Homeland Security spokesperson to leave amid scrutiny over Minnesota surge, shutdown

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Patricia McLaughlin Official Portrait at DHS Headquarters (Photo by Mikaela McGee) (DHS Photo by Mikaela McGee/Released) Jan. 20, 2025.

By Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward (Reuters)

WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin will leave the department, two Trump administration officials told Reuters, a move that comes as public support for President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has dwindled.

McLaughlin became a prominent booster of Trump's aggressive approach to immigration and helmed the press operation at DHS, which has come under scrutiny for issuing inaccurate or incomplete statements following violent encounters involving federal immigration officers. Neither official said what McLaughlin intended to do next.

DHS and McLaughlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Public support for Trump's immigration enforcement push dropped to the lowest level of his presidency in January after months of clashes in U.S. cities and after federal immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initially called the victims in those shootings "domestic terrorists" rather than back an investigation, leading to criticism from Democrats and some fellow Republicans.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives last month launched an effort to impeach Noem, saying she had violated public trust, stymied congressional oversight and engaged in self-dealing.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and Chizu Nomiyama // REUTERS)