Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) suggested that former Border Patrol “commander-at-large” Greg Bovino may have engaged in “excessive use of force” in Minneapolis.
McCaul appeared on CBS News’s Face the Nation days after Bovino was demoted from overseeing embeds with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a result, Bovino returned to his former station in El Centro, California, on Tuesday.
“Actually, you are in violation with U.S. citizens being arrested unlawfully. The American people support the deportation of criminal aliens, violent offenders. What they don’t support is excessive use of force,” McCaul said. “I believe Bovino crossed the line. I think the president was correct in telling him to get out of there.”
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“I would advise the secretary and the president to involve Tom Homan — he should have been there from day one — to utilize his expertise and talent,” McCaul said. “I can tell you he is the consummate professional when it comes to ICE removal operations.”
McCaul: I believe Bovino crossed the line. I think the president was correct in telling him to get out of there. pic.twitter.com/tGuf5lJIPF
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 1, 2026
McCaul served as the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee from 2013 to 2019 and, more recently, was the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and continues to serve on both of those committees.
Tom Homan has since committed to drawing down the number of federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. The border czar confirmed that some officers will still remain. Negotiations between Homan and local leaders are still in process.
This television segment follows a report from the New York Times that alleged Bovino complained about Minnesota’s U.S. attorney, Daniel Rosen. Bovino had tried to reach Rosen for a meeting and reportedly complained to Rosen’s deputy and other prosecutors in a phone call about Rosen’s observance of the Jewish Sabbat, which starts on Friday evenings through Saturday evening.
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During this phone call, Bovino allegedly made a sarcastic comment about Jewish people when he called them the “chosen people.”
Bovino came under public scrutiny when he told CNN’s Dana Bash a day after the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis that the Border Patrol agents who attempted to detain Alex Pretti were the “victims” in the incident and that Pretti was the “suspect.” Bovino said the late Pretti “injected” himself into the situation and was “more than likely” there to assault federal police.
