Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and over 70 other Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives are signing on to three articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the wake of the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week.
"Secretary Noem, you have violated your oath of office, and there will be consequences. I am watching you. Members of Congress are watching you. The American people, most importantly, are watching you," Kelly said as she announced her effort Wednesday.
Kelly described her impeachment articles. One accuses Noem of obstruction of Congress, a second charges her with a violation of public trust, and the last claims Noem engaged in self-dealing to personally benefit from her role.
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Democrats said Good's death was the final straw but claimed Noem's abuses went well beyond last week's incident.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an ICE agent fired at Good when she had first attempted to disrupt an arrest, refused orders to exit her car and began driving away, placing an ICE agent in the path of her moving vehicle.
Democrats like Kelly allege Good's death is emblematic of a lack of oversight and restraint at DHS under Noem's leadership. They also believe Noem prematurely called Good a "domestic terrorist" after the shooting, putting the blame for the confrontation on her and failing to hold her agency accountable for potential misuses of force.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., who also joined Kelly at Wednesday's press event, slammed Noem for the way she characterized the incident.
"She went on national television and smeared a dead American as a domestic terrorist," Velázquez said. "The articles we are filing today lay it all out."
Republicans reacting to the shooting last week rallied around Noem, defending the ICE agents' actions and calling for an investigation into the incident.
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"Secretary Noem has called my impeachment efforts silly," Kelly said. "If you believe impeachment is silly, then you are not taking your job or our Constitution seriously."
Kelly believes more Democrats will sign on to the motion. She said Democrats immediately began reaching out when they heard about her effort and that she hasn't encountered pushback.
Under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, any civil officer of the United States can be removed from office on impeachment and conviction of high crimes and misdemeanors.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), the framers are believed to have understood that to mean "uniquely 'political' offenses, or misdeeds committed by public officials against the state."
Under a Democrat-controlled majority and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House impeached Trump twice for high crimes and misdemeanors - once for an abuse of power in 2019 and a second time for inciting an insurrection in 2021.
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In both cases, the Senate voted to acquit.
Even with the full support of the Democrat caucus, Kelly's effort is unlikely to succeed in the House amid a Republican majority in the chamber. Democrats would need at least three members to cross the aisle to secure an impeachment and send the effort to the Senate for a conviction.
