Democrats warm to impeaching Kristi Noem after Minneapolis, Portland shootings

Democrats who wanted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were on the fringes. Then the shootings in Minneapolis and Portland happened.Why it matters: Ever since Trump returned to office last January, just the hint of impeachment would be enough to bring Democrats to a frenzied rage. Now that sentiment is thawing, and impeachment is going mainstream."The world has changed. A white woman, a mother of three, was shot in the face and killed," said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who had pushed for impeachment hearings into Noem before the shooting.Ramirez told Axios "you're going to hear more and more people" calling for Noem's impeachment and that she has "heard directly from a number of [swing-district members] who are saying ... 'we've got to do something, she's got to go.'"House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Axios: "There's a rising clamor for oversight and potentially impeachment of Secretary Noem after the nightmare in Minneapolis."Driving the news: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, said in a statement on Friday that if Noem is not ousted over the ICE and Customs and Border Patrol shootings, he may throw his weight behind impeachment."Secretary Noem must resign or be removed from office," he said. "If President Trump refuses to act ... I am prepared to support congressional action, up to and including impeachment, to ensure accountability."Several other Democrats came out for impeachment outright, including Reps. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Sarah McBride (D-Del.).More centrist Democrats told Axios they are also open to the possibility, with one swing-district member saying they are "working with my team to assess impeachment.""She shouldn't be in the position in the first place," said Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), who told Axios he is "going to be talking to my colleagues about the appropriate next steps we should be taking."State of play: Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), a member of House Democratic leadership who is running for U.S. Senate, announced plans Thursday to introduce articles of impeachment against Noem.Kelly accused Noem of "obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing," with a DHS spokesperson responding, "How silly during a serious time."Reps. Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Sydney-Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) and Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) said they plan to co-sponsor Kelly's articles. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), asked Friday if she plans to sign on, told Axios, "I have to ... take a look at it but I certainly wouldn't rule it out. When it comes to impeachment, I think a lot of these folks are not fit for office."Yes, but: Many Democrats are still reticent about impeachment, with several saying they think there need to be hearings before lawmakers push for a vote on the matter.Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), the vice chair of the House Democratic caucus, told Axios he is "not going to support any" impeachment articles because he doesn't "support the process of jumping immediately to impeachment without having done an investigation first.""Impeachment is a serious process ... so we should make sure that we continue to be serious about that," said Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.). "With any proceedings like that, there should be hearings, a thorough investigation."Others ruled out the idea of impeachment entirely, with Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) telling Axios, simply: "No."The bottom line: With Republicans in control of Congress, Democrats are clear-eyed about the improbability of hearings — let alone passing articles of impeachment in the House or convicting Noem in the Senate.Said Raskin: "Of course, we can't do any hearings without Republican support.""They've got to be hearing what we're hearing — people are very outraged," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), "but I wouldn't put a lot of faith on folks on the other side of the aisle on this."Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.