ICE Barbie on Thin Ice With Trump and Miller Over Bovino ‘Miscalculation’

Donald Trump’s leadership team is blaming Kristi Noem for the nightmare unfolding in Minneapolis, claiming her incompetence as Homeland Security Secretary paved the way for Saturday’s shooting, which claimed the life of another American citizen.

At the heart of their resentment is Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, whom Noem personally handpicked to spearhead the president’s intensified anti-immigration campaign. Bovino had already drawn sharp criticism for his aggressive tactics even before his “green machine” was filmed Saturday tackling Alex Pretty, a 37-year-old nurse working in the Veterans Affairs health sector, and riddling him with bullets, sparking outrage across the United States.

Polls indicate that voters were already tired of seeing masked and armed federal agents from Bovino crisscrossing the country, making violent arrests, including of children, and brutally assaulting protesters.

This decision sparked widespread outrage, with President Trump, 79, dispatching Border Patrol chief Tom Homan to New York on Monday to oversee immigration enforcement operations on the ground. This move was widely seen as a snub to Homeland Security Secretary Noem, 54.

This situation follows revelations from sources within the Department of Homeland Security that the president’s chief of staff, Suzy Wilms, 68, and the head of immigration policy, Stephen Miller, 40, have turned against Noem and her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, 52, with whom she is allegedly having an affair.

According to senior officials, Miller is furious about the choice of Bovino, 55, and his policy of brutal repression, described as a “coup and destruction,” which is central to the nationwide crackdown.

They added that the decision was made by Lewandowski with Noem’s support.

“Bovino is Korean,” one source said, explaining his immediate television appearances to support Noem’s accusations that Preeti was responsible for her death—something Trump never did.

However, another source familiar with the matter indicated that promoting Bovino and Border Protection at the expense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was “a mistake by Lewandowski that has led to a drop in support” for the mission.

This situation has created a rift within the Trump administration’s senior leadership. While Wiles, 68, has no sympathy for Noem, Miller now considers Noem, Lewandowski, and Bovino a “liability,” according to this official.

The administration is at an impasse. Senior officials believe Noem cannot run the Department of Homeland Security without Lewandowski and that removing the trio could make Trump appear weak—something Miller, a hardliner on immigration, is determined to avoid.

Noem and Lewandowski were supposed to resign voluntarily this month before the January 7 killing of protester Renee Nicole Good, 37, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross, 43, changed everything.

According to official sources, Noem reportedly reached an informal agreement with Trump to step down after about a year, taking Lewandowski and their ally, former ICE deputy director Madison Sheehan, 28, with her. The goal was for the White House to be able to claim it had implemented the deportation system demanded by Trump.

“Then Renee Good was shot, and everything changed,” a source told The Beast.

Following the shooting, Sheehan abruptly announced her resignation on January 15, stating that she was running for the Ohio House of Representatives. This decision was “applauded” by ICE employees, according to several Department of Homeland Security officials.

Her hasty departure and the quiet removal of her staff were seen as the beginning of a purge targeting Noem and Lewandowski.

One source cited Sheehan’s elaborate campaign video for his congressional run as evidence of a planned departure, approved and coordinated by Trump.

Inside the Department of Homeland Security, a source summed up the situation: “One’s gone, two remain.”

“It’s important to remember that while Madison was often the face of the chaos Noem created at the Department of Homeland Security, she was a symptom, not the cause. The cause was Noem and Lewandowski’s inability to lead.” Another source added: “Their power was concentrated around Madison.”

However, according to some sources, Goode’s murder and the subsequent large-scale operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota made Noem’s resignation politically impossible. Had she resigned at that time, it would have appeared as though she was being forced out because of Goode.

Now, many see the shooting at Pretty as a second episode that could reignite negotiations regarding her departure.

The White House, Lewandowski, and Bovino. White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters on Monday that Trump “continues to have confidence in Secretary Noem.”