiciary DOJ oversight patterns.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) — Will ICE Be Sent to Polling Places? +

Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware asked: “Will you rule out the deployment of ICE or CBP to polling places this November?” Noem responded: “There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations.” When pressed to explicitly rule it out, Noem countered: “Do you plan on illegal aliens voting in our elections?” and repeated that there were “no plans” — but declined to provide an unequivocal commitment. Coons’s question came after former White House adviser Stephen Bannon publicly stated he believed immigration agents should be present at polling sites. For election administration context: U.S. Election Assistance Commission and Federal Election Commission.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) — The $70M Jet with a Bedroom +

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse displayed a photograph — first reported by NBC News — showing a bedroom inside a DHS executive jet reported to cost $70 million. He asked: “What kind of deportee justifies being flown out of the country in a luxury jet with a bedroom and accommodations?” Noem responded that the photograph was not accurate, that the bedroom was being removed in a refurbishment, and that she had used the plane once. She said: “The department has found that in purchasing our aircraft that we will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.” Kennedy, speaking outside the hearing room, rejected this argument: “I want to see her succeed, but I’m not going to sit here and watch this kind of spending porn of a cabinet secretary putting herself on TV to the tune of $220-plus million dollars without saying something.” See: GAO oversight reports and executive branch accountability and Congress.

What Was Covered

The Hearing on the Record: Due Process, Spending, and the Limits of Executive Authority

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on March 3–4, 2026 covered the deaths of two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — at the hands of DHS officers in Minneapolis, the public characterisation of those individuals as linked to domestic terrorism before any legal proceedings, and Noem’s repeated refusal to retract those descriptions. The acting ICE director’s prior testimony to senators — that he saw no evidence to support the terrorism claims — was part of the broader record before the committee.

The hearing also addressed DHS’s $220 million advertising campaign, including a subcontract awarded to a firm formed 11 days before its selection; the use of a reported $70 million executive jet; the use of DHS administrative warrants signed within the executive branch rather than by independent judges; and the question of whether immigration enforcement officers could be deployed to polling places ahead of the midterm elections. Noem’s testimony ran across two days. Senators from both parties were among those who raised concerns about her answers. The constitutional provisions cited during questioning — the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments — and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld were part of the legal framework senators drew on during the proceedings.

The hearing was also covered in the broader context of Senate Judiciary oversight hearings on the current administration and ongoing immigration legislation. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are among the agencies involved in the investigation of the Minneapolis incidents.

First-Hand Sources Only

Official & Government Sources Referenced

No third-party media outlets. All links go directly to government agencies, constitutional archives, or official legal records.

🏛️Senate Judiciary Committee 🛡️Dept. of Homeland Security 🚨ICE — Enforcement 🚧Customs & Border Protection 📋USCIS ⚖️U.S. Dept. of Justice 🔍Federal Bureau of Investigation 🇺🇸U.S. Congress 📜U.S. Constitution — Archives 📋Bill of Rights — Archives 🔎Hamdi v. Rumsfeld — OYEZ 🏛️U.S. Supreme Court 🔎MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 🛡️MN Dept. of Public Safety 🗳️Election Assistance Commission 📊Federal Election Commission 💰USASpending.gov 📁Govt. Accountability Office

Related Coverage

Background and context on the people, policies, and institutions covered in this story.

Noem Grilled by Both Parties Over $220M No-Bid Ad Deal, Two U.S. Citizens Killed in Minneapolis