Republican blame game on Minneapolis is in full swing – even Stephen Miller has turned on Border Patrol

A Republican blame game has erupted over the Trump administration’s handling of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis, with even hardliner Stephen Miller shifting his rhetoric.

The White House deputy chief of staff initially referred to Alex Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” after the ICU nurse was shot dead by federal agents during a protest over the weekend.

But as backlash over the second such killing in less than a month has grown, the administration has changed its tone.

On Tuesday, Miller issued a statement to CNN in which he suggested the agents involved may not have been following proper protocol.

“We are evaluating why the CBP [Customs and Border Protection] team may not have been following that protocol,” he said. “The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground.”

Miller claimed that, following the prior killing of Renee Good in a similar incident on January 7, the White House had “provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”

The chief of staff’s remarks came after DHS secretary Kristi Noem appeared to shift responsibility for her actions to the president and Miller.

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” she said in an Axios report.

Then Katie Miller, the Trump adviser’s wife and a popular MAGA podcaster, waded into the affair. She posted a snippet of the Axios story on X containing quotes from her husband about the CBP, which answers to Noem’s DHS.

A DHS spokesperson subsequently told Axios: “The initial statement was based on reports from CBP from a very chaotic scene on the ground. That’s precisely why an investigation is underway and DHS will let the facts lead the investigation.”

President Trump — who quickly came to realise he needed to “unf***” the situation, according to White House insiders — initially stopped short of backing Noem Sunday, instead telling The Wall Street Journal: “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”

He put border czar Tom Homan in charge of operations in the state, had immigration commander Greg Bovino returned to California and staged late-night crisis talks in the Oval Office Monday evening with the secretary and her top aide Corey Lewandowski.

Trump told Fox News Tuesday that he intends to “de-escalate a little bit” in light of the recent “hoopla” and has promised improved cooperation with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

His reassurances did not stop Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Garcia telling The New York Times she believed Miller’s influence would cost their party November’s midterms.

But the White House rubbished the idea he could be fired over the debacle, commenting: “Stephen Miller is one of President Trump’s most trusted and longest-serving aides. The president loves Stephen.”

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham also moved to shore up Miller’s position on Fox Tuesday evening, insisting the president’s faith in him was unshakeable.

Noem, despite Trump belatedly coming out to bat for her Tuesday by saying she was “doing a very good job,” remains in a precarious position.

Already facing impeachment threats from Democrats, the secretary has now been called upon to step down by at least two Republican senators – Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

“I think that what she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying; she should be out of a job,” Tillis told The Independent.

“It’s just amateurish. It’s terrible. It’s making the president look bad on policies that he won on.”