US President Donald Trump has sensationally removed his border chief for Minneapolis Gregory Bovino after he stated fatally shot anti-ICE nurse Alex Pretti wanted to ” massacre law enforcement.” Pretti’s death is the second killing of protesters during confrontations in the city with Federal agents in jsut a few weeks.

Trump removed Bovino while at the same time hailing progress he has made with the outspoken Democrat Minneapolis city mayor, in a sign of a buckling of his previous hard-lined rhetoric over clashes between protestors and ICE agents. On Monday night, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that he had a phone call with Democratic Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey .

“Lots of progress is being made!” he declared in six words. “Tom Homan will be meeting with him tomorrow in order to continue the discussion.”

Homan, the administration’s border tsar, is heading to Minnesota to meet with state and local officials. Frey is one of the local and state officials who has been most strident in his criticism of federal immigration enforcement in the city.

Border Patrol commander’s bombastic response criticized

In the immediate aftermath of Alex Pretti’s shooting by federal law enforcement agents, Border Patrol commander Bovino was characteristically bombastic in his comments and actions.

He said it looked like Pretti wanted to “massacre law enforcement”. His agents quickly distributed a photograph of Pretti’s handgun, implying that alone was grounds for the use of deadly force. Local law enforcement accused Bovino’s Border Patrol agents of failing to secure evidence and refusing to cooperate with their investigation into the shooting.

Notably, Donald Trump never echoed Bovino’s rhetoric, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered only tepid praise of the man who had become the face of the federal immigration enforcement effort in Minneapolis.

As with the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis weeks earlier, the president may have sensed the initial message from his officials was out of step with the public – and contradicted by ample video evidence.

Bovino reassigned as White House shifts response strategy

Now Bovino is out – reassigned to other duties, according to US media partner CBS News. His exit comes as the White House has shifted how it is responding to fallout from Pretti’s death, which has included criticism not just from the president’s political opponents but from within law enforcement and his own party.

Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar” is now handling all facets of the Minnesota operation and reporting directly to the president. Homan, while still an advocate of Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, has more experience navigating American politics and is more measured in his public statements.

The confrontation and conflict that has engulfed Minneapolis may not be over, but with Bovino sidelined, the administration may be looking for a way to turn down the heat.

Noem to testify before Senate amid resignation calls

In another development showing the pressure Trump’s administration currently faces, a spokesperson for Chuck Grassley, Republican senator from Iowa, says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March.

“Noem is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3rd for one round of questioning, with each senator allotted 10 minutes for questions,” the spokesperson told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Noem’s testimony comes amid growing calls from Democrats for her to resign following the two high profile shootings of Americans by federal immigration agents in Minnesota this month.