The House minority leader didn't hold back after he was asked whether Trump terminating Noem is a "big enough step" for him to say yes to return funding to DHS.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) chastised former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after President Donald Trump fired her last week following mounting disapproval over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration's deeply unpopular immigration crackdown.
Jeffries appeared Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he criticized Noem after moderator Kristen Welker asked if the change in leadership at DHS could lead him and other Democrats to restart funding to the department, which has been in a partial shutdown since last month.
Talks have continued in the wake of Noem's firing, and some hope the change may help in brokering a deal. But on Thursday, Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in statements that they would maintain a unified blockade of funding for the agency until more changes, particularly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are made.
"What we want is a situation where ICE is actually conducting itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country as opposed to using taxpayer dollars to brutalize or, in some cases, kill American citizens and to violently target law-abiding immigrant families," Jeffries said Sunday.
Welker interjected while he was speaking to ask if replacing Noem is a "big enough step" for him to say yes to return funding to DHS.
"No, it's certainly not. What we need is a change in policy, not simply a change in personnel," he said. "Now, Kristi Noem was a disgrace. She was totally unqualified."
Calling Noem a "pathological liar," he went on to condemn the former secretary for her handling of the deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who were killed by federal officers.
"She called American citizens domestic terrorists without any justification whatsoever. But we need dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational changes to get ICE under control," Jeffries said. "That's what the American people want to see. That's what we're working hard to deliver."
After the president axed Noem last week, making her the first Cabinet secretary to leave her post in Trump's second term, he said he would nominate a loyal ally, first-term Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), to replace her.
Trump also said Noem's new position would be "special envoy for the Shield of the Americas," which he described as a role that will lead "our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere."