For the past seven months, Bovino has been the public face of a traveling immigration crackdown on cities governed by Democrats.
Noem and other Trump officials gave Bovino the “commander” title and sent him and his masked border agents to Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and then Minneapolis.
Veteran ICE and CBP officials grew more and more uneasy as Bovino worked outside his agency’s chain of command and appeared to relish his role as a political actor.
In Minneapolis, the Trump administration used Bovino as its lead spokesperson, scheduling daily press conferences where he defended agents’ rough tactics and cast blame on protesters and local officials.
Hours after the shooting, Bovino appeared at a press conference and echoed statements by the Department of Homeland Security alleging Pretti sought to “massacre” the federal agents.
Bovino repeatedly claimed that Border Patrol agents, not Pretti, were the victims.
Asked about Bovino and Noem, a White House spokesperson referred to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement today that Noem has the president’s “utmost confidence and trust.”. »