Border czar Tom Homan declined to clarify a recent statement from Homeland Security Kristi Noem on election security, specifically when she suggested her agency must be “proactive” in ensuring the “right leaders” are elected.
Noem made the remark at a press conference in Arizona on Friday, in which she argued elections partly fall under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security. While pushing Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require photo ID and proof of citizenship for voting in U.S. elections, she underscored that DHS must do its part as well, including by having “the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country through the days that we have, knowing that people can trust it.”
As Noem’s comments have led to Democratic backlash, including from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Homan was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday what she meant.
“I don’t know, that’d be a question for the secretary,” Homan responded. “If I had to guess, probably, that, you know, only those legally eligible to vote would vote, but I have not talked to the secretary about those statements. That’d be something she’d have to answer.”
Homan’s refusal to defend the remarks comes as Noem’s leadership of DHS has been under intense scrutiny after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed in officer-involved shootings during immigration operations in Minneapolis.
The Pretti shooting, in particular, led to Homan, not Noem, being sent to the city to coordinate with Minnesota officials and has since resulted in the end of the Trump administration large-scale immigration operation there.
Despite the apparent sidelining, Trump has stuck by Noem amid calls for her resignation.
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Shortly after Homan’s CNN appearance, Noem defended her election security comments, saying they were solely about ensuring only U.S. citizens vote in elections, while who they cast ballots for “is obviously up to the voters themselves.”
“It must be exhausting to regularly manufacture outrage even over the most commonsense statements,” she posted on X.
