OLYMPIA, WA – U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse said Wednesday that “a lot of questions need to be answered” in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minnesota, but stopped short of calling for new leadership at the Department of Homeland Security.
Newhouse, a Republican from Sunnyside, was in Olympia speaking to the state House and Senate Republican caucuses.
The congressman, who isn’t running for reelection this year, told the Standard he sees signs the administration is “turning the corner a little bit” and figuring out a new strategy with a “different tone.” He said he agreed with President Donald Trump’s initial push to deport the so-called “worst of the worst” who have committed violent crimes.
But it’s clear that federal immigration authorities have gone beyond that, Newhouse said, arguing “things have gotten out of hand.”
“I’m all for border security and getting rid of the bad people,” Newhouse said. “But we have to show some humanity.”
Newhouse didn’t say that embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem needs to be replaced. Her agency oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. He said that, following Pretti’s killing by federal agents Saturday, he’d “like to hear what she has to say” in congressional hearings.
A growing number of House Democrats, including several from Washington’s congressional delegation, are pushing to impeach Noem after the shooting of Pretti.
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, is among them.
“The American people are demanding accountability for these horrific acts,” she said in a statement Monday. “Accountability needs to start with Secretary Noem. It’s clear that the administration and Republicans in Congress are unwilling to hold ICE and its leadership accountable.”
U.S. House Democratic leadership said Tuesday that Noem should be fired or impeached. Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, recently called for Noem’s ouster.
Newhouse drew blowback from other Republicans because he supported Trump’s impeachment after the president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But in Trump’s second term, Newhouse, like most Republicans in Congress, has avoided criticizing the president.
Several GOP candidates are seeking to replace Newhouse in his safely red central Washington congressional district. They include state Sen. Matt Boehnke, past candidate Jerrod Sessler and Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney, who are all Republicans. Trump has endorsed McKinney in this race, and Sessler in his 2024 challenge of Newhouse.
Newhouse declined to pick a favored successor Wednesday, noting that there are “good people that are running.”
As for issues he’s watching in Olympia this legislative session, Newhouse, a farmer, said last year’s Democratic-backed tax increases are worsening affordability for state residents. He’s generally focused on trying to improve the economic climate for businesses.
He previously served four terms in the state House in the 2000s before then-Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed him to lead the state Department of Agriculture. He’s been in Congress since 2015.
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